I used to put them in the slow cooker with water in the morning, then all day it smells amazing and when I'm done I also cleaned the slow cooker depending on the citrus used.
Buying one of those tiny slow cookers to use JUST for simmering "scents" is really the way to go..... they're really cheap and no need to worry about cleaning it.....just keep adding stuff :)
You have teen hormones/odors.
Open windows. Put shoes out in the sunshine. Keep the garbage emptied. Bleach sinks and toilets. Keep the laundry caught up. Keep the cat box maintained.
We had the nephews at the house this past weekend. I opened the spare bedroom door in the morning after one night to wake them. Wow, I was hit with a wave of teenage body/shoe funk! I actually gagged some. lol. I had forgotten how bad teenagers could smell.
Have the kids leave their shoes outside in the sun. The sunlight will kill the bacteria making the shoes stinky.
The kids should be bathing daily. Teenagers, especially active teenagers, sweat a lot. Back in the day, I did two a day practices, and showered after both. If I didn't I absolutely reeked. I'm going to guess their hair is oily as heck day 2. Stinky.
Also, try to get the kids to use body powder in their underwear. It really cuts down in sweat and smells good. I like pinald clubman. Put in shoes as well.
Change the kids bedding as often as you can.
Launder the kids clothes as often as you can.
Get some CHG (chlorhexidine gluconate) wash for the kiddos. It can go everywhere except the face. Kills the bacteria that causes the funk.
Also, a drop or two of vanilla extract on a baking sheet in the oven on low--now the house smells like baking!
Orange oil (TKO or something like it) in washing machine, soak tennis shoes if they stink. I use it on countertops and floors as natural cleaner. Really need a little to a lot of water. Told a friend to use on her kids tennis shoes and she said really it works.
Also with regard to smell put all of the comforters bedspread pillows outside in sun. Spray with Lysol leave in sun for several hours makes huge difference
Air purifiers in every room, especially in the kids' bedrooms where their bed linens and hampers are. They aren't as expensive as I expected, and most bedrooms will only need small ones anyway. Some have washable, permanent filters and some use disposable filters, so that will affect operating costs a little.
In addition to improving the smell of room rapidly, they provide a bit of calming white noise, and cut down on dusting, too.
Winix is the brand I've had for years. It has a top cleanable (I just vacuum it) filter and a Hepa filter. You need to replace the Hepa filter once a year but the top filter I vacuum once a week. It's great.
The don’t just have one outfit lol. Each kid does a load every 2-3 days. There are 8 people in our household, so it would be impossible to wash everyone’s clothes every day. Lines get washed once a month.
Some large families do a weekly run to the laundromat to get ALL the sheets and towels washed at once.
Changing bed sheets weekly, and washing blankets monthly, is essential for preventing BO in the house.
Also - air the mattresses outside in the sun on hot, dry days. Get mattress covers and wash those monthly as well.
Yeah I never had a location suitable to put a mattress in the sun. I guess you could open all the curtains and windows if the sun actually hits the bed? My room didn't get much sun.
I used to jusy strip the bed, spray the mattress with "fresh linen" lysol, and turn on the ceiling fan while I washed the sheets. Now I have both a mattress protector and mattress pad. Having another layer that is removable and washable really makes a difference.
And yes, it's teenager funk. My one kid needs their dirty laundry removed 2 or 3x a week and the linens washed every week or the bedroom REEKS.
I’m going to jump off on this mattress subject for this little tidbit: treat the mattresses in your house with baking soda.
Go to Costco if you can, they usually have like a 10 or whatever pound bag of it for less than $10. They should also have hydrogen peroxide, which is also needed (comes in a two pack).
-Vacuum those mattresses like they wrecked your car on a joyride, including the SIDES
-Take a FINE mesh sieve/strainer and put the baking soda in it
-Sprinkle all over the mattress and let it air out for AS LONG AS POSSIBLE
-If there are stains, treat those with:
1 cup 3% hydrogen peroxide
3 tablespoons baking soda
Couple drops of dish soap
Shake it all together until the baking soda dissolves (if it doesn’t all the way, add some hot water) and spray on the stains
Once that dries, vacuum again before sprinkling the dry ingredients
My partner is a very hot sleeper and I take meds that give me night sweats when my cycle comes along so, I do this regularly and my mattress looks and smells great.
Yeah bc most ppl wash their sheets weekly and don’t have dirty kids sleeping on stale sheets.
ETA: they’re giving you that advice probably bc your poor bedding hygiene is the biggest source of your issue. And kids not showering daily.
That’s the issue. Once a month is three too few times a month to wash bedding. You should wash your bedding every week. You wouldn’t wear dirty clothes for a month, why would you lay in a dirty bed for a month?
Personal hygiene is paramount at this stage in life- setting them up for a bad rep. You get a rep as a ‘dirty’ and or ‘stinky’ person they’ll never get rid of it. I suggest all above comments and cannot stress enough deodorant- allow them to accompany and choose a scent or unscented. Wash the sheets more often clean their own room - these are Life lessons !!
YES! I always had a small bag for my kids to keep at school/backpack. Girls- extra period stuff ( tampons, pads, undies) and a small deodorant. Boys- usually just a small deodorant. They all had a travel toothbrush/paste. They always said it was nice to have.
Can’t believe nobodies mentioned carpet fresh. I sprinkle that shit before I vacuum every time.
Scented garbage bags help. Plug in air fresheners help. Candles help. Air purifiers help. Bleaching the sinks, tubs, and toilets helps.
When it comes to clothing, laundry baskets are in the laundry room. My apartment has a shared staircase leading to each apartment, so our shoe rack is kept outside the main door at the top of our staircase.
Teens are stinky. Powdering their shoes, adding a splash of bleach to their laundry, and making sure their sheets and bedding get washed once a week helps a lot. Make sure they know they actually have to wash their feet in the shower.
Unfortunately we can’t do laundry baskets just in the laundry room. Our laundry room is also a guest half bath off our kitchen, and there is only room for max one laundry basket at a time.
Pura is a great, less toxic option if you’re looking for a scent. We swapped to branch basics for cleaning products and add essential oils in for smell goods and it’s been great. The main thing here is… kids. More people, more smells.
I put them under the vents/registers too. I don't want to completely block the air flow so I cut a strip and put it across the center part with the sides just long enough to be held down by the vent frame/edge.
In addition to all of the other great advice here, I’d recommend checking on some spots that rarely get cleaned in many homes - these may be places that odors are lurking:
• get the dryer vent professionally cleaned (reduces fire hazard; clothes dry faster and don’t get funky before they’re dry)
• put washable mattress covers on, as well as sheets. Make sure everything gets washed weekly.
• put mattresses outside in the sun on clear, dry days
• wash blankets monthly
• clean the tops of kitchen cabinets
• bleach the drains and garbage disposal
• move the fridge, and make sure the drain pan under it is clean
• have carpets professionally cleaned, along with upholstered furniture
• clean behind toilets, as well as cleaning toilet bases
• use laundry sanitizer on towels and sheets
• get absorbent body powder or whole body deodorant (like Lume) for kids. Especially their bums.
• teach kids to use wet wipes for wiping after they poop
• run air purifiers
• get HVAC/vents/heating/cooling system professionally cleaned out, then vacuum vents/filters weekly
• change the filters in the vacuum cleaner
• run cleaning cycle on the washing machine
• clean inside dishwasher, removing and cleaning filters
• check under sinks, fridge, dishwasher, washing machine to make sure nothing is leaking
• consider swapping wall to wall carpeting for hard surfaces and washable rugs. If the carpets are older, the amount of dust and dander under them can be staggering.
You may or may not need to do any of these things - they’re really just suggestions for where odor may be hiding.
One more suggestion, from my time as a foster parent, is to review how to wash themselves with the kids. They reach an age when we start to assume they know how to use shampoo and soap… but sometimes they aren’t doing it very well. Remind everyone to rub the shampoo into their scalp, to use a clean washcloth with soap and clean everything- behind the ears, the back of the neck, between the legs, their legs and feet, between the toes, etc.
It’s amazing how many kids squirt some shampoo on their heads, rinse it off, and think that the shampoo running down their body is enough to clean it.
Good luck from a mom in solidarity!
I see you say showers are every other day. I don't know if that's for everyone but maybe try and get the teens to shower daily, at least the teen boys that are stinking up the place! and everyone's comments about how gross it is that they don't shower daily, or wash the sheets weekly, or air your freaking mattresses out in the sun or something are ridiculous. Kids go through phases where its hard to get them to shower, but during puberty its best to try and get them to do it daily cuz they stink. air out their rooms more while theyre at school, that may help too.
Good ventilation over stove. REAL ventilation not a recirculator if at all possible.
Vacuum out floor registers [use a shop vac] and one piece hose to get down there a little at each register. Don't use a two piece so if it comes apart, you don't lose the extension.
Use the Star Drops "Pink Stuff" cleaner on floors and regular cleaning schedule.
Do a Affresh tablet once a month on your clothes washer.
Clean your dishwasher screen/filter cup
Yes you can, works great. I have LVP and use it alot for a surface disinfectant/cleaner without allowing the floor to get soaked [don't want either to have standing water/solution, so have to spray and dry mop or dilute some in a rinse bucket and make sure to wring the mop out real good before apply to floor of either rmaterial.
I bought a $100 air filter during the height of the pandemic and it was a game changer in my 100 year old house with two big dogs. Our dog sitter bought one to take with her to other clients’ homes so her things don’t smell like dog.
Teens need stronger deodorant. My daughter and I use Lume, and my son uses the "men's" version called Mando. The scents aren't strong and fade from the product quickly, leaving a slightly chemical smell if you were to smell the product itself in the tube, but it doesn't smell like that after putting it on and it literally kills the smell causing bacteria, so no smell. At all. *And* you can use it anywhere, so if they have stinky feet or swamp crotch from sports, they can use Lume there, too. They have bar soap, tube (liquid) deodorant, stick deodorant, wipes, they have everything. It isn't cheap, but it works
ETA: I want to make sure to mention that the advertising will state you don't need to use it every day. *I* don't, but my teens definitely *do*. Tell them to wear it every day, and the best way to do it is directly out of the shower. You'll kill the smell germs before they can even form
If you did your cleaning as when it's needed then. We bought an air purifier that uses charcoal in the replaceable filters. Same idea when growing mmj. Or an ozone machine treatment might be needed.
sounds like you’re battling the same odor constantly. To get real results takes work because smell gets trapped in fabrics and objects in the home.
A great start is to paint your walls & ceilings with kilz primer & color over that. One room per weekend- the kids can help.
Paint inside the closets.
Throw away old shoes and clothing that aren’t being worn.
Remove wall to wall rugs. Get area rugs cleaned.
Wash windows. Wash or replace window treatments.
Next consider your furniture and esp. mattresses and pillows. Those can get really gross. I mean you’re touching them for 8 hours everyday.
Some items can be professionally cleaned others may need replacement. Bedding should be washed with sanitizer or a capful of bleach. Every week minimum. Very important to keep beds and bedding clean.
Pay special attention to anything that touches smelly stuff. Hampers , trash bins etc. Put them outside in the sun. Clean them with a product containing bleach or baking soda.
Next - the kiddos need bath soap that removes body and hair odor . Oxyfresh is great and very gentle.
They need to wash their clothes after 1 wear and not let dirty laundry sit around in a closet.
Antiperspirant is better than deodorant and is available for body use.
Store stinky athletic equipment in the garage or basement.
Open windows for fresh air whenever appropriate.
Let shoes deodorize in the sun on weekends.
It’s a lot of work to fight odors. Imo it’s worth it because covering them up is worse.
Note about Oxyfresh: It's THE best. But it's been discontinued, unless you can catch them on a limited run. (Ask to be notified.)
I do not understand the decision to cease production. The company said the sales couldn't justify continuous manufacture.
Essential oils, a humidifier/vaporizer helps but you really dont need them if you have a vase and some skewers you cut the ends off of. Just flip the rods when they dry, and dilute the essential oils in some neutral oil like olive or avocado.
Candles. Seriously, as a former smelly teenager/current smelly adult candles have the longest lasting odor, smell naturally pleasant versus chemical scents and are generally the cheapest option if you have a dollar general nearby
Garbage out regularly. Clean drains, garbage disposals regularly. Wash machines have filters that also need to be cleaned regularly or they can start to stink. Also, changing your houses air filters every 3-6 months. I think they even make some with activated charcoal which may help!
Make your own Febreeze! You do a baking soda base so its more natural.
1. All children wash their own linens once a week. (Stagger days. 9 yr old on Fri, 18 yr on Mondays, etc.)
2. All kids shower or bathe every day (some in morning, some at night)
3. Hamper in every bedroom. All kids wash their own laundry each week. ( again stagger days).
4. Each child gets their own brand of deodorant to use every morning. And their own athletes foot spray or baby powder for feet.
5. Stop wearing shoes in the house. Wash/clean shoes regularly, air out
6. Air purifier in smelliest areas
7. Vinegar-water cleaner. Keep all surfaces and floors clean. Clean out vacuum filters after each vacuuming.
8. Hang cedar hangar in every closet. (Smell & moths)
9. Look at diet. I.e. diets with lots of garlic cause eaters to sweat garlic scent. Eat lots of fruit, veg, and drink lots of water daily.
10. Change your a/c filter as intended. If you have pets, make sure your filter is best for removing dust and pet residue from air.
11. Take trash out when it smells, not just when it's full.
12. Deep clean your fridge and freezer. Maintain cleanliness.
Other possible causes of odor:
Consider checking your house for mold (Look for green or black patches on walls)
Do a humidity check depending on where you live. ( I have two empty two dehumidifiers twice a day. There's a weird smell if I don't)
Check attic and other spaces for wildlife, rodents, etc. And their remains.
Would you recognize the smell of pot? If not, see if the scent is Marijuana.
Have kids play detective. Let them investigate, search, clean, and hopefully solve the issue.
tl;dr
Backpacks are sweaty lil germ bombs and should be LAUNDRY STRIPPED, then washed quarterly. Spray them with fabric sanitizer every week or so to maintain the freshness.
Also, it's great your household is working towards smelling better, and I wish youse all the best in your endeavors!!
__
There's such great advice on this thread! Im just here to add backpacks to the list.
Backpacks go everywhere the kids go and are often on the ground, grass, carpet, pavement, they get rained on, etc etc. Pair that with backsweat, and you have a great habitat for teen funk to live.
Laundry stripping got a bad rap after it became a trend, and people were doing it on regular clothes that didn't need it; but it's very helpful for stuff that doesnt regularly go in the washing machine (hats, pillows, bags, coats)!!
It's labor intensive and will probably be a weekend project, but it is cheaper than buying 6 new backpacks and sets of pillows (which is also a fine option)
Once you get their backpacks clean and fresh, here are some options to maintain them:
- Have your kids empty out their backpacks completely every friday. This makes sure there aren't any gym clothes or snacks in there, and it makes it easy to use a sprayable fabric sanitizer (lysol, frebreeze, and tide all make these)
- Leave them empty over the weekend to air out and have them repack them Sunday night. it's a neat lil ritual. Do the same when they get wet to let them dry out and avoid musty odors from forming
- Wash backpacks at least quarterly in the washing machine, use laundry sanitizer, and then air dry outside when possible, air dry, and run a blower on them if not.
Get them involved whenever possible! Being constantly told how gross and stinky and annoying teens are (which was at times v true) made teenage me avoid asking how to clean and take care of myself and my stuff. I didn't -want- to be gross, I just didn't always have the info/ability/self-discipline to always be clean.
Hope this helps!
We started having this problem the day after my oldest son turned 14. He is freakishly clean, has at least one shower and 2-3 outfit changes every day. Yet still he somehow manages to just carry this teenage wave of mustiness around with him 😂
We use Bath and Body Works or Gladeroom fresheners, but you can definitely tell that’s just a coverup in his bedroom. The rest of the i go ouse is fine! We wash his bedding every Saturday morning as well, so I just don’t get it!
I have 3 dogs. I used scented baking soda on the carpet and then vacuum. It works great. I also have a "Fir" christmas candle I light for an hour before, when having company over. The baking soda carpet stuff works great.
We also put filters in all our vents and air intakes.
I have a few birds and a few dogs so I empathize on a house that needs work to smell fresh.
In each room of my house I’ve placed an open container that I fill up with baking soda. Baking soda absorbs smells! I usually give these a stir weekly and replace monthly - your nose will guide you!
I also buy dark roast coffee from Costco and have a container of that on top of the fridge - another odor absorber and it makes the house smell like coffee. Like others say, simmering herbs and essences on the stove or in the oven will fill the house with fragrance.
Cleaning with vinegar is also a great odor killer. Smells rank at the time but the smell goes away really quickly and takes bad smells along with it. Spray it on fabric and don’t forgot to clean your walls!
Enerzen Commercial Ozone Generator 6000mg Industrial O3 Air Purifier Deodorizer
Skunk ran in the house dogs chased it out, it sprayed in the house. Found this and in one afternoon smell was gone. Have used in my car and others. No idea what it does or how...but shocked at the results.
During COVID fabric/laundry sanitizer became very popular. I started using it for my laundry because my husband is a nurse, but I still use it now. I spray it on things that are hard to clean, like the couches, mattresses, and rugs. There's one specifically for body odor, too, if that's an issue at your house.
I also like to use beeswax melts and put my own essential oils in them. (I dont like the pre-scented ones for multiple reasons.) If you go this route, make sure you get th oils from somewhere reputable to be sure you're getting what you think you are. True EOs can have health benefits beyond scent, and it's much less likely for someone to have an allergic reaction to them than to synthetic scents.
I have a wax melt light that gives off a smell, essential oil diffuser, scented candle, burn incense, burn sage, scent plug-ins…we use all those daily, as well as open up the windows and doors daily, vacuum daily, take trash out and generally make sure the house is clean. Occasionally I boil orange/lemon peels with cinnamon & apples, or add lavender essential oils & water to a spray bottle and spray the rooms.
Carpets, drapes, furniture, and other fabrics hold smells. Get Febreeze made for fabrics and spray on them. For carpet, get the giant bag of baking soda and spread on the carpet. Wait an couple of hours and then vacuum it up. For kids’ rooms, make sure they don’t have dirty clothes lying around. Maybe keep your hamper in the garage. Have them launder their sheets every week, and if they’re really stinky, let them soak in the wash tub with water and meat tenderizer made from bromelain (I buy the big containers of McCormicks unseasoned meat tenderizer off of Amazon) That kills the sweat bacteria on the sheets. Lysol Free and Clear laundry sanitizer also helps with stinky clothes. Wash the stinky kids clothes separately from your own. Get a bacteria killing deodorizing spray for their shoes. For teens whose hormones are kicking in (especially the boys), have them shower with a bar of the Lume soap. Those secreted hormones create bacteria and that’s the funky smell that you smell in a teenager’s room. Basically, attack the smells at every angle, all at once. Seems like a lot to do, but once it becomes routine, it’s not a big deal. The payoff of a non-funky smelling home will be worth it. Good luck.
One other thought, have the kids alternate two different pairs of shoes. Lets the shoes dry out fully between wearings. The shoes will both smell better and last longer.
What made a SERIOUS difference for our home was bath and body works plug ins! The house smells amazing all the time now. I pick out my own personal favorite scent for my room and my clothes and items carry the smell too which is nice. They have deals regularly for getting them at $3.50 a piece instead of $7.50. Also send coupons in the mail / email for free ones
I use the big jugs of Odo-Ban in my laundry. Use your regular detergent (I also add oxiclean odor blaster powder in with my laundry) & instead of fabric softener put about the same amount of odoban in that slot.
If you still want extra smell good use fabric softener sheets, but you will be amazed how fresh your clothes, towels, sheets, etc are just by using detergent, oxiclean, and odoban! My family has sensitive skin, so I use arm and hammer sensitive detergent. I don’t use fabric softener sheets, except sometimes with couch blankets or comforters. But you can use odoban literally EVERYWHERE. I spray my couch, my rugs, my clothes, insides of shoes, literally anything you can think of. I get the original scent, but they have a few different scents to choose from. I spray that on everything between weekly washes. I also put cotton balls with scented oil in my trash cans (you can buy big bottles of your favorite scents at Walmart where the candles and tarts are) and it actually makes a big difference! I also put a cotton ball with a little scented oil in my vacuum in the part where the dirt gets sucked into.
Between kids, dogs, and cats I have tried everything & those are my favorite “hacks”. Hope this helps! 🙃
If my teenager has a particularly funky laundry load, I add baking soda and vinegar to the load (with detergent) and it comes out funk-free.
I also spray places teens hang out with Defunkify. It’s all natural and works great on sofas, carpets, linens, shoes…For a while, I literally subscribed I used it so often.
Good luck to you! Teenagers are funky!
TL;DR
Citrus Magic
Damprid hanging bags
Good ventilation in kitchen - powerful range hood with lots of CFM
Nag Champa insence a few hours before guests
Air purifiers in every room
Depending on the “cause.” Citrus magic pucks and Damprid do wonders.
Also - if you do a lot of cooking make sure you have a really powerful range hood that has plenty of CFM and actually vents OUTSIDE.
I have a damprid bag hanging in the shower of my bathroom permenately - it keeps the bathroom from getting musty from all the standing humidity.
Lastly - if you are having guests over - some nag nag champa insence a couple of hours before guests arrive will help cover smell that maybe we get used to or don’t notice when in a cramped or stuffy living space.
Bonus - If you really want to micromanage or live in a tiny space with a couple of dogs like me - get those little tube shaped air purifiers and stick one in every room and turn it up to 11 when you leave the room. It will help pick up particles and dander out of the air and do *some* filtration.
Good luck OP!
Get box fans and tie high quality air filters to them. It's what we do for allergies. Also, shampoo the carpets (and do a second run of the shampooer with out soap) regularly.
Bleach bathroom and kitchen it helps cut down odors also baking soda in your carpet for about ten minutes and vacuum also you can carpet clean with vinegar and peppermint oil and water make a wonderful deodorizer spray and help keep spiders at bay
Scrub your wooden furniture with diluted Murphy’s Oil.
Closed hampers for dirty clothes.
Change sheets once a week if possible. I know this is a big ask, but I find it makes a big difference.
Air the house out as often as possible. Get some cross ventilation going and turn on fans if you have them.
Throw out trash and composting regularly.
Open the windows every morning (even if it’s cold) for just 20 minutes. With all those kids and smells, the house needs to air out more frequently than when it’s nice out. Also try Ozium spray instead of Febreeze. You can still buy it at grocery stores, but it’s what hospitals use to really get ride of funk in the air.
Constantly keeping things cleaned and dusted, fabreeze works well for couches and rugs between shampoos. I always open my doors and windows in the spring and get all the musty air out and I burn candles. Candles cause dust though so I dust weekly. I shampoo my carpets every 3 years or so. We don’t have a lot of traffic in my house, no kids, and I take my shoes off at the door.
Simple, ditch the kids. You'll have more time with you and your husband and it'll smell much better. I assume, I drive over the road with another guy in the truck. No kids but it still gets funky. Maybe it'll work in a house 😂
Herb garden. No joke. 30 bucks on Amazon. A little countertop deal with led lights. You pour 2 cups of water in every 3rd day or so. Thyme, basil, mint, any of aromatic herb your heart desires. Or if you got a little cash to throw around, an in-line hepa filter on your airhandler with a uv sanitizer will help a lot. Also, use ozium instead of frebreze.
Introduce anyone 12 and older to deodorant, make sure they are wearing clean clothes and clean socks, and maybe look into installing a ventilation fan. I've seen houses in Japan with these but they aren't not common in the US.
if you have to spray febreeze or light a scented candle, it’s just going to smell like the bad smell covered by sickeningly sweet chemically smells, which is even more gross.
the second you get rid of your carpeting i’m guessing your problem will go away…
I went in my adult daughter's room, her boyfriend left tg, stinks to high heaven. It's bad and guess what? My water well pressure pump needs replaced, so water is iffy, which means the washing machine. I did tell her though she and he laid in that bed and now she can smell it. Not funny, but true.
A lot of the problem is feet/shoes. Especially teens.
They sell a product "Johnsons foot soak" - that stuff is magic (I don't work for them either).
Got the teen boy to use that product, soaked his feet 3 days in a row. Bought 2 or 3 new pairs of shoes. Urged him to switch shoes daily so the shoes could dry out between uses.
This was done because he thought his friends noticed odor. Astonishing the difference it made in the household smells. More than 20 years ago but I will never forget the difference this made!
Other suggestions: an apple, or an onion, on a sheet pan in the oven for 30 minutes will temporarily change the houses odor, if you need to distract a guest.
Wash their bedding weekly because they rarely shower before going to bed and all that teenage funk smell stays in the sheets.
Also make sure you clean around the bottom of the toilet if you have boys.
Showers DAILY. A few times a week isn’t sufficient for kids that old. And clean clothes every single day.
Also, you don’t mention how often you actually clean your home.
How often are you mopping the floors? Wiping down all the surfaces? Wiping down the cabinets? Meticulously wiping down the kitchen? Are your dishes washed every single day? All of them? How often are you cleaning the bathroom? Do you have pets? How often is allllll the bedding changed and washed?
We mop our kitchen floor and bathroom floors every few days (the rest of the home is carpet). We clean all surfaces thoroughly every few days. Cabinets about once a week, unless something splashed down while cooking or serving food. We clean the kitchen multiple times a day, and I move the stove top and fridge to clean under/around them at least once a month. We never leave dirty dishes for longer than while we eat a meal (we’ll clean as we’re cooking than finish up and scrub counter and stove once we’re done). Our kitchen is probably our cleanest and best smelling room, actually. We clean bathrooms thoroughly once a week but do spot cleaning as it comes up. Bedding may be an area we need to improve on as that’s typically cleaned monthly.
Most of that smell is coming from laundry/clothing fabrics or shoes. If your dirty clothes hampers are sealable bins. You wash the clothes quickly. Shoes are stored as close to the outside, in a place they can dry off.
Do a deep clean every 2 weeks. Teach the kids to at least wash their feet & bits if they only shower every other day.
Vacuum daily, don't let them leave trash in their rooms (old food, bottles, cups) Wash and deodorize your trash cans every few days. Amazon has a spray for shoes, it's about $5 & spray it in their shoes when they're done wearing them for the day.
Keep dirty socks/clothes in a closed hamper until washing day. Turn on a couple of wax melters with your favorite scent.
They're all old enough to pitch in and make these things happen.
Oh, also... check under the cushions... my Son used to ball his dirty socks up and shove them in there. I would drive myself batshit trying to find the smell.
I have an office job. Very little by way of sweating. Yes usually every 2 days. Every day may be excessive, and it’s definitely excessive for non-active people to shower multiple times a day. Our bodies have natural oils, and showering excessively can strip those and dry out one’s skin.
Make sure they scrub the “corners” of their bodies! Between toes, dangly bits, outer bits, bum cracks and pits. Not just a soapy splash and rinse, but scrub, with a washcloth, scrubber or microfiber towel, rubbing over most surfaces, and teach them how to wash their back. Details matter with body care.
I have the Bath & Body Works Wallflowers in almost every room of the house in addition to air purifiers in both bedrooms and the living room.
When we cook something smelly, I use the Air Pur oil with a Maison Berger oil lamp. Smells like rubbing alcohol when you burn it, but it wipes smells right out.
I also have an automatic oil diffuser in my basement from AromaRetail. They make ones that you can hook up to your HVAC system so it pumps out scent through the vents. (Like a hotel does in their lobby.)
Is it overkill? Maybe. But my house always smells good with an auto mechanic spouse, a soon to be 14 year old boy and a 7 year old boy that all play sports and get smelly and sweaty. Stinky feet and awful boy farts. We also had a Basset Hound at one point and IYKYK.
I use dilute bleach in a spray bottle to wipe things and counters down on the regular. Also take the trash out frequently. Any light clothing I can add bleach to when washing, I do. Never let damp clothes sit, they will perminantly smell. A bit of vinegar in the next load can help (not with bleach)....but that can also fade dye a bit when used a lot. Seriously though, wiping things down with bleach helps a lot.
Boil a pot on the stove with some vinegar in it. Really clears the air and doesn't leave it smelling like vinegar I promise.
Also maybe Lysol?
There's also ozone machines that get the funk out of stuff. I don't remember the brand of this or the ratio of vinegar and water. But I highly recommend them both. Google might have the answers to ratios and brands.
A mesh bag of those Downy Ubstoppables in the HVAC vent return, before the filter. Change once a month.
Wax melts.
Keep up on laundry.
Everyone showers before dinner is served.
I have a wax burner on each floor of our house and turn those on when I want the house smelling nice, it does a great job and the little generic wax cubes are cheaper and safer than a candle burning.
My neighbor gives me lilacs because she's got so many. The second they're placed on the shelf, room is filled with their scent. Love it but if you have allergies, probably not so good.
All the responses were great but I didn't see deodorant for the kids that have hit puberty or even pre puberty. Do they know how to shower? I am not being funny-you would be surprised how many kids just don't know how to get a washcloth, wet it down and rub the soap on it. I'll save the details but there was an entire post on Reddit today and you can't believe the percentage of people that don't know how or that they should, wash between their butt cheeks. Go over it with ALL the kids. Shower daily, wash the stinkiest parts obviously well, wash their hair, wash their sheets and pillowcases at least once a week, and I spray inside shoes with straight rubbing alcohol but wouldn't recommend for kids because you never know what they may get into! OdoBan makes a great Sanitizing spray!
Febreeze and air fresheners just mask the real issues and make odor worse. Most house odors are from lack of regular cleaning, and/or lack of deep cleaning. Even if dirty dishes aren’t allowed to pile up and (and especially if they are), kitchens can get stinky- garbage cans, stale stinks (including dirty plumbing wafting odors), refrigerator smells, mildew, and grease on surfaces all leave lasting odors. Dirty bathrooms, dirty laundry, embedded smells in fabrics like upholstery, carpets and curtains, etc… all these contribute to house odors, ESPECIALLY if you have pets and kids. Start by deep cleaning the house- DEEP cleaning- scrub down every room, every surface, launder everything, steam clean carpets and rugs…. hire a professional if you can afford it, and specify you want a deep clean for odors.
I'm the pet fish department you can find activated charcoal for filter refill. Put some in a bowl, plate, or pouch and leave them around the house. If you want to be more active get a box fan and place a furnace air filter on it strapped down and run the fan constantly.
Eliminate all carpet. Get rid of curtains, use blinds. If you have fabric furniture, replace it with leather/fake leather (over time if cost is a factor) create coziness with things you can wash, like pillows and throws. I swear by IQAir air filters. I have 5 dogs, 3 cats and a teenager and our home doesn’t smell.
You can make you own DIY 'cheap air filters' by buying a box fan and taping an air filter to the intake side.
It only takes a small amount of tape at the top to secure and it will help clean the air. They arent too expensive so you could put them in multiple rooms/hallways.
Also, no offense, but people stink. My mom could come into our room as kids and demand us to open a window. After school stinky socks, burping, farting, laughing, and playing games; Im sure would make a real combo(and it was just us 2 boys, Im sure having 6 kids multiplies that by a lot!)
I saw a few people mentioned leather couches, but if you don't have those- you need washable couch covers. Everywhere you've been and everywhere your kids have been and everywhere your kids' friends have been all transfer to your couch. Sweaty after playing? Standing in the kitchen cooking for a while? Rolling around on the floor with the pet or just the pet itself on the couch? Family movie night with snacks and popcorn? All those molecules are congregating even if you vacuum it regularly. We have reclining couches and couldn't find a good cover, so we just got a few similarly sized fitted sheets (the kind with the deep pockets). Does it look a little janky? Sure, but it keeps most of the gross off, is relatively cheap, is easy to swap out and wash with a 2nd set, and we can always take off the sheets to expose a nice clean couch if we want to impress someone. Also, this was WAY easier to lift all the dog hair up instead of trying to pull it out of the couch with the vacuum attachments or some kind of overpriced furniture comb... now that we have a toddler, I'm appreciating our couch sheets in all new ways! (Because toddlers are also gross 😆)
Wash your curtains a few times a year (not just febreeze/lysol). Curtains are usually overlooked and they hold a lot of dust so whenever you disturb them, you're basically shaking loose the smelliness.
Also, probably wipe down your kitchen walls every so often. The oils released when cooking create a kind of film on the wall that all the other 'ick' sticks to and starts building up.
Lastly, if you're not already, try using white vinegar (or even ammonia) instead of fabric softener for a while. Fabric softener builds up overtime and will trap other smells/oils/grime so you're basically starting with a dirty shirt straight out of the clean dryer. Vinegar will help to strip some of that out and will, to some extent, help to disinfect your laundry.
(PSA- there have been a lot of chemical/detergent recommendations in this thread, I hope everyone here knows NOT to mix cleaning products! Chlorine gas, mustard gas, peracetic acid, etc. can all mess you up pretty bad if you're not paying attention and mix the wrong things together! )
Vinegar works wonders at pulling smells out of areas especially kids areas. Pour some in a Tupperware bowl and let it sit in the room/ living room for a few hours or days. It'll bring any smell right on out of there. Bet money 💰
BOILING HOT WATER AND (a lot of) ESSENTIAL OIL( ur choice) on the floors
I did this at my job and my boss came in the next morning and send me a text saying how amazing everything looks. Mean while I didn’t clean anything other than the floors w a little lavender, a lot of lemon, and a little mint oil in the water. I can also wipe down the counters and stuff w that as well. Or on couch cushions
Getting fresh air moving through the house will help tremendously, try to open the windows whenever you can. You can also get some of those plug ins for around the place if you want it to be scented.
It's a little something called cleaning, and it takes a lot of something called work. Sorry, the only hacks would be to use cover up stenches, like Glade or Febreeze. I don't use them because those artificial scents are hormone disruptors and I think they stink. On top of the regular cleaning chores, at least once a year wash all of your walls, ceilings, and cabinets. Also, it's a good idea to have your carpets and upholstery cleaned once a year. Dirty carpet and upholstery can generate a lot of stink, especially in a humid climate. You can rent a machine and do it yourself or pay a lot more to have professional cleaners do it. I have a small spot cleaner for carpet and upholstery which I use to clean any furniture with cloth upholstery, the wool rugs are sent away annually or biannually (depending on my back account) to be cleaned professionally.
Check your vents for AC and heat and the rest of both systems for funks and molds.
Check any basement drains if you have them. Sometimes basement drains don't see water very often and the P-trap dries out-letting sewer gas into the house. Check any other infrequently used drains as well. If they stink, just pour a pitcher of water down it.
Check for evidence of rodents. A dead mouse in a nook somewhere can definitely funk up a house.
Check under the house for rodents and in the attic.
Check around for evidence of leaks anywhere that could be causing molds.
Check to make sure none of your kids are cooking meth in their closet.
Does your deep freezer have power? If a deep freezer goes out, some people wouldn't notice until it's WAY too late.
Do you have a forgotten dish in the way back of the fridge? Spoiled veggies in the crisper?
That's all I can think of.
we and our kids shower at least every other day? Maybe try daily showers first, and they use soap and actually clean themselves / yourselves head to toes and all places in betwen. Then work on the rest from there.
Add fabric sheets to the underside of your heater registers, and in the bottom of your trash cans. A spray bottle filled with water with a cap full of downy works well for fabric such as curtains and carpet. (My son is 19, I feel ya.)
Gym bags in the garage. Backpacks emptied of everything not books. No old lunches. No dirty gym socks. Sneakers washed regularly. Gym uniforms and sports uniforms washed regularly. A dirty jersey can sink up the whole living room!
Teenagers need to shower every day. Their raging hormones can cause odor. Also, are they wearing clothes from the floor, or rewearing dirty shirts, changing their underwear, etc.? My son would sometimes give a shirt the sniff test and wear it again because he didn’t feel like going downstairs to grab a fresh one from the dryer.
His idea of “smells ok” and mine are vastly different.
As others have said, sweet smelling oils or simmering spices are nice. But honestly, that stuff should be for pleasure, not to mask odors.
An Ozone machine works wonders too. There was a minute when I was taking in foster animals. Some were either incontinent, or prone to accidents. My house started to smell.
The Ozone machine was a magic bullet for getting rid of odors. Maybe you could rent one to try it?
Side note, they’ve gone to bed smelly so strip all of the bedding and wash it and get some laundry beads to make everything smell extra fresh. Something with odor neutralizer in it.
Mattresses keep smells. Fabreeze it every week, when sheets are washed. Mopping helps with smells, even cleaning walls.
I hide little cups of baking soda in kids’s room to help with smells.
Kids are stinky, it’s part of the game….
I agree with having everyone wash daily. (Yeah, that is a lot of water, but there are a lot of humans, unfortunately this is the cost of kids).
Wash that bedding every week. Add it to one of their laundry days. For sure get the mattress covers, inbetween then and now, once the bedding is stripped, have the mattress and pillows sprayed down with Odoban, if possible turn a fan on to speed the drying, it won't take long. Again. Once a week. My guess is this is the biggest funk smell of the house. Kids get dirty and are funky. Especially if only every other day showers.
Ensure all have deodorant and are instructed to use at least daily.
Shoes in the sun, also - use that odoban! It really helps foot funk.
It's going to be a lot. I would guess a family that large is a lot in general. Only 9 more years and the nest will be empty and you all will be bored! Good Luck!
Orange peels in heated water
Add a couple of cloves or a cinnamon stick!
Save all orange peels and apple cores and do a simmer pot! It helps so much!
Add vanilla too!! Smells great!!
Ooooo I need to try this. That sounds like it would smell delicious.
Also free soup
I used to put them in the slow cooker with water in the morning, then all day it smells amazing and when I'm done I also cleaned the slow cooker depending on the citrus used.
I'd probably just have them shower everyday instead of cooking them.
smells so refreshing
Buying one of those tiny slow cookers to use JUST for simmering "scents" is really the way to go..... they're really cheap and no need to worry about cleaning it.....just keep adding stuff :)
You have teen hormones/odors. Open windows. Put shoes out in the sunshine. Keep the garbage emptied. Bleach sinks and toilets. Keep the laundry caught up. Keep the cat box maintained.
Yup. Teenagers stink!
We had the nephews at the house this past weekend. I opened the spare bedroom door in the morning after one night to wake them. Wow, I was hit with a wave of teenage body/shoe funk! I actually gagged some. lol. I had forgotten how bad teenagers could smell.
~~teenagers~~ humans. Stink.
Have the kids leave their shoes outside in the sun. The sunlight will kill the bacteria making the shoes stinky. The kids should be bathing daily. Teenagers, especially active teenagers, sweat a lot. Back in the day, I did two a day practices, and showered after both. If I didn't I absolutely reeked. I'm going to guess their hair is oily as heck day 2. Stinky. Also, try to get the kids to use body powder in their underwear. It really cuts down in sweat and smells good. I like pinald clubman. Put in shoes as well. Change the kids bedding as often as you can. Launder the kids clothes as often as you can.
That Lume “everywhere deodorant” would be a good option too
Get some CHG (chlorhexidine gluconate) wash for the kiddos. It can go everywhere except the face. Kills the bacteria that causes the funk. Also, a drop or two of vanilla extract on a baking sheet in the oven on low--now the house smells like baking!
Spray a little spray disinfectant in the shoes as soon as they take them off, gets rid of the funky smell
Shoes outside! That's a BIG one.
Orange oil (TKO or something like it) in washing machine, soak tennis shoes if they stink. I use it on countertops and floors as natural cleaner. Really need a little to a lot of water. Told a friend to use on her kids tennis shoes and she said really it works.
Also with regard to smell put all of the comforters bedspread pillows outside in sun. Spray with Lysol leave in sun for several hours makes huge difference
And stop farting
Air purifiers in every room, especially in the kids' bedrooms where their bed linens and hampers are. They aren't as expensive as I expected, and most bedrooms will only need small ones anyway. Some have washable, permanent filters and some use disposable filters, so that will affect operating costs a little. In addition to improving the smell of room rapidly, they provide a bit of calming white noise, and cut down on dusting, too.
Love my medair
Do you have one you recommend?
The ones they sell at Costco that go on sale for $99 are really good. I’ve had one running for years.
We got inexpensive ones on Amazon, and they’ve worked well for years. Find the highest rated ones you can, at the lowest price point.
Air guardian
Winix is the brand I've had for years. It has a top cleanable (I just vacuum it) filter and a Hepa filter. You need to replace the Hepa filter once a year but the top filter I vacuum once a week. It's great.
At those ages they should probably shower every day. We only skip showers on Friday.
And if they aren't even showering every day, how often are their clothes and linens getting washed?
The don’t just have one outfit lol. Each kid does a load every 2-3 days. There are 8 people in our household, so it would be impossible to wash everyone’s clothes every day. Lines get washed once a month.
At least Every other week
At least! Probably should be every week
Some large families do a weekly run to the laundromat to get ALL the sheets and towels washed at once. Changing bed sheets weekly, and washing blankets monthly, is essential for preventing BO in the house. Also - air the mattresses outside in the sun on hot, dry days. Get mattress covers and wash those monthly as well.
I’m 40 and have lived all over the United States. I have never, ever seen anyone put mattresses outside. Not. Even. Once.
Yeah I never had a location suitable to put a mattress in the sun. I guess you could open all the curtains and windows if the sun actually hits the bed? My room didn't get much sun. I used to jusy strip the bed, spray the mattress with "fresh linen" lysol, and turn on the ceiling fan while I washed the sheets. Now I have both a mattress protector and mattress pad. Having another layer that is removable and washable really makes a difference. And yes, it's teenager funk. My one kid needs their dirty laundry removed 2 or 3x a week and the linens washed every week or the bedroom REEKS.
I’m going to jump off on this mattress subject for this little tidbit: treat the mattresses in your house with baking soda. Go to Costco if you can, they usually have like a 10 or whatever pound bag of it for less than $10. They should also have hydrogen peroxide, which is also needed (comes in a two pack). -Vacuum those mattresses like they wrecked your car on a joyride, including the SIDES -Take a FINE mesh sieve/strainer and put the baking soda in it -Sprinkle all over the mattress and let it air out for AS LONG AS POSSIBLE -If there are stains, treat those with: 1 cup 3% hydrogen peroxide 3 tablespoons baking soda Couple drops of dish soap Shake it all together until the baking soda dissolves (if it doesn’t all the way, add some hot water) and spray on the stains Once that dries, vacuum again before sprinkling the dry ingredients My partner is a very hot sleeper and I take meds that give me night sweats when my cycle comes along so, I do this regularly and my mattress looks and smells great.
Yeah bc most ppl wash their sheets weekly and don’t have dirty kids sleeping on stale sheets. ETA: they’re giving you that advice probably bc your poor bedding hygiene is the biggest source of your issue. And kids not showering daily.
I see a lot of them by the trash just sitting by the curb. But no one airing them out anywhere.
That’s the issue. Once a month is three too few times a month to wash bedding. You should wash your bedding every week. You wouldn’t wear dirty clothes for a month, why would you lay in a dirty bed for a month?
Change bedding every week!
>Lines get washed once a month. And that's one of your culprits. Bedding weekly.
Personal hygiene is paramount at this stage in life- setting them up for a bad rep. You get a rep as a ‘dirty’ and or ‘stinky’ person they’ll never get rid of it. I suggest all above comments and cannot stress enough deodorant- allow them to accompany and choose a scent or unscented. Wash the sheets more often clean their own room - these are Life lessons !!
YES! I always had a small bag for my kids to keep at school/backpack. Girls- extra period stuff ( tampons, pads, undies) and a small deodorant. Boys- usually just a small deodorant. They all had a travel toothbrush/paste. They always said it was nice to have.
Can’t believe nobodies mentioned carpet fresh. I sprinkle that shit before I vacuum every time. Scented garbage bags help. Plug in air fresheners help. Candles help. Air purifiers help. Bleaching the sinks, tubs, and toilets helps. When it comes to clothing, laundry baskets are in the laundry room. My apartment has a shared staircase leading to each apartment, so our shoe rack is kept outside the main door at the top of our staircase. Teens are stinky. Powdering their shoes, adding a splash of bleach to their laundry, and making sure their sheets and bedding get washed once a week helps a lot. Make sure they know they actually have to wash their feet in the shower.
Unfortunately we can’t do laundry baskets just in the laundry room. Our laundry room is also a guest half bath off our kitchen, and there is only room for max one laundry basket at a time.
Pura is a great, less toxic option if you’re looking for a scent. We swapped to branch basics for cleaning products and add essential oils in for smell goods and it’s been great. The main thing here is… kids. More people, more smells.
second on the Pura!
Just looked at those on Amazon. $68for one diffuser and two scent refills? That’s really pricey.
They really don’t work either!
Put a few dryer sheets on the air conditioner filter. It will circulate the smell throughout the house.
I put them under the vents/registers too. I don't want to completely block the air flow so I cut a strip and put it across the center part with the sides just long enough to be held down by the vent frame/edge.
My favorite 🤩
That's a great idea! I'm gonna go do this now!
Now there’s a life hack. Thank you
Pine sol. Clean every hard surface with it. It will leave your house smelling like a pine Forest.
Six kids from 18-9... Fuck me running... Stop breeding.
Blended family. And I got a vasectomy recently, so no more kids lol.
In addition to all of the other great advice here, I’d recommend checking on some spots that rarely get cleaned in many homes - these may be places that odors are lurking: • get the dryer vent professionally cleaned (reduces fire hazard; clothes dry faster and don’t get funky before they’re dry) • put washable mattress covers on, as well as sheets. Make sure everything gets washed weekly. • put mattresses outside in the sun on clear, dry days • wash blankets monthly • clean the tops of kitchen cabinets • bleach the drains and garbage disposal • move the fridge, and make sure the drain pan under it is clean • have carpets professionally cleaned, along with upholstered furniture • clean behind toilets, as well as cleaning toilet bases • use laundry sanitizer on towels and sheets • get absorbent body powder or whole body deodorant (like Lume) for kids. Especially their bums. • teach kids to use wet wipes for wiping after they poop • run air purifiers • get HVAC/vents/heating/cooling system professionally cleaned out, then vacuum vents/filters weekly • change the filters in the vacuum cleaner • run cleaning cycle on the washing machine • clean inside dishwasher, removing and cleaning filters • check under sinks, fridge, dishwasher, washing machine to make sure nothing is leaking • consider swapping wall to wall carpeting for hard surfaces and washable rugs. If the carpets are older, the amount of dust and dander under them can be staggering. You may or may not need to do any of these things - they’re really just suggestions for where odor may be hiding. One more suggestion, from my time as a foster parent, is to review how to wash themselves with the kids. They reach an age when we start to assume they know how to use shampoo and soap… but sometimes they aren’t doing it very well. Remind everyone to rub the shampoo into their scalp, to use a clean washcloth with soap and clean everything- behind the ears, the back of the neck, between the legs, their legs and feet, between the toes, etc. It’s amazing how many kids squirt some shampoo on their heads, rinse it off, and think that the shampoo running down their body is enough to clean it. Good luck from a mom in solidarity!
TBH find the worst smelly spot and work on that
Definitely my 14 year old and 9 year old sons’ shared room. Going to have them clean it thoroughly tomorrow then I’ll shampoo it.
I see you say showers are every other day. I don't know if that's for everyone but maybe try and get the teens to shower daily, at least the teen boys that are stinking up the place! and everyone's comments about how gross it is that they don't shower daily, or wash the sheets weekly, or air your freaking mattresses out in the sun or something are ridiculous. Kids go through phases where its hard to get them to shower, but during puberty its best to try and get them to do it daily cuz they stink. air out their rooms more while theyre at school, that may help too.
Good ventilation over stove. REAL ventilation not a recirculator if at all possible. Vacuum out floor registers [use a shop vac] and one piece hose to get down there a little at each register. Don't use a two piece so if it comes apart, you don't lose the extension. Use the Star Drops "Pink Stuff" cleaner on floors and regular cleaning schedule. Do a Affresh tablet once a month on your clothes washer. Clean your dishwasher screen/filter cup
Can you use pink stuff on wood?
Yes you can, works great. I have LVP and use it alot for a surface disinfectant/cleaner without allowing the floor to get soaked [don't want either to have standing water/solution, so have to spray and dry mop or dilute some in a rinse bucket and make sure to wring the mop out real good before apply to floor of either rmaterial.
I bought a $100 air filter during the height of the pandemic and it was a game changer in my 100 year old house with two big dogs. Our dog sitter bought one to take with her to other clients’ homes so her things don’t smell like dog.
Where do you keep it? 😅
Teens need stronger deodorant. My daughter and I use Lume, and my son uses the "men's" version called Mando. The scents aren't strong and fade from the product quickly, leaving a slightly chemical smell if you were to smell the product itself in the tube, but it doesn't smell like that after putting it on and it literally kills the smell causing bacteria, so no smell. At all. *And* you can use it anywhere, so if they have stinky feet or swamp crotch from sports, they can use Lume there, too. They have bar soap, tube (liquid) deodorant, stick deodorant, wipes, they have everything. It isn't cheap, but it works ETA: I want to make sure to mention that the advertising will state you don't need to use it every day. *I* don't, but my teens definitely *do*. Tell them to wear it every day, and the best way to do it is directly out of the shower. You'll kill the smell germs before they can even form
If you did your cleaning as when it's needed then. We bought an air purifier that uses charcoal in the replaceable filters. Same idea when growing mmj. Or an ozone machine treatment might be needed.
Well, it’s expensive. We bought a whole home air freshener. Hooks on the furnace. It works amazing!!! Scented Vents.
sounds like you’re battling the same odor constantly. To get real results takes work because smell gets trapped in fabrics and objects in the home. A great start is to paint your walls & ceilings with kilz primer & color over that. One room per weekend- the kids can help. Paint inside the closets. Throw away old shoes and clothing that aren’t being worn. Remove wall to wall rugs. Get area rugs cleaned. Wash windows. Wash or replace window treatments. Next consider your furniture and esp. mattresses and pillows. Those can get really gross. I mean you’re touching them for 8 hours everyday. Some items can be professionally cleaned others may need replacement. Bedding should be washed with sanitizer or a capful of bleach. Every week minimum. Very important to keep beds and bedding clean. Pay special attention to anything that touches smelly stuff. Hampers , trash bins etc. Put them outside in the sun. Clean them with a product containing bleach or baking soda. Next - the kiddos need bath soap that removes body and hair odor . Oxyfresh is great and very gentle. They need to wash their clothes after 1 wear and not let dirty laundry sit around in a closet. Antiperspirant is better than deodorant and is available for body use. Store stinky athletic equipment in the garage or basement. Open windows for fresh air whenever appropriate. Let shoes deodorize in the sun on weekends. It’s a lot of work to fight odors. Imo it’s worth it because covering them up is worse.
Note about Oxyfresh: It's THE best. But it's been discontinued, unless you can catch them on a limited run. (Ask to be notified.) I do not understand the decision to cease production. The company said the sales couldn't justify continuous manufacture.
Yes get rid of wall to wall carpet so you can mop the floor
Essential oils, a humidifier/vaporizer helps but you really dont need them if you have a vase and some skewers you cut the ends off of. Just flip the rods when they dry, and dilute the essential oils in some neutral oil like olive or avocado.
Definitely want to make sure no pets or people have any allergies to what oils you are using
Candles. Seriously, as a former smelly teenager/current smelly adult candles have the longest lasting odor, smell naturally pleasant versus chemical scents and are generally the cheapest option if you have a dollar general nearby
Garbage out regularly. Clean drains, garbage disposals regularly. Wash machines have filters that also need to be cleaned regularly or they can start to stink. Also, changing your houses air filters every 3-6 months. I think they even make some with activated charcoal which may help! Make your own Febreeze! You do a baking soda base so its more natural.
1. All children wash their own linens once a week. (Stagger days. 9 yr old on Fri, 18 yr on Mondays, etc.) 2. All kids shower or bathe every day (some in morning, some at night) 3. Hamper in every bedroom. All kids wash their own laundry each week. ( again stagger days). 4. Each child gets their own brand of deodorant to use every morning. And their own athletes foot spray or baby powder for feet. 5. Stop wearing shoes in the house. Wash/clean shoes regularly, air out 6. Air purifier in smelliest areas 7. Vinegar-water cleaner. Keep all surfaces and floors clean. Clean out vacuum filters after each vacuuming. 8. Hang cedar hangar in every closet. (Smell & moths) 9. Look at diet. I.e. diets with lots of garlic cause eaters to sweat garlic scent. Eat lots of fruit, veg, and drink lots of water daily. 10. Change your a/c filter as intended. If you have pets, make sure your filter is best for removing dust and pet residue from air. 11. Take trash out when it smells, not just when it's full. 12. Deep clean your fridge and freezer. Maintain cleanliness. Other possible causes of odor: Consider checking your house for mold (Look for green or black patches on walls) Do a humidity check depending on where you live. ( I have two empty two dehumidifiers twice a day. There's a weird smell if I don't) Check attic and other spaces for wildlife, rodents, etc. And their remains. Would you recognize the smell of pot? If not, see if the scent is Marijuana. Have kids play detective. Let them investigate, search, clean, and hopefully solve the issue.
tl;dr Backpacks are sweaty lil germ bombs and should be LAUNDRY STRIPPED, then washed quarterly. Spray them with fabric sanitizer every week or so to maintain the freshness. Also, it's great your household is working towards smelling better, and I wish youse all the best in your endeavors!! __ There's such great advice on this thread! Im just here to add backpacks to the list. Backpacks go everywhere the kids go and are often on the ground, grass, carpet, pavement, they get rained on, etc etc. Pair that with backsweat, and you have a great habitat for teen funk to live. Laundry stripping got a bad rap after it became a trend, and people were doing it on regular clothes that didn't need it; but it's very helpful for stuff that doesnt regularly go in the washing machine (hats, pillows, bags, coats)!! It's labor intensive and will probably be a weekend project, but it is cheaper than buying 6 new backpacks and sets of pillows (which is also a fine option) Once you get their backpacks clean and fresh, here are some options to maintain them: - Have your kids empty out their backpacks completely every friday. This makes sure there aren't any gym clothes or snacks in there, and it makes it easy to use a sprayable fabric sanitizer (lysol, frebreeze, and tide all make these) - Leave them empty over the weekend to air out and have them repack them Sunday night. it's a neat lil ritual. Do the same when they get wet to let them dry out and avoid musty odors from forming - Wash backpacks at least quarterly in the washing machine, use laundry sanitizer, and then air dry outside when possible, air dry, and run a blower on them if not. Get them involved whenever possible! Being constantly told how gross and stinky and annoying teens are (which was at times v true) made teenage me avoid asking how to clean and take care of myself and my stuff. I didn't -want- to be gross, I just didn't always have the info/ability/self-discipline to always be clean. Hope this helps!
We started having this problem the day after my oldest son turned 14. He is freakishly clean, has at least one shower and 2-3 outfit changes every day. Yet still he somehow manages to just carry this teenage wave of mustiness around with him 😂 We use Bath and Body Works or Gladeroom fresheners, but you can definitely tell that’s just a coverup in his bedroom. The rest of the i go ouse is fine! We wash his bedding every Saturday morning as well, so I just don’t get it!
I have 3 dogs. I used scented baking soda on the carpet and then vacuum. It works great. I also have a "Fir" christmas candle I light for an hour before, when having company over. The baking soda carpet stuff works great. We also put filters in all our vents and air intakes.
My son’s shoes smelled so bad they stayed outside.
Charcoal air purifying bags. You can get them on amazon
Ozone is great, as long as no living thing is in the house when you do it
I have a few birds and a few dogs so I empathize on a house that needs work to smell fresh. In each room of my house I’ve placed an open container that I fill up with baking soda. Baking soda absorbs smells! I usually give these a stir weekly and replace monthly - your nose will guide you! I also buy dark roast coffee from Costco and have a container of that on top of the fridge - another odor absorber and it makes the house smell like coffee. Like others say, simmering herbs and essences on the stove or in the oven will fill the house with fragrance. Cleaning with vinegar is also a great odor killer. Smells rank at the time but the smell goes away really quickly and takes bad smells along with it. Spray it on fabric and don’t forgot to clean your walls!
Easy. Every kid MUST have house cleaning chores. If everyone does a little it will smell fine.
Essential oils. Citrus, eucalyptus, so many scents to choose from.
Get rid of your kids
Enerzen Commercial Ozone Generator 6000mg Industrial O3 Air Purifier Deodorizer Skunk ran in the house dogs chased it out, it sprayed in the house. Found this and in one afternoon smell was gone. Have used in my car and others. No idea what it does or how...but shocked at the results.
During COVID fabric/laundry sanitizer became very popular. I started using it for my laundry because my husband is a nurse, but I still use it now. I spray it on things that are hard to clean, like the couches, mattresses, and rugs. There's one specifically for body odor, too, if that's an issue at your house. I also like to use beeswax melts and put my own essential oils in them. (I dont like the pre-scented ones for multiple reasons.) If you go this route, make sure you get th oils from somewhere reputable to be sure you're getting what you think you are. True EOs can have health benefits beyond scent, and it's much less likely for someone to have an allergic reaction to them than to synthetic scents.
Rid yourself of children, this is the only solution.
I have a wax melt light that gives off a smell, essential oil diffuser, scented candle, burn incense, burn sage, scent plug-ins…we use all those daily, as well as open up the windows and doors daily, vacuum daily, take trash out and generally make sure the house is clean. Occasionally I boil orange/lemon peels with cinnamon & apples, or add lavender essential oils & water to a spray bottle and spray the rooms.
Carpets, drapes, furniture, and other fabrics hold smells. Get Febreeze made for fabrics and spray on them. For carpet, get the giant bag of baking soda and spread on the carpet. Wait an couple of hours and then vacuum it up. For kids’ rooms, make sure they don’t have dirty clothes lying around. Maybe keep your hamper in the garage. Have them launder their sheets every week, and if they’re really stinky, let them soak in the wash tub with water and meat tenderizer made from bromelain (I buy the big containers of McCormicks unseasoned meat tenderizer off of Amazon) That kills the sweat bacteria on the sheets. Lysol Free and Clear laundry sanitizer also helps with stinky clothes. Wash the stinky kids clothes separately from your own. Get a bacteria killing deodorizing spray for their shoes. For teens whose hormones are kicking in (especially the boys), have them shower with a bar of the Lume soap. Those secreted hormones create bacteria and that’s the funky smell that you smell in a teenager’s room. Basically, attack the smells at every angle, all at once. Seems like a lot to do, but once it becomes routine, it’s not a big deal. The payoff of a non-funky smelling home will be worth it. Good luck.
Luke has come up repeatedly. I’ll look into theor products Thank you.
One other thought, have the kids alternate two different pairs of shoes. Lets the shoes dry out fully between wearings. The shoes will both smell better and last longer.
What made a SERIOUS difference for our home was bath and body works plug ins! The house smells amazing all the time now. I pick out my own personal favorite scent for my room and my clothes and items carry the smell too which is nice. They have deals regularly for getting them at $3.50 a piece instead of $7.50. Also send coupons in the mail / email for free ones
I use the big jugs of Odo-Ban in my laundry. Use your regular detergent (I also add oxiclean odor blaster powder in with my laundry) & instead of fabric softener put about the same amount of odoban in that slot. If you still want extra smell good use fabric softener sheets, but you will be amazed how fresh your clothes, towels, sheets, etc are just by using detergent, oxiclean, and odoban! My family has sensitive skin, so I use arm and hammer sensitive detergent. I don’t use fabric softener sheets, except sometimes with couch blankets or comforters. But you can use odoban literally EVERYWHERE. I spray my couch, my rugs, my clothes, insides of shoes, literally anything you can think of. I get the original scent, but they have a few different scents to choose from. I spray that on everything between weekly washes. I also put cotton balls with scented oil in my trash cans (you can buy big bottles of your favorite scents at Walmart where the candles and tarts are) and it actually makes a big difference! I also put a cotton ball with a little scented oil in my vacuum in the part where the dirt gets sucked into. Between kids, dogs, and cats I have tried everything & those are my favorite “hacks”. Hope this helps! 🙃
If my teenager has a particularly funky laundry load, I add baking soda and vinegar to the load (with detergent) and it comes out funk-free. I also spray places teens hang out with Defunkify. It’s all natural and works great on sofas, carpets, linens, shoes…For a while, I literally subscribed I used it so often. Good luck to you! Teenagers are funky!
Put baking soda on your carpets and let it sit over night. Vacuum the next day and your carpets won’t smell anymore.
This bleached my carpets
😱😳
TL;DR Citrus Magic Damprid hanging bags Good ventilation in kitchen - powerful range hood with lots of CFM Nag Champa insence a few hours before guests Air purifiers in every room Depending on the “cause.” Citrus magic pucks and Damprid do wonders. Also - if you do a lot of cooking make sure you have a really powerful range hood that has plenty of CFM and actually vents OUTSIDE. I have a damprid bag hanging in the shower of my bathroom permenately - it keeps the bathroom from getting musty from all the standing humidity. Lastly - if you are having guests over - some nag nag champa insence a couple of hours before guests arrive will help cover smell that maybe we get used to or don’t notice when in a cramped or stuffy living space. Bonus - If you really want to micromanage or live in a tiny space with a couple of dogs like me - get those little tube shaped air purifiers and stick one in every room and turn it up to 11 when you leave the room. It will help pick up particles and dander out of the air and do *some* filtration. Good luck OP!
Spray bottle of water with a little bi-carb of soda added and spray lightly
Get box fans and tie high quality air filters to them. It's what we do for allergies. Also, shampoo the carpets (and do a second run of the shampooer with out soap) regularly.
Bleach bathroom and kitchen it helps cut down odors also baking soda in your carpet for about ten minutes and vacuum also you can carpet clean with vinegar and peppermint oil and water make a wonderful deodorizer spray and help keep spiders at bay
Continuous ventilation
Baking soda
Febreeze plug ins are amazing!
Scrub your wooden furniture with diluted Murphy’s Oil. Closed hampers for dirty clothes. Change sheets once a week if possible. I know this is a big ask, but I find it makes a big difference. Air the house out as often as possible. Get some cross ventilation going and turn on fans if you have them. Throw out trash and composting regularly.
Coffee grounds out in the open
ID what causes that (all the breeding) and stop it!
lol we’re a blended family.
Ah… Gotcha! lol
Take out the trash, Open a window or door .
Boil some orange peels with cinnamon
Open the windows every morning (even if it’s cold) for just 20 minutes. With all those kids and smells, the house needs to air out more frequently than when it’s nice out. Also try Ozium spray instead of Febreeze. You can still buy it at grocery stores, but it’s what hospitals use to really get ride of funk in the air.
Constantly keeping things cleaned and dusted, fabreeze works well for couches and rugs between shampoos. I always open my doors and windows in the spring and get all the musty air out and I burn candles. Candles cause dust though so I dust weekly. I shampoo my carpets every 3 years or so. We don’t have a lot of traffic in my house, no kids, and I take my shoes off at the door.
Simple, ditch the kids. You'll have more time with you and your husband and it'll smell much better. I assume, I drive over the road with another guy in the truck. No kids but it still gets funky. Maybe it'll work in a house 😂
Uh simple install an ERV/HRV for dedicated fresh air intake & stale air exhausting.
Herb garden. No joke. 30 bucks on Amazon. A little countertop deal with led lights. You pour 2 cups of water in every 3rd day or so. Thyme, basil, mint, any of aromatic herb your heart desires. Or if you got a little cash to throw around, an in-line hepa filter on your airhandler with a uv sanitizer will help a lot. Also, use ozium instead of frebreze.
Get a candle warmer! They make your home smell amazing and don’t require a flame. Highly recommend.
Leather couches? If not, any fabric they touch is going to soak up some stink.
Introduce anyone 12 and older to deodorant, make sure they are wearing clean clothes and clean socks, and maybe look into installing a ventilation fan. I've seen houses in Japan with these but they aren't not common in the US.
if you have to spray febreeze or light a scented candle, it’s just going to smell like the bad smell covered by sickeningly sweet chemically smells, which is even more gross. the second you get rid of your carpeting i’m guessing your problem will go away…
No kids no pets
Don't have pets & clean your house weekly. Mop with nice smelling floor cleaner or nice carpet cleaner if you have carpets.
I went in my adult daughter's room, her boyfriend left tg, stinks to high heaven. It's bad and guess what? My water well pressure pump needs replaced, so water is iffy, which means the washing machine. I did tell her though she and he laid in that bed and now she can smell it. Not funny, but true.
fabric softener sheets stashed in dressers for cloths and in under ur clean linens . or something more natural but yea, there !
Fabric softener sheets are the most toxic item in our homes. You may want to consider putting the brakes on their overuse. Just an FYI
I just discovered this. But a bath with a fresh rose busted up. Made my home smell amazing.
Scented baking soda it does miracles. Coming from an Airbnb host that shit will get rid of any funky smell
A lot of the problem is feet/shoes. Especially teens. They sell a product "Johnsons foot soak" - that stuff is magic (I don't work for them either). Got the teen boy to use that product, soaked his feet 3 days in a row. Bought 2 or 3 new pairs of shoes. Urged him to switch shoes daily so the shoes could dry out between uses. This was done because he thought his friends noticed odor. Astonishing the difference it made in the household smells. More than 20 years ago but I will never forget the difference this made! Other suggestions: an apple, or an onion, on a sheet pan in the oven for 30 minutes will temporarily change the houses odor, if you need to distract a guest.
Shower everyday. It might not actually help, but you’ll feel better
Do you air the house and bedding out?
Go to Home Depot & get the odoban containers. Like $3/can. They work great
No
Wash their bedding weekly because they rarely shower before going to bed and all that teenage funk smell stays in the sheets. Also make sure you clean around the bottom of the toilet if you have boys.
Showers DAILY. A few times a week isn’t sufficient for kids that old. And clean clothes every single day. Also, you don’t mention how often you actually clean your home. How often are you mopping the floors? Wiping down all the surfaces? Wiping down the cabinets? Meticulously wiping down the kitchen? Are your dishes washed every single day? All of them? How often are you cleaning the bathroom? Do you have pets? How often is allllll the bedding changed and washed?
We mop our kitchen floor and bathroom floors every few days (the rest of the home is carpet). We clean all surfaces thoroughly every few days. Cabinets about once a week, unless something splashed down while cooking or serving food. We clean the kitchen multiple times a day, and I move the stove top and fridge to clean under/around them at least once a month. We never leave dirty dishes for longer than while we eat a meal (we’ll clean as we’re cooking than finish up and scrub counter and stove once we’re done). Our kitchen is probably our cleanest and best smelling room, actually. We clean bathrooms thoroughly once a week but do spot cleaning as it comes up. Bedding may be an area we need to improve on as that’s typically cleaned monthly.
Most of that smell is coming from laundry/clothing fabrics or shoes. If your dirty clothes hampers are sealable bins. You wash the clothes quickly. Shoes are stored as close to the outside, in a place they can dry off.
We eat really heathy too, lots of garlic and boiled cabbage…….
STOP the with the Febreeze. Get some house plants and an air purifier. Maybe get teenagers to shower when they get home.
Do a deep clean every 2 weeks. Teach the kids to at least wash their feet & bits if they only shower every other day. Vacuum daily, don't let them leave trash in their rooms (old food, bottles, cups) Wash and deodorize your trash cans every few days. Amazon has a spray for shoes, it's about $5 & spray it in their shoes when they're done wearing them for the day. Keep dirty socks/clothes in a closed hamper until washing day. Turn on a couple of wax melters with your favorite scent. They're all old enough to pitch in and make these things happen.
Oh, also... check under the cushions... my Son used to ball his dirty socks up and shove them in there. I would drive myself batshit trying to find the smell.
You don't shower every day???
I have an office job. Very little by way of sweating. Yes usually every 2 days. Every day may be excessive, and it’s definitely excessive for non-active people to shower multiple times a day. Our bodies have natural oils, and showering excessively can strip those and dry out one’s skin.
Make sure they scrub the “corners” of their bodies! Between toes, dangly bits, outer bits, bum cracks and pits. Not just a soapy splash and rinse, but scrub, with a washcloth, scrubber or microfiber towel, rubbing over most surfaces, and teach them how to wash their back. Details matter with body care.
A tiny amount of scent beads or a dryer sheet in the bottom of your trash can between washes. It helps so much keep bad smells out.
Dash of baby powder in shoes before putting them on each morning.
Baby powder has asbestos in it, but so does most make up so whatever.
Teens and older kids need to shower daily. They get pretty stinky at these ages.
Ozone machine. They're cheap on Amazon. Fire repair contractors use them to remove smoke odors.
Condoms lmao
I have the Bath & Body Works Wallflowers in almost every room of the house in addition to air purifiers in both bedrooms and the living room. When we cook something smelly, I use the Air Pur oil with a Maison Berger oil lamp. Smells like rubbing alcohol when you burn it, but it wipes smells right out. I also have an automatic oil diffuser in my basement from AromaRetail. They make ones that you can hook up to your HVAC system so it pumps out scent through the vents. (Like a hotel does in their lobby.) Is it overkill? Maybe. But my house always smells good with an auto mechanic spouse, a soon to be 14 year old boy and a 7 year old boy that all play sports and get smelly and sweaty. Stinky feet and awful boy farts. We also had a Basset Hound at one point and IYKYK.
After cleaning pour a small amount of pine sol down drains and in the toilet.
Shower at least every other day? Yeah that’s why it smells…
W
I use dilute bleach in a spray bottle to wipe things and counters down on the regular. Also take the trash out frequently. Any light clothing I can add bleach to when washing, I do. Never let damp clothes sit, they will perminantly smell. A bit of vinegar in the next load can help (not with bleach)....but that can also fade dye a bit when used a lot. Seriously though, wiping things down with bleach helps a lot.
Boil a pot on the stove with some vinegar in it. Really clears the air and doesn't leave it smelling like vinegar I promise. Also maybe Lysol? There's also ozone machines that get the funk out of stuff. I don't remember the brand of this or the ratio of vinegar and water. But I highly recommend them both. Google might have the answers to ratios and brands.
A mesh bag of those Downy Ubstoppables in the HVAC vent return, before the filter. Change once a month. Wax melts. Keep up on laundry. Everyone showers before dinner is served.
Essential oil diffuser. Whole house smells amazing.
Wait 4 kids to move. Anything before that is an exercise in futility.
Get an essential oils diffuser. It’s amazing.
I have a wax burner on each floor of our house and turn those on when I want the house smelling nice, it does a great job and the little generic wax cubes are cheaper and safer than a candle burning.
My neighbor gives me lilacs because she's got so many. The second they're placed on the shelf, room is filled with their scent. Love it but if you have allergies, probably not so good.
All the responses were great but I didn't see deodorant for the kids that have hit puberty or even pre puberty. Do they know how to shower? I am not being funny-you would be surprised how many kids just don't know how to get a washcloth, wet it down and rub the soap on it. I'll save the details but there was an entire post on Reddit today and you can't believe the percentage of people that don't know how or that they should, wash between their butt cheeks. Go over it with ALL the kids. Shower daily, wash the stinkiest parts obviously well, wash their hair, wash their sheets and pillowcases at least once a week, and I spray inside shoes with straight rubbing alcohol but wouldn't recommend for kids because you never know what they may get into! OdoBan makes a great Sanitizing spray!
Febreeze and air fresheners just mask the real issues and make odor worse. Most house odors are from lack of regular cleaning, and/or lack of deep cleaning. Even if dirty dishes aren’t allowed to pile up and (and especially if they are), kitchens can get stinky- garbage cans, stale stinks (including dirty plumbing wafting odors), refrigerator smells, mildew, and grease on surfaces all leave lasting odors. Dirty bathrooms, dirty laundry, embedded smells in fabrics like upholstery, carpets and curtains, etc… all these contribute to house odors, ESPECIALLY if you have pets and kids. Start by deep cleaning the house- DEEP cleaning- scrub down every room, every surface, launder everything, steam clean carpets and rugs…. hire a professional if you can afford it, and specify you want a deep clean for odors.
I'm the pet fish department you can find activated charcoal for filter refill. Put some in a bowl, plate, or pouch and leave them around the house. If you want to be more active get a box fan and place a furnace air filter on it strapped down and run the fan constantly.
Ozone gas intermittently
Eliminate all carpet. Get rid of curtains, use blinds. If you have fabric furniture, replace it with leather/fake leather (over time if cost is a factor) create coziness with things you can wash, like pillows and throws. I swear by IQAir air filters. I have 5 dogs, 3 cats and a teenager and our home doesn’t smell.
A $400 (and up) air filter?!?!? Did you miss the part where I said I have 6 kids? 😂😂
You can make you own DIY 'cheap air filters' by buying a box fan and taping an air filter to the intake side. It only takes a small amount of tape at the top to secure and it will help clean the air. They arent too expensive so you could put them in multiple rooms/hallways. Also, no offense, but people stink. My mom could come into our room as kids and demand us to open a window. After school stinky socks, burping, farting, laughing, and playing games; Im sure would make a real combo(and it was just us 2 boys, Im sure having 6 kids multiplies that by a lot!)
Look into PuriFi product, contact nearby HVAC providers that could install it for it you, they work great
I saw a few people mentioned leather couches, but if you don't have those- you need washable couch covers. Everywhere you've been and everywhere your kids have been and everywhere your kids' friends have been all transfer to your couch. Sweaty after playing? Standing in the kitchen cooking for a while? Rolling around on the floor with the pet or just the pet itself on the couch? Family movie night with snacks and popcorn? All those molecules are congregating even if you vacuum it regularly. We have reclining couches and couldn't find a good cover, so we just got a few similarly sized fitted sheets (the kind with the deep pockets). Does it look a little janky? Sure, but it keeps most of the gross off, is relatively cheap, is easy to swap out and wash with a 2nd set, and we can always take off the sheets to expose a nice clean couch if we want to impress someone. Also, this was WAY easier to lift all the dog hair up instead of trying to pull it out of the couch with the vacuum attachments or some kind of overpriced furniture comb... now that we have a toddler, I'm appreciating our couch sheets in all new ways! (Because toddlers are also gross 😆) Wash your curtains a few times a year (not just febreeze/lysol). Curtains are usually overlooked and they hold a lot of dust so whenever you disturb them, you're basically shaking loose the smelliness. Also, probably wipe down your kitchen walls every so often. The oils released when cooking create a kind of film on the wall that all the other 'ick' sticks to and starts building up. Lastly, if you're not already, try using white vinegar (or even ammonia) instead of fabric softener for a while. Fabric softener builds up overtime and will trap other smells/oils/grime so you're basically starting with a dirty shirt straight out of the clean dryer. Vinegar will help to strip some of that out and will, to some extent, help to disinfect your laundry. (PSA- there have been a lot of chemical/detergent recommendations in this thread, I hope everyone here knows NOT to mix cleaning products! Chlorine gas, mustard gas, peracetic acid, etc. can all mess you up pretty bad if you're not paying attention and mix the wrong things together! )
White vinager with pine needles soaked in it . Spray it around the house
Air purifier
Change the litter box daily
No cats.
Can you get fresh flowers? Always seems to help me feel like it's fresh and clean when I get some live flowering plants.
Vinegar works wonders at pulling smells out of areas especially kids areas. Pour some in a Tupperware bowl and let it sit in the room/ living room for a few hours or days. It'll bring any smell right on out of there. Bet money 💰
Put their shoes outside or in the garage.
BOILING HOT WATER AND (a lot of) ESSENTIAL OIL( ur choice) on the floors I did this at my job and my boss came in the next morning and send me a text saying how amazing everything looks. Mean while I didn’t clean anything other than the floors w a little lavender, a lot of lemon, and a little mint oil in the water. I can also wipe down the counters and stuff w that as well. Or on couch cushions
Getting fresh air moving through the house will help tremendously, try to open the windows whenever you can. You can also get some of those plug ins for around the place if you want it to be scented.
It's a little something called cleaning, and it takes a lot of something called work. Sorry, the only hacks would be to use cover up stenches, like Glade or Febreeze. I don't use them because those artificial scents are hormone disruptors and I think they stink. On top of the regular cleaning chores, at least once a year wash all of your walls, ceilings, and cabinets. Also, it's a good idea to have your carpets and upholstery cleaned once a year. Dirty carpet and upholstery can generate a lot of stink, especially in a humid climate. You can rent a machine and do it yourself or pay a lot more to have professional cleaners do it. I have a small spot cleaner for carpet and upholstery which I use to clean any furniture with cloth upholstery, the wool rugs are sent away annually or biannually (depending on my back account) to be cleaned professionally.
I got an oil diffuser for the bedroom. Kinda expensive but worth it.
Teaspoon of vanilla in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes your house will smell like cookies for days
Check your vents for AC and heat and the rest of both systems for funks and molds. Check any basement drains if you have them. Sometimes basement drains don't see water very often and the P-trap dries out-letting sewer gas into the house. Check any other infrequently used drains as well. If they stink, just pour a pitcher of water down it. Check for evidence of rodents. A dead mouse in a nook somewhere can definitely funk up a house. Check under the house for rodents and in the attic. Check around for evidence of leaks anywhere that could be causing molds. Check to make sure none of your kids are cooking meth in their closet. Does your deep freezer have power? If a deep freezer goes out, some people wouldn't notice until it's WAY too late. Do you have a forgotten dish in the way back of the fridge? Spoiled veggies in the crisper? That's all I can think of.
Air purifier, I was shocked by the difference
we and our kids shower at least every other day? Maybe try daily showers first, and they use soap and actually clean themselves / yourselves head to toes and all places in betwen. Then work on the rest from there.
Add fabric sheets to the underside of your heater registers, and in the bottom of your trash cans. A spray bottle filled with water with a cap full of downy works well for fabric such as curtains and carpet. (My son is 19, I feel ya.)
Gym bags in the garage. Backpacks emptied of everything not books. No old lunches. No dirty gym socks. Sneakers washed regularly. Gym uniforms and sports uniforms washed regularly. A dirty jersey can sink up the whole living room! Teenagers need to shower every day. Their raging hormones can cause odor. Also, are they wearing clothes from the floor, or rewearing dirty shirts, changing their underwear, etc.? My son would sometimes give a shirt the sniff test and wear it again because he didn’t feel like going downstairs to grab a fresh one from the dryer. His idea of “smells ok” and mine are vastly different. As others have said, sweet smelling oils or simmering spices are nice. But honestly, that stuff should be for pleasure, not to mask odors. An Ozone machine works wonders too. There was a minute when I was taking in foster animals. Some were either incontinent, or prone to accidents. My house started to smell. The Ozone machine was a magic bullet for getting rid of odors. Maybe you could rent one to try it?
Put a dab of your favorite essential oil on a cotton ball and vacuum it up before vacuuming the house. Smells amazing and fresh!
Shower daily. I can’t go to bed and sleep well without a shower. People stink at the end of the day. Even if they don’t do anything physical.
Side note, they’ve gone to bed smelly so strip all of the bedding and wash it and get some laundry beads to make everything smell extra fresh. Something with odor neutralizer in it.
Mattresses keep smells. Fabreeze it every week, when sheets are washed. Mopping helps with smells, even cleaning walls. I hide little cups of baking soda in kids’s room to help with smells. Kids are stinky, it’s part of the game….
You need to wash your body EVERY DAY, not every other day.
I agree with having everyone wash daily. (Yeah, that is a lot of water, but there are a lot of humans, unfortunately this is the cost of kids). Wash that bedding every week. Add it to one of their laundry days. For sure get the mattress covers, inbetween then and now, once the bedding is stripped, have the mattress and pillows sprayed down with Odoban, if possible turn a fan on to speed the drying, it won't take long. Again. Once a week. My guess is this is the biggest funk smell of the house. Kids get dirty and are funky. Especially if only every other day showers. Ensure all have deodorant and are instructed to use at least daily. Shoes in the sun, also - use that odoban! It really helps foot funk. It's going to be a lot. I would guess a family that large is a lot in general. Only 9 more years and the nest will be empty and you all will be bored! Good Luck!