How to make your home smell nice

A citric-scented room diffuser creates a fresher, cleaner smell (Image: Xiebiyun)

Every property has its own slight whiff, and depending on inhabitants and their lifestyles this varies on the pleasant spectrum.

If you smoke, have pets or a baby with reflux you might be nodding in agreement.

Eau de dog isn't the greatest of odours... (Image: sanjagrujic)

It might be less obvious – you may just walk in your living room and smell something funky, but sniff about like a golden retriever and are unable to locate where the stench is.

If you are an aromatherapy expert, living in a haze of sandalwood, lemongrass and lavender, you might not think you have much to learn.

But every home could benefit from these tips on how to improve its smell.

Pleasantly-fragranced house plants such as Cuban oregano are an odour asset (Image: Aneta_Gu)

Make your own natural room and furniture deodorising spray

Ditch the Febreze and get your domestic god/dess on! Simply mix one tablespoon of baking soda with two drops of essential oil and stir well. Decant it into an 8oz spray bottle using a funnel, add distilled water and shake. Orange, cinnamon or peppermint work well but the beauty is, you can choose your favourite.

Maximise baking soda’s natural potential to help you clean

Scented candles are an easy option (Image: © Getty Images)

Cleanliness is next to godliness, as I once read on a fridge magnet I decided to leave in the shop. But if you don’t like scrubbing and your floor coverings could do with a clean, baking soda is cheap, non-toxic, safe, easy and fast. A cup of the stuff mixed with one tablespoon of ground cinnamon and put in a container with a sprinkler lid, such as a Parmesan cheese dispenser, lets you shake it liberally on your carpet. Leave it for half an hour and then vacuum. Et voila – clean carpet that smells of cinnamon.

Create a room diffuser you love - for pennies

Invest in wooden bamboo skewers, a lemon-based all-purpose cleaner and a small jar/glass. Fill your vessel with the citric-scented fluid and put eight bamboo skewers inside. Trim them so they are no more than twice the height of the jar. Leave on a shelf in whichever room you want a fresher cleaner aroma.

Bake your way to a sweeter-smelling home (Image: Biitli)

Give your dog a little MOT (Or should that be MUTT?)

Let’s be honest; some pooches are pungent. It could be their natural odour. But if you think it could be a medical issue like irritated ears or dodgy breath, consider a trip to the vet. Then treat your hound to a pampering at a grooming salon, to wash away nasty niffs. Until the next visit, make a pet body spray out of three tablespoons of vodka, two cups of distilled water and 12 drops of essential oil. Use a spray bottle to squirt it on your dog whenever he pongs. Lavender is a natural flea repellant while eucalyptus deters ticks and lice. Added value!

Stick a car air freshener in front of a vent’s slats

Genius. As the air blows through your home, the scent wafts with it. Make sure you pick one you like.

Call on Mother Nature – again

Indoor plants actually clean the air and pretty up your place, while generously sharing their scent. Pleasantly fragranced house plants include Cuban oregano, eucalyptus, gardenias, corsage orchids and Arabian jasmine.

Be like The Bangles and make an Eternal Flame

Which just means use candles, right? And you can’t burn a flame all the time, despite what the 1980s big-haired pop stars sang, because your house might burn down. Which is one way to create a stink. Better quality scented candles, such as Yankees, last longer and the wicks don’t go in as soon. But interiors gurus claim that strategically placing scented candles – and not lighting them - in the airing cupboard, means your linen will carry the aroma as you use it. Cunning. Definitely don’t light a candle in an airing cupboard though.

If all else fails, bake

Warm baked goods such as cookies, banana bread or cinnamon buns fill your home with good old-fashioned home cooking smells. If you have visitors or someone viewing your property, you can offer them the tasty delights. Win-win.