Your home is meant to be your sanctuary, but it’s hard to feel relaxed when it stinks like a dirty locker room or zoo full of animals. While basic cleaning supplies help keep those odors at bay, they also leave an artificial smell that can be even worse. Rather than settle for these unpleasant odors, plenty of clever household hacks can improve the smell of any home in a major way. Even better, these methods all utilize non-toxic ingredients that are probably already lying around. Here are seven surprising ways to make your house smell better than ever.

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Coat Light Bulbs With Vanilla Extract

Place a single drop of vanilla extract on any lightbulb in your home. When you turn the lights on later, the bulb’s heat will activate the smell, much like the heat of an oven makes the entire house smell like delicious cookies. If you’d prefer, you can use almond extract, maple extract, or any other flavor. In any event, your entire house will smell like a bakery in no time.

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Place Essential Oils Inside the Air Conditioner

Begin by removing the old filter from your air conditioner and buying a new one. Before installing the filter, place 20 drops of your favorite essential oil all over the filter, whether you prefer peppermint, eucalyptus, or any other scent. Then, install the filter and boot up your HVAC system. The pleasant odors will permeate throughout the home.

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Mop Tile Floors With Shaving Cream

Bathroom floors can soak up some pretty repulsive odors, leaving us no choice but to clean them with ammonia and other harsh chemicals. But before you resort to those chemical cleaners, try using foam shaving cream. Put on a disposable glove, coat your hand in foam shaving cream, and cover the tile in foam — be sure to get into the grout as well. After 20 minutes, wipe away the shaving cream using a clean rag. This should neutralize those persistent odors, leaving your bathroom smelling fresh.

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Clean Kitchen Appliances With Lemon

Fresh lemon juice can make your kitchen appliances smell better in many ways. One method is to squeeze lemon juice into a bowl, soak up the juice using cotton balls, and place the balls inside the fridge, dishwasher, and any other musty appliance. After a few hours, the lemon-soaked balls should absorb those unpleasant odors and leave your appliances smelling better. You can also freshen up the microwave using lemon; mix one cup of water with three tablespoons of lemon juice in a microwave-safe bowl and run it in the microwave for five minutes. Your microwave should smell a lot fresher afterward.

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Simmer Citrus on the Stovetop

Place a small pot filled halfway with water on the stovetop and turn the heat on low. Then add several slices of lemon, orange, grapefruit, or other pungent citrus. Depending on personal preference, you can also throw in herbs like mint and rosemary. Let the concoction simmer on the stovetop for as long as you’d like, producing a delightful citrusy smell that fills the entire home.

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Put Tea Bags Inside Closets and Drawers

Put your favorite tea bag or loose leaves in a cup and place it inside a musty drawer or closet. The fragrant scent of the tea should help cover any unpleasant odors. You can also leave random tea bags around the house in bowls and cups to bring a little bit of their delightful fragrance into any room.

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Line the Garbage Bin With Oil-Soaked Cotton Balls

There’s nothing worse than the smell of hot garbage flooding through the kitchen into the rest of your home. To cut down on those awful garbage smells, take a few cotton balls, soak them in your favorite essential oil or some lemon juice, and throw them into the bin. Feel free to add more cotton balls as you fill the garbage. This should keep the smell at bay until you’re ready to throw out the trash.

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Bennett Kleinman Staff Writer

Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Optimism Media. He is also a freelance comedy writer, devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.

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