by Emily Tuuk

Created on: August 24, 2008

Keeping yourself and your house clean is probably the best way to prevent odors. A baby can start to stink pretty badly after daily spit ups and diapers, but when the baby gets a bath and has fresh, clean clothes, it will smell lovely and angelic. Everyone loves the smell of a clean baby, fresh from the bathtub.

It's the same way with houses. Keep it clean, and the odors will stay away, for the most part. It may require some work, but so does baby. Regular vacuuming and mopping, window washing, dusting, and other cleaning is essential for controlling odors.

Of course, there are always those other little smells that come into our house, even if we do clean the house regularly. Here are some tips for taking care of those:

IN THE BATHROOM:

To get rid of that unpleasant smell after someone has used the toilet, strike a match and blow it out inside of the bathroom. This quickly fills the room with that smoky smell that comes when you blow out a candle, and zaps out the unpleasant smell, as opposed to the chemical sprays that only clash with the smell by adding a citrus or lemon scent to the stench, and it is also much healthier for you than inhaling those chemicals.

WHEN YOU HAVE A DOG:

If you have a dog, and everybody who walks into your house knows it as soon as they breath, keeping up with your dog's grooming schedule is a very important factor. Bathing your dog on a regular basis will help to keep them from stinking, and regular brushing will help keep dirt off of their coats, which aids in the smelling process. Try using a pleasantly scented shampoo when you bath them. Sometimes using regular human shampoo works best, because dog shampoos often smell a lot like... well, dog. Also, you may want to consider a special perfume for your dog (available in pet stores like PetsMart and Petco, and perhaps in certain grooming facilities), which takes away dog smells and makes them a clean, fresh aroma, or scented wipes to rub on your dog periodically (also available in pet stores).

Again, keeping your house clean will also keep away dog odors. Vacuuming picks up hairs that the dog has shed, and cleaning surfaces removes dirt and other junk left behind from your dog that causes odors.

WHEN YOU SMALLER PETS:

Small animals in cages are much more difficult to control when it comes to smell, but regular cleaning will help prevent odors, or you may want to consider putting the cage in a back room, or somewhere that doesn't get much regular traffic, and that won't stink up the rest

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