How to stop the whole house from smelling like bacon (or Brussels sprouts)
A freshly baked apple pie in the oven will help you sell your house at lightning speed, and the smell of warm bread makes everyone feel ‘welcome home’. But the smell of bacon, curry or Brussels sprout mash is less inviting. How do you stop the whole house from smelling like a market stall or an all you can eat buffet?
Let’s face it: whose house does NOT smell like food? When you fry onions and garlic, the smell reaches every corner of the house to lure hungry housemates in; when you fry bacon, even the most dedicated late risers emerge, and the smell of fresh coffee wakes you up instantly. But if your house still smells like smoked sausage, fried fish or a smoky deep fryer the next day after a lovely dinner, that’s not quite so homely. With these five tips, you’ll soon be rid of that stink.
Close the door, open the window
Enormously clichéd, but do you remember to close the door between the kitchen and the living room? Or to shut the bedroom door? It’s a tip in the ‘Have you tried restarting the computer?’ category, but we have to start with the basics, right?
The extractor hood has a job to do
Turn the extractor hood up to hurricane mode and make sure all cooking and baking smells are sucked away. Let it hum for a little while after you’ve finished cooking, because those hot pans will continue to give off smells for a while. And do you clean your extractor hood regularly?
Cleaning helps
The smell of fried eggs becomes completely unbearable after a few hours, so clear up your mess straight away. Wash the frying pan, wipe spilled fat off the stove and give the tiles a quick clean with soapy water. A tiny chore, but it makes a big difference to unwanted aromas.
Fresh scents from nature
Spraying one of those supposedly lovely scents from an aerosol only makes things worse. So leave your deodorant and air freshener alone, and tackle the smells naturally. A small bowl of vinegar with a piece of bread in it absorbs smells like nothing else. You could also try a bowl of potpourri, or put cotton balls with a few drops of vanilla essence wherever the smell is particularly strong.
Not in the pan but in the oven
Cook your bacon in the oven (not the microwave!), and it will smell much less. How does that work? The smoke and cooking smells stay in the oven, so you won’t have to deal with them. Bonus: your bacon will be much crispier!
Read also:
- 5 tips for truly crispy sweet potato fries
- 10 tips to combat gourmet cooking smells
- 6 things that are too antisocial to eat in public
