House Smells When You Walk In (5 Easy Ways To Fix It)

One of the first things you notice when you walk into a home is its smell. If the smell is pleasant, it can make you feel a bit relaxed.

Whereas, if the smell isn’t as good it can make you feel a little uneasy. This can cause you to start questioning things as, what else is going on here? And what is causing this smell? 

The smell is very important when you first walk into a space. It helps you know if whether the area is truly clean or not.

So, why does my house smell when you walk in?

In the rest of this post, I’ll be giving tips on how you can eliminate the smell in your home quickly.

Let’s jump in…

How Do You Find The Bad Smells In Your House?

House odor can come from mildew, mold, bacteria, and sweat. In order to reduce the stink, when you walk into a room check the ventilation, trash cans, washers, pet hygiene, sweaty clothes, and smelly bedding. Use neutralizers, sanitizers, and fresheners to help with the scent. 

However, locating bad smells in your home can be tricky. In fact, odors are rarely in the exact spot where the source of bad smell is.

Below, I put together a list of items that could be giving your home a bad smell.

1. Air Filters

This might sound like common sense, but check the air filters in your home. If you have odors make sure the air filters are clean and don’t need replacing. The air filters should be bright green or white.

However, if the air filters are caked with dust change them. I always put a date on them so I can remember when they need to be replaced.

2. Maintain Your Pet’s Hygiene

If you have pets they can be a source of odors. Remember if you want to get rid of odors you have to find the source.

In fact, animal urine is not healthy to breathe. Actually, it is toxic. If you have a cat, changing out the litter box regularly can make a huge difference in odor.

There is nothing more offensive than walking into a house and it smells like a poop-filled litter box.

Here is a quick tip you can do that I found that works pretty well.

Dump the old litter out and fill the box up with about an inch of white vinegar. Then add some baking soda.

Once that is done, let the white vinegar and baking soda sit for about 10 mins. Once that is done, rinse the litter box with water and dry it. Then you can fill it back up with fresh new litter. 

3. Gym Clothes Or Sweaty Musty Clothing

If you work out or do some yard work, sweaty clothes sitting in a hamper can make some funky smells. Remember we want to cut the stink at the source.

So, what I normally do is,  instead of coming inside and throwing the sweaty clothes in a hamper, I first leave the damp clothing outside and let them dry first.

After that, I wash the clothing. Or you can just wash them immediately if you prefer.

4. Smoking Inside

Smoking inside creates all kinds of odors.

In fact, it is the quickest way to ruin the resale value of a home. Because when you smoke inside there is the tar that comes from the cigarettes.

The fine smoke settles in your carpets, draperies, walls, blinds, and every flat surface of your home. Later on, it can be very expensive to remove all of the tar from the walls.

Other Room Smells

Other things, that could be creating odors in your home are trash cans, washers, dishwashers, garbage disposal, and showers.

Look at those things too.

How To Get Rid Of Bad Odor In A House

Now, if there are already odors in your house there are 3 different kinds of odor removers. There are neutralizers, sanitizer and there are fresheners.

Odor Remover Type	What They Do	Ways Used
Neutralizer	Neutralizes smells. Which can be done naturally.	Baking soda, Vinegar, Raw oats, Charcoal and Coffee grounds
Sanitizer	Kills bacteria in the air.	Aerosol spray, Air Purifiers
Freshener	Does not sanitizer or neutralize the smell. They only add smells into the air	Essential Oils, Febreze, scented plug in

You can place these items throughout your home allowing them to absorb and neutralize those nasty odors.

Here are some quick examples of how you can use neutralizers and Sanitizers in your home.

1. Air purifiers

The last thing you can do to eliminate odors in your home, Is to purchase an air purifier with a HEPA filter. I have one in my home and did does just that.

Basically, the dirty air is sucked in on one side of the machine and the clean air is blown out from the other side.

So, the HEPA filter sucks in those nasty air contaminants and then you’re left with nothing but pure fresh air.  Not to mention, air purifiers also can help with dust, VOCs, allergens, pet dander and so much more.

If you are interested in an air purifier for your home, I recommend you check out this post on the best air purifiers under $150.

2. Vinegar

Take a bowl and pour some vinegar. The way I do it is, I place the bowls of vinegar in different rooms throughout the house. And allow them to absorb those nasty odors.

3. Baking Soda

Baking soda works great for neutralizing odors. I normally sprinkle some in the trash can or I put some in my shoes.

You can even pour some baking soda all over your carpets and let it sit for a couple of hours. And then vacuum it up with a vacuum cleaner. This is a great way for deodorizing carpets.

Another tip, if you have odors in the refrigerator, you can also take a box of baking soda open the box up and it will absorb the bad odors in the refrigerator.

Baking soda is a great chemical-free way to eliminate odors in your home.

4. Coffee Grounds & Raw Oaks

If you have a smelly dresser or a stale closet, you can fill up a sock with dry coffee grounds or oats. Then put a rubber band on it and throw the filled sock into your dresser. This works well for zapping those odors.

It doesn’t put anything into the air it just adsorbs the smell naturally.

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FAQ

My House Smells Like Stinky Feet

Actually called dirty sock syndrome.  It happens when you turn you’re A/C or heat pump on that hasn’t run in a while. It can smell similar to dirty gym socks.

This can be because you could have mold or fungus in your air conditioner. Usually, it is not dangerous and it is an easy fix. Solution: Get a new air filter

House Smells Musty But No Mold

If you have a musty odor in your home, this does not mean you have mold problems.

The number one reason for having a musty odor in your house is moisture or humidity.High humidity can lead to a pungent odor.

Relative humidity in a home should be under 55%. The way you check this is by buying a hygrometer. You can find one for pretty cheap on amazon. Here is a good hygrometer found on Amazon.

Or if you have a humidity meter on your thermostat that can work as well. Also, other causes for the musty smell could be a hidden leak or Air condition system that starts to drip water on drywall.

This is no easy fix for the musty smell so it is important to contact a professional.

House Smells Like Body Odor

The reason a house or bedroom can smell like body odor is because of your sweat.  When our bodies sweat, it is adsorbed in towels, curtains, and bedsheets. Which can produce a sour sweat smell in the home. 

Related Post: Why Does My Bedroom Smell Bad In The Morning?

Final Thoughts- House smells when you walk in

Finding odor in your home is not an easy task. Especially, when your house smells when you walk in.

However, the person who is complaining about the odor in your home is probably the best person to find it. Have that person join you on the hunt for the problem odor. Because that person can tune out the other odors and focus on the one odor that is concerning.

Once the odors are detected you can neutralize the smell. You can do this by using baking soda, coffee grounds, or even raw oats. Remember you want to cut the stink at the source.

Once the bad smell is neutralized I recommend getting an air purifier. This will help to Sanitize and actually kill the bacterial in the air. I have one in my home and I love it.

Hope this post was helpful.

Looking For Air Purifier Guides?

If you’re looking for more air purifier resources, consider checking out our other posts on air purifiers.

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• 5 Best Air Purifiers For Kitchen Odors
• Best Air Purifier For Ferret Odor
• Best Air Purifiers for pet urine odor