What about lighting a candle?? They have the fresh linen smells.

Oh, believe me, I'm a candle freak! Although I'm thinking about trying a reed diffuser. Found a great one at Pottery Barn several months ago, but apparently they did away with most of them.

While I LOVE candles, they still don't replace the "clean" house smell for me. I guess I'm in cleaner "DETOX"!!! Haha!

A bowl of vinegar set out overnight might help. But since you're into "NATURE", why not throw some cut up lemons and oranges in hot water and simmer away?

That's funny jannie, I don't think I'd go that far to say I was into nature! Makes me sound like a tree hugger, or something! :) (no offense intended to tree huggers!) But that is a good idea! I'm going to try it! Thanks.

You can also put some cinnamon sticks and cloves in a pot to simmer on the stove, smells delicious. I guess that would smell more like baking than cleaning, but baking smells better anyway! You could also use essential oils. Mix what you like (maybe lemon oil to smell like furniture polish) with a bit of baking soda and leave sitting out, or you could just dab a bit on a cotton ball. Vanilla is good to use because it naturally neutralizes odors. A dab on a cotton ball in your fridge by strong smelling foods (fish, onions...) helps keep that under control. For strong odors (like cooking fish or cabbage, or visiting skunks, ugh!) I can recommend Odor Blaster. It is all natural and actually removes the smell instead of covering it up. You can buy a fragrance free version or one with natural citrus. It also works great on smelly stuff in the garbage can. Congrats on trying to make your new home healthier, your lungs will thank you some day!

I like essential oils -- balsam, citruses, pine and rosemary in a diffuser. I know exactly what you mean -- cleaing without all that harsh, scary stuff feels great but it last the olfactory satisfaction!

Thanks for the tips-I'm taking notes! I'm doing the lemon thing as we speak! Never thought I'd be into all this "natural" stuff, but I kinda like it! :)

Scented candles give off substances that are bad for your health and bad for the environment. I have stopped burning scented candles and using air fresheners. Opps,I lied,I still use Lysol spray when there's bad smells from the bathroom. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

They make soy candles that burn naturally without polluting.

Keep a spray bottle of 50/50 vinegar/water and spray after using the bathroom.

This is also good to spray in rooms instead of an air freshner. Spray in air away from the furniture, sorta in the middle of the room so mist will land on carpet instead.

I currently use a cold water vaporizer and put 1/4 cup white vinegar in the water. Our son cannot stand the smell of vinegar but he did not notice a vinegar smell when he was visiting.

I did have a problem with commercial spray air freshners, house smelled horrible and it took a while to discover it was air freshner causing the odor. House had a putred chemical smell. Finally discovered it was the Glade air freshner I was using along with other cleaners. Aired out the house, quit using air freshners and the house now smells like it should.

My standby cleaners are vinegar and alcohol, each mixed with water.

It is terrible to smell your own house, not sometimes it does happen.

There are lots of things I would like to use vinegar/water on, but it smells kind of musty to me. Do you find that you can smell the vinegar after a little time has passed? It just doesn't smell all that fresh to me, so I've resisted using it.

The vinegar smell goes away after it dries. I use a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water for everything. If the smell bothers you while you are using it try putting a few drops of essential oil in the bottle. Vinegar makes a great deodorizer because it actually breaks the odor down instead of just covering it. I think that one of the hardest things about natural cleaning is that we are programmed to think that a chemical smell means clean. Now that I've been doing the natural cleaning for a while I am very sensitive to chemical cleaning smells. My husband used Tilex in the bathroom the other day (for the last time might I add!) and I opened up every window in the house. Because we're not used to it anymore the smell was very strong and burned my nose. It's the same with bleach. I can't be in the same place with it because it makes me sick.

I hate the smell of bleach. We lived with my inlaws for a while when we were newly married. I learned my MIL always used bleach in her washing machine. My eyes were constantly runny from the odor of bleach in that home. I used Tilex in my own bathroom ONCE because it gave me an asthma attack,although I thought I had outgrown my childhood asthma. By the way, simple washing with soap and water kills germs as well as bleach. Fresh air and sunshine are the world's best germ killers.

I use a mix of vinegar, castile soap, and baking soda for a bathroom cleaner (tub and tile). It takes a bit more time and elbow grease but at least I can breathe while I'm doing it!

superchick
I am a vinegar user, and I can relate to the smell..lol
I do buy an all natural cleaner..actually two different ones as I got tired of vinegar all the time. I use it in the bathrooms, kitchen..almost everywhere and I am really happy. They both just have a clean smell..my house hasn't been cleaned with a chemical in years..when you walk in, it doesn't smell like anything..just clean. I use two different products..one is Charlies soap (I also use their laundry detergent exclusively ) and Shaklee basic H2. Both are very concentrated and will last for ever. Charlies I order in a gallon jug. You just mix a tiny bit in a spray bottle with water. Shaklee is a 16oz and a quarter of a teaspoon makes 16 oz's of all purpose cleaner. I buy them both because I like them both.. all I can say is, they both just have a clean smell and do not leave residue behind (unless you make it too strong, then it will need rinsing ) Maybe consider giving one of them a try... hope this helps! Ree

Thanks, Ree. I'll look into those!

superchick
Keep me posted!
Ree

I'm in the process of switching over to more natural & environmentally correct cleaners and I agree about wanting that "cleaning product" smell.

Despite what anyone says about vinegar smells going away when it dries...I can totally smell it. Just last night I wiped down my countertops with a vinegar solution before I went to bed. Woke up this morning, and all I could smell in the kitchen was vinegar.

I'm trying to get over the "clean" smells & appreciate the smell of nothing. I guess being aware of it is half the battle. It's just going to take time.

Gayle0000-I have to say that I just can't bring myself to do the vinegar thing. And while I do still use a little windex every once in a while (shhh..don't tell anyone), I think I might be addicted to the alcohol/water/soap mixture I use on my granite. I have been using it for ALOT of things. I find myself going over the bathroom counters, mirrors, faucets and a whole bunch of things. I may be a freak, but I actually like the smell for as long as it lasts, which is not long.

My house is new, and while I don't think it stinks at all, it has a peculiar smell. Not really construction dust smell, not really new wood smell. Maybe it's the carpet?? I don't know. I just want "FRESH"!

sorry, also meant to say... I've been using alcohol/water on so many things, do you think it's safe for most finishes? Anyone?