I hate that - hamburgers and also fried eggs. I spray all of my kitchen counters and the cook top with something like the windex with vinegar or sprayaway. Run the fans and crack open the windows if you can, or run the ac.

Have you looked into a better exhaust system?

Buy any one of the many odor neutralizers on the market today. Febreze does a good job too but not as well as above.

Warning: Anyone who has birds should stay away from Febreeze. It kills them.

Vinegar and water sprayed into the air will clear it of odors.

I like the smell of burgers better than vinegar. :) @ brutuses.

I would think about upgrading the exhaust system. On those occasions when my big vent hood doesn't do the trick, I burn a lemongrass candle for an hour or two. Don't love that smell either, but it's better than fish....which is usually what I'm dealing with.

If you have a fan that vents to the outside rather than one of those recirculating types and it was running the whole time he was oooking, the smell shouldn't be that bad unless something isn't working right or it's undersized for your application. Many of them have filters that can be taken out and washed in the dishwasher ( I wash mine every 5 or 6 months or so) and there could be grease and smells trapped in that.

YES to the ventilation system. Our current system is highly technical: crack the window in the kitchen, crack the door to the garage, crack the door from the garage to the outside, and turn on the living room ceiling fan. Obviously, that doesn't really do it. We have an OTR microwave, and there is a fan installed in that, but it's mainly noise. Doesn't do much. I will take out the filters and wash them -- good tip -- but my hopes aren't high.

Daisy, I sprayed the windex and vinegar, and honestly, it worked! Haven't sprayed vinegar into the air, and am a little afraid of the odor neutralizers: what chemicals are in those things? (esp if Febreeze kills birds, how awful!)

I once heard that if you light a candle while you're cutting an onion, the candle flame will absorb the fumes and oils of the onion, and there will be no tears.

I haven't tried that.

But i'm reminded of it because if a candle can absorb the oil and fume from an onion during chopping, maybe a few tea lights would absorb the fumes and airbound oils from burgers during cooking?

I don't know. But a few tea lights would be an inexpensive experiment. Just keep them away from the direct cooking area, so nothing will combust. :)

I have a very good exhaust to the outside, but the filters are where the lingering odor stays! I wash mine often - esp after cooking anything that produces that charred smell. If I forget to put them in the dishwasher, I will soak overnite in very hot water and cascade in the sink. The yuk/ grease that comes out is amazing.

Ha! I have a similar situation. After I have shampoooed rugs, mopped floors and washed curtains, my husband decides he'd like to cook a fried bologna sandwich. Or that he's in the mood for fried chicken wings and always gets his oil too hot. Like you said, at least he cooks!

We have an exhaust system that funnels outdoors, but I even smell all the frying upstairs.

I've found that neutralizer sprays work temporarily, but the best long-lasting odor-ridder for me is to burn one or two sticks of incense.

Oceanna, I didn't know that about Febreze and birds! I knew about those scented oil plug-ins and also teflon pans. (Birds have delicate lungs and I guess it "coats" their lungs.)

We now do our deep frying in the attached garage... thanks to a suggestion made by my 22 yr old son. It sure saves the cabinets from getting that oily film as well as the house from lingering oil odors.

I'd ban hubster from doing fried burgers. Actually we don't fry our burgers we BBQ them (or grill them). We do all season BBQ'ing... oh and BTW, I live in Calgary Alberta.. which can get REALLY cold, no excuses!

Wiping down surfaces, cleaning the hoodvent filter, and letting in fresh air seems to be the best solution though. I still think that spraying a house only masks the odor and doesn't really get rid of the true offenders.

Oceanna-Febreeze kills birds? We have an Umbrella Cockatoo. I have used Febreeze in the house, but only in the closet the dog sleeps in.

My dog and I ran into a skunk, the smell permeated the house, we borrowed two of the Ionizers or what ever the air purifiers are called one upstairs and one down, and ran them for a week or two, but wow did they do a great job. Just an idea!

Walkin, aside from the smell, a good exhaust system would help keep all that grease, odors, and stuff from accumulating on and permeating into your furnishings.

Customdecorator - YES! When it first came out there were reports coming in of birds dropping dead of horrible agonizing deaths within mere minutes from having that stuff sprayed in their homes. You can ask on any bird email list. Febreeze is a no-no!

Basically, if you can smell it in the air, assume it will kill your bird. That's the rule of thumb. I figure you already know teflon pans are out, and they say no candles, no incense, no painting around birds (esp. oil based), no essential oils, no... you name it!

I have a Timneh, a Yellow Fronted Amazon, a Goffins Cockatoo, and a Red Fronted Macaw. No Febreeze here.

walkin, one of my favorite things about our low-budget kitchen remodel was taking out the lame OTR micro"hood" (300 cfm, if you believe them) and putting in a for-real 650 cfm vent fan over the stove. It's made a world of difference wrt not only odor but general permeation of micro-grease etc. If you have the venting already in place for the microhood, you can get the vent hood put in and get a microwave for somewhere else--counter, closet, etc. No reason why a microwave should have to vent air too. Like a toaster oven vent fan. Makes no sense. That hood was some of the best money we spent, IMO.

Ditto, ditto, ditto - good fans are a must in kitchens AND baths, especially as our homes become more efficient at stopping exchange of air from other sources. But the best fan is only as good as the person at the switch - no benefit if they don't get used!

OMG-- I have used febreeze IN my birdcage!!! :( It never seemed to bother them.... Aaaack!

Snopes gives it a False about Febreze hurting/killing birds.
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/febreze.asp

That said - I have two birds, but I wouldn't use it in their breathing distance.

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Snopes on Febreze & Birds

Wow Oceanna, I had no idea!!! I worked at a pet store when I was 18 and bought Chloe. She is about 15 years old now. I used to have a Blue Front Amazon "Pirate", but she died a few years back, it was really sad!

Yes, I know about the teflon pans, but had no idea about candles, I am a partylite snob and am always burning them, oops!