I detest any fragrance. Perfumy stuff just covers a smell with a worse stink. Febreeze is sickening to me.

Kitty litter is an odor absorbant (not clumping), crumpled newspaper, activated charcoal. I had a wooden bedside table that was musty smelling and a dish of kitty litter and crumpled newspapers took all the smell away.

I have had good luck with the Fresh Wave products. You can get a gel like substance in a jar that you open and leave in a room. Or they have pearl beads in bags that you can tuck in places.

I love scents of all kids. Potpourri is wonderful, and you can make your own from rose petals. And of course old garden roses themselves can have wonderful scents, many quite different from each other. I like the oils one puts in oil warmers and they come in an array of scents. . To me, Febreeze has a very nice scent. I like the 'Crisp Linen' scent in Lysol spray.

I adore the scent of baking bread and fresh baked brownies made with Baker's chocolate.

I love citrus flowers, particularly my Meyer's lemon tree. I brought a small branch inside one time.

Much of the time now there are scented blooms in my garden. Sometimes I put a fan by the door, open a back window, and air out the house in the morning, and there is a faint scent from the blooms as air is pulled into the house through the window.

Scent is so complex, and people have all sorts of preferences. It can take time to find what really appeals to you (and your family) but to me, having a scent in your home that you love is as important as choosing the art that hangs on your walls. The art delights your eyes and mind- but the scent delights the olfactory sense. Plus research is showing that some scents can evoke emotions and past memories associated with the particular scent in your life.

Try Febreeze. They have various scents and I believe they make one that is unscented. Just for pleasure I use an electric tart warmer and wax tarts from Yankee Candle or a couple of e-tailers I like. No potpourri here because of the cats.

Febreeze makes an unscented variety labeled as 2X strength. It costs a little more, but it really works. And unscented.

I also don't care for perfum-y coverups. I recently got something called "Whip-It Odor Bully Instant Odor Neutralizer" at Bed Bath & Beyond. It seems to work. The Febreeze product above probably works as well.

Cassandra, the fresh paint smell will go away soon. "Mustiness," I'd try to figure out what's causing that. Wall to wall carpet? Vacuum around the edges, wipe baseboards. Open windows frequently, weather permitting. If a smoker lived there, there will be nicotine on everything. Wash walls, etc. You've probably done all this.

I use the electric wax melt unit and always buy the Better Homes and Gardens spicy type scents. Both can be bought in the candle section of Walmart. I received mine for a Christmas gift 2 yrs ago, and love it. I use it every day for a short time in the morning. I leave it right on the kitchen counter. You can also buy the packets that fit over your heat/air filter in the cold air return, with your choice of scents. They work in window AC units even better than the central heat/air units.

I love the smell of fresh lavender, and put bunches in my house, when I have it blooming. Also, love rose scent, again, from my own flowers.

I really don't like air-fresheners for reasons already stated above.

Personally, I would open windows, and put fans around to circulate fresh air.

Moni

I am quite allergic to perfume scents and have two neighbors who are obsessed with the sweet aroma of Snuggle. As I live in a town house...it's almost impossible to get away from their use of this product. Finally...in desperation for my sanity...I tried an old fashioned trick I'd used many years ago to rid my kitchen of cooking aromas. White vinegar. I put it in a couple of small wide based bowls and placed it near the areas where the aroma wafts into my home. Snuggle met its match and I can breathe again. Because I can't convince these two men to give up the use of this product...I mixed white vinegar and water...about half 'n half...and put it into a fine spray bottle. Whenever Snuggle visits...I spray the air with my vinegar mixture. Works like a charm. And it doesn't cost but a few pennies. :-)

Anne

Anne, I have the same problem with dryer sheets. My next door neighbor (and these are separate houses on separate lots, and her external dryer and bathroom vents are almost 50 yards away) must use about 200 every time she does laundry. If the breeze is coming this way, I can't even walk outside the door, the smell is horrible, I start sneezing and get a ferocious headache. I can tell/smell when she puts perfume on in her bathroom, too. When I'm riding my bike, I can "smell" people and cars as they go by (men too with that heavily scented body wash that's so popular - it's not just women's perfume). Can't imagine being in the same room or office with them. Vinegar does work wonders.

Ammonia works the best of anything I've tried to cut the nicotine film on glass, walls, cabinets and other stuff (laundry as well). Do I like the smell of ammonia? Not even a little bit, but it dissipates quickly, especially if the windows are open. Windex works too (it's just scented, colored ammonia), but that's a zillion times more expensive.

I just heard a story on PBS radio about the origin of Febreze. When it was first manufactured it did one thing: It removed odors. P & G thought they'd hit the jackpot! But...it didn't sell. People didn't wouldn't buy a 'negative': No odor. They would, however, buy a 'positive': A scent. When marketing figured this out and added a scent to it, Febreze took off!

I've rescued stale throw pillows with a spray of white vinegar and water -- really saturated the covers. When dry, there is no odor.

DS owned a house where someone had smoked regularly in a room with cork-covered walls. The only remedy was to pull the cork off the walls, scrub walls, floors and ceiling, repaint.

When my brother first bought his condo, the previous owners were very heavy smokers. Walls and ceilings yellowed etc. Even after re-painting, replacing floors etc the smell still lingered. He realized that the smoke smell was in all of the outlets, and he replaced the outlets and covers.

I have a spray bottle filled with half white vinegar and half water. Anything that stinks gets sprayed. I use it on carpets, couches, walls. It smells like vinegar for a few hours but the smell dissipates and takes odor away with it. It works like a charm with zero toxins.

I used to use air fresheners as I enjoy scented things but there's so much crap in a lot of those that I don't think is healthy to breathe. Essential oils are nice.

I had a terrible odour in this house from Loki's ear tumour and I tried everything. Febreeze just masked and it made my face itchy whenever I sprayed it. My sister in law lent me her Lampe Berger which I love. You light the wick for 2 minutes then blow it out and let it sit for 20 minutes. I also have a bag of Moso bamboo charcoal that helps to purify and dehumidfy the air. You just put the bag in the sunshine to renew it. Works in areas of up to 250 sq feet. I think you can order a Lampe Berger online at Amazon.

Lampe Berger

I second Cherryfizz's Lampe Berger recommendation. I've been using other brands of fragrance lampes for years. I always cut the scented fragrance oils with an equal amount of 91% rubbing alcohol (only use the 91%) so the fragrance isn't too strong, it also makes it more economical. I prefer the fruity scents (peach, orange, lime). Read more about the history of Lampe Bergers here Lampe Berger history My favorite online store for oils and burners is Courtney's Candles. I light my burner for 5 minutes (I keep my wicks soaking in 91% alcohol), blow it out and then let it burn until the burner is empty. There is a learning curve to using them.

Only thing I use is my Lampe berger, you can get unscented but the scents are mild. I have bad scent allergies not bothered by the Lampe berger. It was originally used in hospitals to cleanse the air.

I also recommend using charcoal. I used it in our rv to help with the off gassing smells. I also have several of those armor baking soda things that go in the refrigerator, they can be used in other areas.

I just heard on the rehab addict show you can add a bottle of vanilla to the gallon of paint to make it smell great, no paint smell and it won't affect the paint.

My favorite air freshener is a couple of open windows, even if just open a crack.

People have become pretty scent adverse. Artificial smells like cologne or perfume, or intentional scent producing candles, sachets, etc for indoors have gotten pretty unpopular and maybe even unwelcome in my area. I don't like them and I think it's the same for many people I know (judging from what I DON'T smell when visiting other homes).

Snidely beat me to it by 2 minutes LOL I was going to say the same. Open windows.

I wish I had windows at the front of the house that opened but I don't. I have the screen door window and I can no longer keep that door open in the spring or summer because the door won't shut tightly and there is a gap at the top where bugs can get in, it needs to be replaced but out of my budget right now Stupidest thing for this house was when the windows that opened were replaced with windows that didn't. Sometime in the future I hope to change that.

I used to use a Lampe Berger all the time, but the oil has been banned in California since 1993. It exceeds the allowable VOC levels per the California Air Resource Board. I really don't miss it anymore.

I remember in third grade, my teacher, Mrs Hall or Hull (can't remember exactly, it was a long time ago.) She always had the classroom windows wide open, even in our Buffalo NY winters. She said "fresh air and sunshine are free".

Buy a bag of charcoal briquets, put a bunch in open containers and put them in discreet places. Charcoal is the best odor absorber.

I love the febreeze smells...love the "Moms Been Bakin" scent from Airwick that goes in the automatic dispensers...I have one at the top of the stairs that goes off every 36 minutes...hubster comes out of his office just to get a wiff...it really does smell like someone is baking cookies! I guess I'm still in the hide the smoke smell...I haven't smoked in over 5 years!!!

This is what is used in the hospitals around here and my Mom was able to get it thru a medical supply place. Not cheap, but boy does it work!!!

Medi-aire - Biological Odor Eliminator, comes in a spray bottle.

8 oz is about $14, but so worth it. I used the Unscented one, I have several bottles and keep one in each bathroom.

the manufacturer is:

C. R. BARD, Inc Covington, GA 30014

800-526-4455

BTO8U1 1/99

Catalog No. 7018U - spray

7008 - refill

Thanks for all your suggestions! I'm intrigued by the Lampe Berger--I never heard of it before. For those who use it, what scent do you recommend? Also, while I see it on amazon, I don't see any local store where you can test the scent before buying. Where do you buy it?

Stay away from scented stuff, Cassandra. Soooooooo unhealthy!

Oh, but I need something scented tibbrix! Yes, all my windows are open and I still need to do something to scent the air a bit and drive out some unpleasant smells. Don't worry, I will use in moderation. I do, however, like the vinegar suggestion and will try that too!

I asked my sister in law today what the scent of the one I am using is and she said it has patchouli notes. It is very light scented. If I was buying it I would go for the lemon scented one. The link I posted lists all the scents for the lampe berger. When the odour in this house became unbearable at times I simmered some cinnamon and a cut up apple in a pot on the stove and did that everyday. There is also another product you can get from a janitorial supply company, called Air Lift. I bought another product by the same company called Consume from a janitorial supply company that you water down into a spray bottle and it eats up anything biological and leaves a nice vanilla scent. You have to rinse or vacuum the area after letting the stuff do its job.

I have an allergy to scents...so I try to use charcoal in various places.