Summertime here is plagued with all kinds of smells. From stinky sweaty kids coming in from an afternoon of playing to piles of chlorine water soaked towels from the pool. Fortunately Lisa Beres, a healthy living expert, Building Biologist and author, has shared a few simple solutions to naturally create and maintain a fresh home.
Source: Damp towels
Solution: Wet towels from a shower, a trip to the gym or a day at the pool can be a breeding ground for mildew to develop if they sit too long without drying. To rid towels of the mildew smell, first wash them once in hot water with a cup or two of white vinegar. Then wash them again with a natural or eco-friendly laundry detergent. Finally, dry the towels in the dryer on high heat. To avoid mildew and associated smells in the future, hang towels up right away to ensure they dry thoroughly.
This is a constant problem in our house right now. I have taught the kids to immediately take their towels to the back porch and hang them over the railing to dry out. If you don’t have a back porch, draping them over your shower rod will have the same effect.
Source: Cooking
Solution: Prevent unappealing cooking odors, such as fish, from spreading and lingering throughout the entire home by upgrading to the Filtrete Odor Reduction Filter. It traps odors and gases from the air passing through the filter and helps keep the home fresh for families and houseguests. Synthetic air fresheners, candles and incense only provide temporary relief from odors by masking them in one particular room but will do nothing
to remove the odors from the entire home.
This happens here often. Relying on the Filtere filter instead of masking the odors with candles and air fresheners is a small step to a healthier home. Although these products smell good, they may contain synthetic chemicals, such as formaldehyde, which can irritate eyes, skin and throats.
Source: Kitchen refrigerator
Solution: Forgotten leftovers can cause a foul odor in your fridge. Clean the fridge drawers and shelves by adding a few drops of natural dish soap to a bowl of baking soda and stir until it creates a thick paste. This will remove odors as well as stains left behind from food. Also store an open box of baking soda inside the fridge to help eliminate odors before they start, and replace it with a fresh box at least every three months.
With six people in our house it goes without saying that someone will open something and put the remainder in a container in the fridge. Oftentimes it is a can of corn or black beans. For some odd reason, this person will “forget” that item is in the fridge and the leftovers sit and rot… pew! Baking soda helps, but going the extra mile by keeping tabs on the fridge contents and doing a monthly wipe down helps a lot!
The first step to odor prevention should be changing out your old furnace filter with the new Filtrete Odor Reduction Filter. The Filtrete Odor Reduction Filter features carbon web technology that combines tiny pores of activated carbon with electrostatically charged fibers to help trap odors and gases from the air passing through the filter. It is the most effective odor-reduction filter at removing odors in the home, such as those from cooking, tobacco smoke, pets, mildew and cleaning chemicals.
The Filtrete Odor Reduction Filter also help maintain airflow in heating and cooling systems, which may help prevent stress on the system and reduce the amount of energy needed to reach desired indoor air temperatures. Other electrostatically charged filters with similar ratings are tightly woven and may restrict airflow in the heating and cooling system. This may cause the system to work harder and run longer.
Are you plagued by allergies like I am? The Filtrete Odor Reduction filter helps reduce airborne allergens from the air passing through the filter, such as household dust, pollen, dust mite debris and mold spores.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency recommends changing the filter every three months. An easy way to remember to change your filter is to do so at the start of ever season.
Product Benefits:
• 65 times more effective than other carbon filters at removing odors, such as those from cooking,
tobacco smoke, pets, mildew and cleaning chemicals.
• Starts to remove even the strongest odors in minutes, after the furnace fan is turned on
• Captures large airborne allergens such as household dust, pollen, mold spores and dust mite debris
• Captures microscopic particles such as smoke, pet dander and smog
• Last up to three months for odor removal and particle capture for air passing through the filter
Connect with Filtrete:
I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Filtrete and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.
I need this in my house. My house gets so dusty living in the desert of AZ..
Is this different? The every 3 months, I thought most filters change every month. Either way, this is a pretty impressive filter!
I use Filtrete filters in my house. By using cheaper brands you have to changed the filters every month. I always buy 2 or more when they are on sale.
I like that your tips are natural. I haven’t met the odor that vinegar and/or baking soda couldn’t get rid of. My biggest odor supplier in the summer is clothes left in the washer for a few hours that then need to be washed again.
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