Expert shares surprisingly simple tips for fighting those weird smells in your home: 'Not all air fresheners are created equally'

We've all been there: You come home from a trip or even just a long day at work and the first thing you notice is … a weird smell right when you walk in the door. It could be that the trash just needs to be taken out, but sometimes it takes a bit of investigative work to fix the problem. 

The good news is that you don't need to shell out tons of money buying different kinds of products to solve the issue next time it comes up. We're sharing our favorite tried-and-true methods for keeping your home fresh, and we even chatted with a scientist at Procter & Gamble to get her professional recs.

Here's what you should know.

Step 1: Find and address the source

Before you use your favorite air freshening method, try to identify the source of the smell. Sometimes that's super simple (maybe a full trash can, old food in the fridge, or bathroom use), and sometimes it takes a bit longer to identify exactly why a room smells slightly off (possibly a dirty gym bag hidden in the closet). 

Once you pinpoint the source, your best bet is to toss or clean the culprit and then air out the room — and perhaps also come up with a strategy for reducing the bad smell in the future (ex: a family agreement to keep all soccer cleats in the laundry area, not under beds).

Step 2: Start with an effective air freshener

Reducing smells is always the best place to start, but when you're looking to instantly freshen up your home or an individual room, odor-fighting air fresheners can be a big help. 

You can make your own, as TCD newsletters sometimes cover, but when it comes down to it, most people are looking for advice on what to buy at their favorite local store. We recently chatted with Arianna Castro, a scientist at Procter & Gamble, to get her thoughts on how the bestselling Febreze air fresheners shape up against other products.

"Not all air fresheners are created equally," Castro told us, with some products tackling the odor in question, while others merely mask the smell. 

How does that work? Let's get sciencey for a moment. Castro explained that Febreze fights smells, not masks them, right down at the molecular level: "Febreze is powered by real chemistry: corn-derived cyclodextrin traps odor molecules, while sodium citrate balances out the pH of bad odors, making it as odorless as water" (similar to how restaurants add a lemon to salmon to neutralize some of that fishy odor).  

Cyclodextrin, a donut-shaped molecule, is a key ingredient in Febreze, she explained. "As it disperses through the air, it captures certain odor molecules inside its hollow center, trapping them so you can't smell them anymore."

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Another reason some air fresheners are more effective — and safer — than others is because of the ingredients they're made with. Cyclodextrin, to that point, is a plant starch (not petroleum-based), and it's rated by the Environmental Working Group as a 1 on its 10-point scale (1 being the best, 10 the worst) of chemical and ingredient ratings. 

Febreze helpfully lists out all its ingredients, including the fact that it's a water-based formula (rather than heavy chemical solvents) and that it uses a non-flammable propellant for the spray action (which is why Febreze comes in a clear plastic container instead of requiring a metal can that would contain flammable gases).

"Febreze uses nitrogen, a natural, non-flammable propellant that makes Febreze Air safe to use indoors around people and pets," Castro said. "Nitrogen makes up about 78% of the air we breathe, and that means you get worry-free freshness with every spray."

"Every ingredient we use is chosen with purpose. We believe in full transparency, so you always know what's in our formula and why it matters," Castro said.

The bottom line here is that while not all air fresheners are created equal given the ingredients used, products like the Febreze Hawaiian Aloha scent are noted as a "low concern" by the EWG's ratings site — all while still being grounded in proven odor-fighting technology when you need to tackle a smell-mergency.

Step 3: Consider ventilation upgrades for your home

Living with bad smells is a surefire way to put you and your family in a sour mood, so if you still have lingering odor issues, you may want to consider ventilation upgrades to ensure proper airflow. 

This can be as simple as investing in an air purifier with an activated charcoal filter to keep in your bedroom or kitchen — or as holistic as installing a whole-house ventilation system to constantly keep airflow circulating and fresh.

And if DIY is more your style, consider this lemon cleaning hack or even just the daily ritual of opening all the windows in your home for a few minutes as a couple of other easy ways to refresh your space.

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