solutions to winter apartment air staleness?
absent open windows, my apartment is getting a lived-in, cooked-in staleness. does anyone have any awesome tricks to deal with this without resorting to chemical air fresheners? ideally, i'm looking for something that neutralizes or absorbs smells that hang around from cooking and stuff (i already use the vent thing on my stove), rather than covering it up with another "frangrance." febreze has its place in my life, but that place should not be constant. any thoughts?
Comments
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Since your against other air fresheners, I'd say plants, baking soda, and fans.
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I've recently become a fan of those Glade candles, in spite of the cheesy commercials. I bought the Suddenly Spring one about 2 weeks ago, I've burned it about 5-6 times and it's a really pleasant smell. Not overpowering but it gets rid of funky smells nicely. The scent also lasts a long time, even after you put it out.
I have to mention that currently I have my 4 cats, 2 dogs, 2 foster cats, and the 2 kittens in my 1 bedroom apartment. Granted, it's a decent sized apartment, about 600 sq ft I think but still, that's a lot of animals! -
smoke two packs a day
you won't smell anything else -
Try one of these thingamabobs.
Fill the top with water and add 5-10 drops of an essential oil (I like lavender), light a tea light underneath, and you're good to go.
I'm not a hippie, I just sound like one when I post on message boards...
MOD NOTE: fixed your link -
They're not exactly cheap, but we've been using one of these for the past few years. It's an air purifier and humidifier in one. They bring humidity just to the right level (it's not "forced"), remove dust, dander, and other particulates to freshen things up. There's also some scent additives (in addition to the necessary water additive), but I've never used 'em... Anyway, the thing is truly awesome.
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How about opening the window once in a while?
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i do!
but can't in the main room because it's not a window, it's a sliding door. (this is one of those new buildings made mostly, i think, of legos and papier mache, i think, but with terraces...it's generally awesome to have a terrace, but not so much in terms of window-opening because no matter how little we crack the sliding door, my dog detects its open-ness and barks at it. and barks and barks and bark...) -
i have to agree with whyfi....i have a venta airwasher and LOVE it!
they are pricey, but a great investment. no filters to deal with, it actually looks nice and it feels very sturdy...there is something like a 10 year warranty. it's made in germany so i liken it to the mercedes of humidifiers...but that's the best part...it's also an air washer!!
just cleaned mine out over the weekend and got it crankin again.
great quiet white noise, if you're into that also. -
i find alot of those sprays to be like splashing cheap cologne on a ripe armpit.
Ive recently become a fan of the glade neutralizer spray.
bathroom kitchen even cigs to some extent.
While fragrant for a few moments , it seems function true to its name,
rather than producing the combined bad odor effect. -
I think that the glade spray also comes in unscented, which is fantastic. whenever my cats get into one of their rare I-get-to-poop-right-now battles at the litterbox, which ends with one of them pooing on the floor which is somehow 10 thousand times more stinky, I spray that stuff after I clean up and it's like ... the poo smell is gone without getting rid of, say, the smell of my wet wool coat after getting caught in the rain yesterday.
the sliding door situation sucks, though. the open window is key. -
I agree with all the above and I have also like
Fabreeze has a new scented candle which is better than the Glades (which I was hooked on before).
There are also these little lamp diffusers that you can purchase and screw on your lamp and its releases scents when the lamps are on.
I have also become a fan of the "reeds in liquid" type air freshners that they seem to sell all over now. -
I keep a pot on the stove with cinnamon sticks and water on a low boil when I am home. it gives the place a nice scent.
BTW-how much are these air washers? -
There have already been several good suggestions here. One more: The heat is so extreme in my apartment that at night I run a humidifier in my bedroom (otherwise I wake up in the middle of the night with a sore throat and skin so dry it hurts), and I put a cotton ball with a few drops of essential oil in front of the hole where the steam comes out. I especially like sweet marjoram, neroli, and lavender -- all pretty relaxing scents.
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LongTimeSloper wrote: BTW-how much are these air washers?
A couple hundred bucks and up, depending on size (I have the smallest one), but they do have a good warranty and they're made to be easily taken apart and serviced - I can see it lasting a very long time.
Oh, and it does it's job really well. -
mine is the middle sized venta...i believe it was $299.00 or so.
seems outrageous at first, but once you see how well it works, you'll be sold i think. and i felt like i was spending nearly 100 bucks a season on replacement filters for my old humidifier and it never worked half as good as this one.
plus that isn't taking into account the fact that this cleans the air as well. i have seen a significant reduction in dust.
i've had mine for going on 3 years now and it's good as new.
i shopped and shopped around for a good price, but they seem to be the same price everywhere. i remember i used one of those 20% off any one item that i get in the mail for bed bath and beyond and bought it there.
if you like to shop local (which i prefer) they sell them at that electronics store on 7th between berkeley and union...i forget the name, but i bought the once a year cleaner there the other day... -
umm...why NOT open the windows?!! OPEN YOUR WINDOWS!! You need (relatively) fresh air. :roll:
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The Chipster wrote: umm...why NOT open the windows?!! OPEN YOUR WINDOWS!! You need (relatively) fresh air. :roll:
Umm.. because it's winter? The original poster may just live in one of those rare apartments where the heat actually works at a normal level, as opposed to the roasting hotness most Brooklyn apartments. Some people actually can't open their windows in December without freezing their asses off. -
Maybe you could develop a routine where you open the everything up for maximum ventilation and then take the dog for a nice long walk.
Off-topic, but "Dog Whisperer" types would say you're letting your dog run your house, Maybe you could work on modifying behaviour so barking at the open door is not allowed. -
right on, apollonia! i forgot to mention - not only do i live in one of those rare apartments that's where the heat is warm (at best), not sub-saharan; i also have sovereignty over my boiler. which is nice in terms of temperature control - except when it's really cold. each apartment has its own boiler and hence its own gas bill for heat and hot water. which on the up side encourages conservation, but on the down side does NOT encourage wanton window-opening. i finally understand why my parents, back in suburban CT, were always telling be to put on extra layers instead of turning up the heat. it's because heat is expensive!!!
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I guess it's Not a win win situation, but I have in the past done a major vacuum, dust, wipe and mop of every thing! Hence cleaning up the the cause of the stink, with the windows opened and a fan going to air out everything. You wont be cold cause you'll be sweating cleaning the place. Then close windows, and bake some cookies/pie/cake or something sweet smelling. The oven tends to warm everything up again. Buy a store premade pie, no biggie.
Then enjoy.
Eh, works for me. -
I'm surprised more people aren't on the plant thing to clean the air. Humans can invent all the techno junk they want but plants have been cleaning the air since before we were here. It is a bit more work but I find it a great symbiosis.... I take care of the plants and they keep my air good and oxygenated.
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I keep the thermostat down soooo low, and I pay for my own heat! However, I don't care how cold it is--if the air is smelly or stale; open a freakin window! My house never smells bad, cause I open those doors and windows for a quick breath of fresh air all the time. Is common sense that politically incorrect? Racist? What?! I'm confused. I don't get all these "ideas" and "solutions" to an obvious question.
Scenario 2 Take 1:
OP: My dog wants to go to go to the bathroom at night, but it's too cold to go outside? What should I do?
My response: Take him out and quit whining!
Your responses "Get a dogwalker!"
"Use these new biodegradable doggie diapers! THey're green!"
"Train your dog to only go once a day. It's easy!"
"Buy a down jacket for you and your dog."
"Tell the neighbors to shut up, and get their strollers out of the way."
" -
The Chipster wrote: However, I don't care how cold it is--if the air is smelly or stale; open a freakin window! My house never smells bad, cause I open those doors and windows for a quick breath of fresh air all the time. Is common sense that politically incorrect? Racist? What?! I'm confused. I don't get all these "ideas" and "solutions" to an obvious question.
Chipster, what on Maude's green earth are you going off about? Nobody said anything about race or so-called "political correctness" here.
Some people don't like to be cold. I'm sorry you're so put out by it, but the original poster's question was not an unreasonable one. -
i hope you realize how some of you come across on this board. i moved to park slope about a year ago and was told to check out the park slope message boards. i was promptly beraded on a couple posts.
i've also told a few other newcomers about this site, and they have ALL commented about how unwelcoming this board is and how people make extremeley rude comments.
it doens't bode well for the already negative press our neighborhood often receives.
i'd just ask to please keep that in mind when commenting. -
Funny, I remember when it was Bed Stuy, Do or Die, and Brooklyn was divided street by street, the young 'uns "controlling" their block, and not letting you pass if you didn't. When works were still sold on Crackett St., and dope was 2 blocks over. Ah, the good ole days....
Call me an old timer, but I do not feel the inclination to be nice.
I never promised you a rose garden, baby, maybe your realtor did. -
Funny...I don't remember being promised a rose garden, but I also don't remember being told others would put me down b/c I'm new to the slope. Luckily, it seems the chipster is the only real tool on the attack here.
BTW I am not new to city living, just new to the slope.
Sorry if I sound harsh, but chip's posts are completely off topic and waaaayyyyy out of line. I just can't understand the attitude.
Just my opinion. Go ahead, attack away -
Chipster, please read the rules of the site, available at the top of every page of the site at the "READ THE RULES" link.
You don't get to be rude to other users here just because you don't "feel like being nice."
Let's get back on topic, please, if this isn't fizzled out or hopelessly derailed. -
The Chipster wrote: I keep the thermostat down soooo low, and I pay for my own heat! However, I don't care how cold it is--if the air is smelly or stale; open a freakin window! My house never smells bad, cause I open those doors and windows for a quick breath of fresh air all the time. Is common sense that politically incorrect? Racist? What?! I'm confused. I don't get all these "ideas" and "solutions" to an obvious question.
Scenario 2 Take 1:
OP: My dog wants to go to go to the bathroom at night, but it's too cold to go outside? What should I do?
My response: Take him out and quit whining!
Your responses "Get a dogwalker!"
"Use these new biodegradable doggie diapers! THey're green!"
"Train your dog to only go once a day. It's easy!"
"Buy a down jacket for you and your dog."
"Tell the neighbors to shut up, and get their strollers out of the way."The Chipster wrote: Funny, I remember when it was Bed Stuy, Do or Die, and Brooklyn was divided street by street, the young 'uns "controlling" their block, and not letting you pass if you didn't. When works were still sold on Crackett St., and dope was 2 blocks over. Ah, the good ole days....
What the hell is wrong with you? Did you go off your meds? Way to make yourself look like an unhinged whacko.
Call me an old timer, but I do not feel the inclination to be nice.
I never promised you a rose garden, baby, maybe your realtor did. -
Ha! Ha! Good one Caseo, you get 2 stars **
Back on topic and speaking of rose gardens: I second the plants idea.
It'll make your place look nice too. Also grabbing on the weekend a bundle of fragrant flowers.
I still stand by my cleaning idea. Lots of time the smelly orders that are trapped in you place are due to laundry piling up, dirty carpets, dirty kitchen... -
See, I love plants but I'm just not that good with them. I have 4 right now that I'm barely keeping alive, poor things. I bought that Glade candle when the boiler of my building was messed up (a couple weeks ago when it first started getting really cold). The heat was barely working and only for an hour or two at a time then going off completely for hours. Opening a window was not an option since I had no idea when I would get any heat at all next. This went on for 2 weeks and with dogs and cats, I needed something to freshen the air a bit.
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