Get Rid of Odors Without Chemical Sprays

Did you know that you can go fishing at a fish farm? Apparently my husband does. He came back from his “fishing trip” with an obscene amount of bass, catfish and perch. We’ve had homemade fish sticks, fillets, baked, broiled and grilled fish, fish stew and croquettes. And now my house has taken on a semi-permanent fish smell. And I can’t spray it away because he has allergies.

About five minutes from my wits’ end, I remembered my grandmother’s “good smell”. It’s a rough translation. It’s what she used to make her house smell warm and good long before people started misting the air with chemical sprays. After the first time I made it, I chucked the chemical spray and never looked back.

Good Smell
Put a pot of water on the stove. Bring the water to a light simmer and keep it there. While the water’s heating, add my grandmother’s patented (not really) ingredients. Peel an orange with a potato peeler and dump the zesty orange rind in the pot. Add two cinnamon sticks and one teaspoon of vanilla.

If you don’t have my grandma’s patented ingredients you can really just use anything that smells good that you find in your pantry. You need a strong, sweet spice like cinnamon, cloves, cardamom or allspice. You don’t need whole spices, powder will do. If you don’t have oranges, use the peel or flesh of any sweet-smelling fruit — bananas are a little overpowering. No vanilla? Try a couple of tablespoons of flavored coffee creamer or sugar.

Open a Window
The longer the fish smell stays in the house, the longer the smell good will have to do battle before it wins. Lend it a helping hand by opening a window. Even a few minute’s breeze will vent enough of the bad smell to let the good stuff take over. If the weather’s terrible though, don’t bother. The good smell will prevail. It will just take a few minutes longer.

Clean Up
Good smell only lasts as long as the pot is simmering. If there are still fish guts and scraps in your kitchen, the fish smell will kick back up once the pot’s turned off. Dump that stuff outside. Clean the dishes as soon as you can. Then nuke the wet sponge or dish rag for 15 seconds to kill any lingering fish odor and bacteria.