You can easily lose track of time while cooking in the kitchen, so burning your food can occur more frequently than you'd like. But, whether you forgot you were cooking or used too much heat to burn your food, one thing is clear; you need to get rid of the mess as quickly as possible. Here is how to get the burnt smell out of your house in easy steps.
How to Get Rid of Burnt Smell from Your House
You can get rid of the burnt smell with three main methods, as we will show you below. But first, here are the main methods;
- Cleaning the kitchen area.
- Using various products to absorb the smell.
- Using fresheners to mask the smell.
Did you know burning food when cooking contributes to household air pollution? According to this article by the World Health Organization, most household air pollution can cause various health problems like pneumonia and heart disease.
Over three million people succumb to these diseases every year, which is a good reason to practice the best cooking methods, including using non-polluting fuels. If you accidentally burn your food, you need to get rid of the smell immediately.
Here is how to get the burnt smell out of your house.
Method 1: How to Clean Your House to Remove the Burnt Smell
When you burn food when baking in the oven or microwave oven, you first want to start cleaning the area. Here is how to get rid of the smoke smell.
Step 1: Throw away all the burnt food
If you have ended up with burnt popcorn or food, the first thing to do is throw the food away. It is best not to eat these burnt foods because, as explained in this CNN article, burnt food has high levels of acrylamide, a compound linked to the formation of cancer cells. So, throw away all burned food to begin the cleaning process.
When throwing the burnt food, you want to handle it when it has cooled down, then transfer it to a plastic bag. Then, you need to throw it into a garbage can outside the house. This step is vital as you need to get rid of the source of the unpleasant odor, and leaving the food in the house will cause more burnt odors even after you clean.
Step 2: Open all Your Kitchen Windows
After throwing the food in a wastage bin outside your house, you The easiest way to remove the smoke odors is by letting in fresh air. So, you want to open all your kitchen windows and doors. If the burnt odor traveled to other rooms, ensure you open the windows and doors for more fresh air.
With the overwhelming burnt odor, it is a great idea to get the fresh air circulating fast to eliminate the burned smell. So, you can turn on all the fans in every room with the burnt smells to move the air faster. You can use an air purifier and fan combo for faster results. You can also turn on your stovetop fan to circulate the smoke odors faster.
Step 3: Clean all surfaces
By now, most of the burnt smell will have disappeared, but you need to start cleaning to remove lingering odors from your house. For this step, you will need to clean floors, walls (if necessary), and kitchen cloths.
Before cleaning the floors, gather all smoke-affected fabrics in your kitchen, such as table cloths, kitchen towels, aprons, and curtains, and clean them in your washing machine. After cleaning these with your best laundry detergent, allow them to air dry outside to guarantee no lingering smoke smell is left in them.
It is also ideal to check other rooms affected by your burnt food smell and wash the fabrics. In addition, also wash any kitchen mats as these will also store the burnt popcorn smell for days.
When all fabrics are clean, it is time to start cleaning the surfaces. For this step, you will need water, disinfectant or bleach, and a mop. A steam vacuum cleaner can also make your cleaning process easier.
Start cleaning the insides of your oven if you were baking. However, if you were cooking on a stovetop, clean the stove to remove all food particles, grease, and smoke smell. When the cooking surface is clean, determine if you need to clean the walls.
If the burnt food smoke filled your rooms, you might also need to clean the walls. Finally, start moping the floors to remove smoke odors, dirt, and grease. Finally, depending on how strong the smoke was and how much smell still lingers, look for any exposed storage items, such as card boxes that can store the smell. It is best to replace these as soon as you can.
Method 2: Use Products That Absorb the Smoke Odor
By now, it is still possible to have lingering smoke particles, and you need to remove these to prevent any burnt food house smell. Here are tips to help absorb and remove smoke odor from your house.
a) Use Lemons
Lemons are good for your health and also produce the best organic cleaning agents. Here is how you can make an organic air purifier with lemons;
Step 1: Bring water to boil on your stove.
Step 2: Cut two lemons into thin slices. Then, throw the lemon slices into the boiling water. Boil for several minutes, then turn off the stove.
Step 3: Leave the lemon juice mixture sitting on your kitchen counter for about an hour.
If you don't have lemons, you can also use cloves. Similarly, throw several cloves into a pot with boiling water and leave the solution to sit for an hour.
b) Use white vinegar and bread
White vinegar absorbs odors, and you will want to give it a try after burning your food. Here is how you can use vinegar with bread for fast odor absorption results.
Step 1: Add two cups of white vinegar to a pot with boiling water and let this mixture boil for a few minutes.
Step 2: Turn the stove off, then allow the mixture to cool down for about 15 minutes.
Step 3: Get a slice of bread and dip it into the mixture. When it is soaked, transfer it to a plate and place it on the kitchen counter to absorb the burnt popcorn smell.
c) Use baking soda
Like vinegar, baking soda is another smell-absorbing product, and a high chance you have it in your kitchen cupboard already. For this method, you can decide to mix baking soda with water or use it dry.
If mixing baking soda with water, add equal parts to a large bowl and mix to make a paste. When ready, transfer the paste to smaller bowls and distribute them to several corners of your kitchen and house. Leaving the bowls like that will help get rid of the burnt smell.
You can also add dry baking soda to small bowls and distribute them around the kitchen and house. Left tat way, the baking soda will also absorb most smoke particles from the air, leaving you with a clean-smelling house.
Alternatively, you can also sprinkle dry baking soda on affected fabrics like carpets or mats. Then, after a few hours, use your vacuum cleaner to suck the baking soda from the carpets.
d) Use onion water
As you know, onions have a dominating smell and may even make your eyes tear up. However, this strong smell effectively absorbs other smells, such as burnt food. So, gather a bowl of water, then chop your onions thinly and add the slices into the bowl.
When the onions sit in the water for a while, you can transfer the bowl to the burnt smell source. But, if the kitchen or house was filled with smoke, it might be better to distribute the onion water in smaller bowls all around the house. You can leave these bowls overnight.
Method 3: How to Mask the Burnt Smell in Your House
If, after all the attempts, you still have a burnt smell lingering in your house, you can mask the smell with an air freshener of choice. Let us discover the different air fresheners you can use.
a) Make a natural air freshener with lemons
As seen earlier, lemons are great at absorbing unwanted smells. In addition, they have a calming smell that has benefits for your mental health. So, even when you don't have a burnt smell in your house, this freshener is a great product to have and use daily. Here is how to make it.
Step 1: Mix equal water and lemon juice parts and transfer the mixture to a spray bottle.
Step 2: Spray the mixture to all areas in the house and enjoy the fresh, chemical-free smell, which will also mask the unwanted burnt popcorn smell.
b) Make an air freshener with essential oils
Like lemon juice, your favorite essential oils also have great mental health benefits, so you can turn to them when you want to remove the burnt food smell in your house. To make this freshener, you will need 3/4 cup cold water, vanilla extract or rubbing alcohol, your favorite essential oil, and a spray bottle.
Step 1: Add water into the spray bottle, followed by a few tablespoons of vanilla extract. If you are allergic to vanilla extract, you can also use vodka or rubbing alcohol.
Step 2: Add at least 15 drops of your chosen essential oil. You can also use several essential oils, but make sure the smell does not get too strong for your comfort.
Step 3: Shake the contents in the bottle to mix, and start spraying around your house to get rid of the burnt popcorn smell.
c) Use aerosols
If you don't have enough ingredients to make the best organic freshener at home, you can turn to a commercial air freshener to mask the burnt smell. When using aerosols, ensure you get a mild scent and do not spray them near fires.
d) Use scented candles
If you do not want the overwhelming smell of commercial air fresheners, you can light up some scented candles to mask most of the burnt smell. These candles are also great for calming your mind, which is an added advantage to removing unpleasant odors.
Featured image source: wigglywisdom.com
