I keep a clean house. Well, as clean and tidy as possible with three kids, a dog and an in home toddler daycare. My biggest problem is household odors.
Odor 1: GARLIC! I love to cook with garlic but my kitchen has begun to smell more and more. Is there a place I should store the bulbs for a longer life? What about after I have taken a clove off and have the rest of a bulb to store? I dont store them in the fridge, just out on the counter in a bowl. I swear even my butter TASTES like garlic even fresh out of the wrapper.
Odor 2: POOP! I have done in-home daycare for years and have never been a fan of the whole diaper disposal system. I think they are a pain in the rear. (bad pun intended) I bring the dirty diapers to the outdoor trash ASAP. Four toddlers create a lot of poop and no matter how quickly the dirty diapers get outside, my basement (childcare area) is stinky. It is a walkout basement so I can open up for fresh air. I guess I am looking for your favorite air freshener that isn't to perfum-ey and cloying. My favorite thus far is Febreeze. Any plug ins work? Other ideas so I don't feel I am sitting in a poop-infested environment. :)
Thanks all!
J.
Read about febreeze. I wouldn't use it at all. Most air fresheners are unhealthy.
http://www.thegoodhuman.com/2008/11/19/greenwash-of-the-w...
You are better off to open windows, etc...
I use my non-toxic cleaners.
http://www.shaklee.net/healinghappens/getclean/index
http://www.mcs-america.org/airfresh.pdf
Garlic should not be stored in the fridge. It is to be treated like onions and potatoes. Do you have a hanging veggie basket? It will hold these types of items. You can hang it in your pantry or over the sink.. It is a great way to get them out of your way.
Once the garlic, starts to sprout.. it is time to throw it out.
I am extremely sensitive to all of those commercial air fresheners. They trigger migraines for me. So I use baking soda. Open a box and place it in strategic areas, up high and out of reach. Vanilla is a natural odor absorber. Place a bit in small dishes or containers (the lids from jars work fine). Place these around the room(even on top of book shelves) and it will really help.
SOL-U-MEL is a miracle cleaner. It can be mixed with water and sprayed on as an air freshener and odor remover. I spray it on our carpet to get out dog accidents. Its also a stain remover if used in its concentrated form. But I freshen up the house by spraying our mattresses, pillows, couch, carpet, etc and the house is fresh and clean!
I use Odo-ban- I get a gallon jug of it at Sam's Club and you dilute it down- most of the time it comes with a sprayer that is already diluted. I love this product because you can use it anywhere and it is a very good anti-bacterial cleaner. I use it in the laundry if my daughter wets the bed and it completely gets out the pee smell. I also use it to spray the dog beds down - well spray over their beds- and it makes them smell fresh and not very chemically smelling, I think the main ingredient is eucalyptus? If you don't want to buy the gallon jug (it is under $10)- I think sometimes Wal-mart sells the spray bottles that are already diluted. Hope this helps!
I'm not a fan of commercial air fresheners...I think they trigger athsma, allergies and other respiratory stuff.
When my dog was skunked, I read to place small dishes/bowls of coffee to absorb odors and it DOES work!
As for the garlic, keep in a basket or whatever out of the fridge, unpeeled cloves shouldn't have much odor.
As for the poop--ventilate as much as possible. Get the poopy diapers out of the house as soon as possible. You might want to consider an air cleaner for your downstairs daycare area.
If you butter smells like garlic, then you must be storing it in the fridge, but garlic should actually not be stored in the refrigerator, but in a cool, dry area. And you can put them in a baggy or something like that.
Ahh stinky diapers. I don't know if you are wrapping the diaper in plastic bags, but that always helps. You can get diaper bags at dollar stores- it cuts back on the smell tremendously. I've heard active charcoal is really great at absorbing smells, especially basement ones. Though I've never used it, I have been told it works well.
Febreeze is my favorite air freshers too- the plug in too.
I have the diaper Genie2 (they still make the first model, but it was a pain in the butt! again, no pun intended!). I LOVE it. IT is much easier to use. I leave my daughter's diapers in there for days at a time-- she is at daycare during the week, so it takes a while to fill up, and there is no odor, and my nose is very sensitive.
My daughter uses a plug in in her room and it always smells wonderful. Don't know the brand offhand. Glade has a couple of nice-smelling candles that aren't outrageously expensive and really make the whole house smell nice.
ooooh i love garlic also-but i keep mine in a ziplock in the fridge-still just as good-keeps the odor down-also theyve come out with a febreeze plug in-give that a try,good luck
Watkins had environmentally safe air fresheners that really help with odors around here. My personal favorite scent is the Aloe and Green Tea: http://www.watkinsonline.com/productdetail.cfm?Product=26...
I keep my garlic in a Tupperware garlic keeper: http://order.tupperware.com/pls/htprod_www/tup_show_item....
Hi J.,
Kristin is right,
Solumel would be perfect for you. I know several in-home day cares that use it and they don't stink. Solumel is natural and actually removes the odor not just masking it like a Febreeze or a dangerous plug in. Those are neurological toxins and can do some major damage. The behavior of the kids will actually change.
It also repels bugs.... including lice!
My suggestion for the diapers is to dump the poop into the toilet, then take the diapers to the trash can. I had 2 kids in diapers at a time, and with this method, even keeping them in the household trash inside, we never had odor issues. Much safer options than the chemicals in air fresheners.
Good luck!
I don't know that I have any solutions foy you, but I do have a caution. You probably want to stay away from plugins. They can be a fire hazard. OSHA does not allow them in the work place any more and I know when the fire inspector has been through our building that is one of the things they specifically look for.
Not sure I can help with the garlic issue - though I grew-up with garlic in EVERYTHING, I barely cook with it because I taste it for days afterwards.
The poop, though......
We had 2 kids in diapers last summer - a 1 year old and a 3 year old who both have excellent digestive systems. We keep a trashcan upstairs in our laundry room and in the garage for stinky diapers and make sure both always have a liner in them to prevent the odor from permeating into the plastic.
We purchased some of the refresheners that absorb the odor from the environment (they have a gel-type substance inside a plastic tub that you open and leave in the room for a month). We got them at Lowes, and they seemed to help. We also use both Glad and Febreeze plug ins, but they seem to run out quickly. We purchase the refills at Sams Club and Costco to help reduce the costs.
My only other advice would be to put in a ceiling fan or put a fan in an unreachable place in the basement to help keep the air circulating when you can't have the doors open to help dissipate the scent.
Good luck!
