A smell in your home can drive you insane! There’s nothing like an odor you can’t quite find the source of to motivate you to pull out all the furniture and clean like a madman. However, there are some common causes, from the bins to the cages and feeders of animals you keep.
The Toilet and Plumbing
As the wise Ray Stantz once said, “Listen! You smell something?”! As frightening as it can be, you never really need Ghostbusters. So who are you gonna call? Well, a plumber is probably your best bet. You may not believe it, but the signs you have a ghost match the signs of bad plumbing to a tee! So think about lifting up the toilet tank lids to check the flush is working, pour down some drain cleaner, and listen for gurgling pipes before keeping all the lights on!
Did You Empty the Bins?
Of course, the bins will get smelly given what they actually do. However, it can be annoying when you don’t realize that they can get pretty stinky pretty quickly after cleaning them and replacing the bin liner. For example, emptying raw meat and the liquid (myoglobin, not blood) from raw meat packages gets rank very fast, especially in hot weather. So, make sure the bin and recycling bin are the first places you check before turning the house upside down.
A Smell in Your Home Could Be the Neighbors!
A survey by LendingTree found that 75% of people don’t like or get along with at least one neighbor. A bad neighbor can ruin your perfect home sanctuary, especially if you live very close, such as in an apartment, and their bad smells can intrude into yours for a bad experience:
- Ah, there’s nothing quite like the disgusting smell of cannabis to ruin your evening!
- One of your neighbors might be a great chef, and cooking odors can be obtrusive.
- Some neighbors can be very unclean, and their home smells can invade yours!
Animal Cages and Feeders
Keeping pet areas and cages clean is a priority when you keep animals. They can get very smelly very quickly, especially if you neglect them. Cages and bedding aside, there is one culprit that eludes many people as a possible source of a smell. Dog and cat bowls accumulate bits and pieces of food over time, and it begins to decay. Meat and fish from wet food are the worst for this and can cause an ungodly aroma in a home. So also try to keep these clean.
Check the Laundry Basket
Some people love nothing more than doing household chores such as laundry, and others would rather stick hot pins in their eyes! Laundry accumulates all kinds of nasty microbes and bacteria when it is left to fester, especially if there is some humidity to it, such as with sports wear or towels. It can be easy to miss because you don’t think of your “tighty-whities” as dirty. But dirty, they are! So, grab the best detergent you have if you follow your nose to the hamper!
Summary
Plumbing problems, such as a dying toilet flush, can be the source of smells in your home. However, you may not even notice that neighbors can also contribute to unpleasant home aromas. Of course, the laundry basket can be a source of an ungodly smell when left alone.
