How do I make my house smell lovely?

I prefer my home to smell of nothing!

I've tried everything pot pourri, air fresheners, essential oils. those reed things etc

Me too! Useless all of them. And I've had my carpet cleaned

I have a real bee in my bonnet about this, possibly because my living room and kitchen are all one.
I usually have doors and windows open all day when I'm at home but can detect a stale-house smell when I come in from outdoors.

The only thing I have found to work, is a very strong scented candle which perfumes the living room even before it's been lit! My very health-conscious dil bought it from an Aromatherapy company.

I won't buy those automatic spray things, partly because they cost an arm and a leg but also I have no idea what I'd be breathing in as they 'perfume' the air.

My son keeps a small, unopened sachet of fabric softener in his car and that seems to work for small spaces. I have often wondered if the scent would last if poured into a bowl and allowed to evaporate in the living room.

I may experiment one day.

I use wax melts in an electric burner. The burner coats about £10 and you can get wax cubes from loads of places - I buy these from Asda, 3 for £5, and the smell lasts for ages groceries.asda.com/search/ScentSationals

Air out the house by opening windows regularly. Avoid carcinogenic candles and cleaners. Boil some cinnamon and orange peels with cloves. Don't rely on chemicals. Indoor air quality is important.

To clear a room of obnoxious smells, burn a unscented tea light.

Don't try to mask smells no matter what the adverts say, doesn't work.

If there is a real problem after using a tea light, crush some juniper berries (buy on line) simmer in water or mix with vodka to last longer.
soak cotton cloth in the mixture and squeeze out. Put on warm radiator.
In summer just leave cloth in open container until evaporated.
Juniper has a very fresh clear clean scent, and should do the job.

Nothing beats the smell of fresh air. Open the windows and let the air blow through for about 20 minutes every morning.

Monica is right again! Fresh air in every room every morning after ablutions and breakfast! And I don’t make the bed until it’s aired for a couple of hours either.

Fresh flowers and proper beeswax polish – with the bonus of beautifully shined furniture and strong arm muscles. Pot pourri is good in the winter when fresh flowers are lacking scent and expensive. Artificial "fragrances" cannot begin to match those for subtlety and pleasure.

Agree with Monica and Pantglas too. I always open all windows first thing and throw duvet back while getting ready. If it’s a cold day I close them after breakfast and when I’m ready and, obviously, before I go out. No candles or smellies for me either

There is no smell better than beeswax furniture polish. It speaks of a well-cared-for home.

I am a windows open all day all weather person along with kitchen door ajar when cooking.

Fresh flowers and a nice smelling polish (I use method, slightly more expensive but lasts a long time).

Method or Waitrose own “eco” label cleaning products are all fresh smelling with no chemicals (grapefruit, mandarin or lavender) I have seen and bought eco cleaning products in Aldi which are cheaper but still smell fresh, unfortunately they are not always available.

Doesn't opening windows depend on where you live? I found the air in London almost unbearable, and am so glad I now live by the sea.

Fair point Gaunt47

Very good point Gaunt and you'd think this was so. I looked at a site Airqualitynews.com and was very surprised. Apparently air quality monitors were placed in houses in 4 different locations in the country, and the city flat (Manchester centre) had better, although not good, air quality, than a house in a village in Derbyshire.
They decided it was because of.........wood burning stoves! I now wonder how any of us survived to a ripe(ish) old age considering that most of us grew up with open coal and wood fires. Fewer cars around then I suppose.

I agree with greeneyedgirl and others. No smell is the best smell! Our windows have air "vents", which we keep open almost 24/7, unless there are very strong winds. I open the bedroom windows at night and all windows at any appropriate opportunity in the daytime. Some companies are making a fortune from peddling these so called "air fresheners: I'm convinced that they are unnecessary and my heart sinks when I smell them anywhere. (If we rent a holiday home with "air fresheners", I remove them until we leave.)

When our cleaner has been the whole house smells, lovely, not scented but just clean. ~She uses only method products which she brings with her and I'd certainly carry on using them if she left us. If I have visitors coming I open the windows, buy some flowers and have a quick polish with a beeeswax based spray polish on the wood, which always makes the place smell lovely. I have a lot of allergies and plug ins etc. make me very unwell.

Wood burning stoves seem to be a favourite target at the moment!
I'm not really surprised at the results of those air quality tests Greeneyed, the city flat could have been on the 32nd floor and the village in Derbyshire in a valley.
And I too grew up with open coal or coke fires. Bonfires in the garden which burnt most household rubbish so there was very little for the dustmen to take away.

I am another fan of having windows open.
Even on very cold days I always open the windows for a while and the bedroom and bathroom windows are mostly open all day.

So many people are reluctant to do this then wonder why they get condensation .

I agree with whoever suggested freesias. They have a wonderful subtle smell and the blooms are so pretty too. I also like the smell of furniture polish.

We are lucky were we live as there are lots of trees here so the air quality is good.

I also prefer my home to smell of nothing ! I recently had a 10 minute taxi ride which left me feeling ill for the rest of the day because of the strong air freshener. My heart sinks if I have to spend time in a house with artificial smells. Don't like perfumes on people either.

I have been in several homes of friends and they use the scented plug ins which I thought were very nice.
I liked scented candles myself but after awhile the smell evaporates away.
I bought a couple of the scented plug ins and looked forward to a nice smelling house but only problem was the over exuberant dogs at walk time tails wagging like leather whips which dislodged the plug ins from the plug base so thought this could get dangerous for the dogs as all chemical additives so gave up and left it for fresh flowers and candles used as and when.

Lilies scent the whole house,but i can't use them because i have cats and they are poisonous to catS
I like Yankee candles but i recently noticed all my window frames have black marks on them so stopped
I do buy an occasional candle from wilkos, the cashmere one is lovely and only £5 for a large size
Lavendar plugins by Glade are lovely too, and not too strong, but i only put one in my bedroom

I have various diffusers around my house and it smells lovely. The trick is to turn them at least once a day so the reeds don’t completely dry out.

Smell is a very importance sense and some fragrances can be mood enhancing. We can often recall meaningful events, or people when we smell a certain fragrance.
Incense for example can have a psychoactive effect, and has been used for years to aid religious practices.
I love perfume and feel good when I wear my favourite scent.
I can only think that this is a strong reason that we may be seduced into using so many products in our homes with toxic chemical "perfumes", that may, in the long term be detrimental to health.

I do agree open windows is helpful. But not in the case of a persistent smell.
Needs a more hands on approach.

also it's not possible for a variety of reasons for some people.

Don't forget ones home essentially smells of who e ever lives there, and we can easily become 'nose blind'!!

Unfortunately the man in front of me at the queue in the supermarket asked me what perfume I liked in my house.
He’d picked up the wrong plug in smell and was waiting for an assistant to bring the correct one.

Unfortunately I told him I wouldn’t give one house room!
He looked a bit subdued when he left especially when the ladyon the checkout agreed with me?
Poor man