How do you handle lingering cooking smells?

[Kristie116]

Hi everyone!  I host a cottage that is rented by the week in the summer and shorter stays in the winter and shoulder seasons.  I recently had a guest stay for two nights, and when they checked out the entire cottage smelled strongly of curry.  I've been trying to deodorize the cottage ever since - it's been about three weeks now of air sprays, furniture sprays, room sprays, boiled vinegar, scrubbing the ceilings and stove, changing the air filters, but the smell remains.  Does anyone have any good tips for removal., and, does anyone have guidance on how I add language to my listing to avoid this happening again, or allowing recourse for supplementary cleaning fees if it does?

I want to ensure my listing is fair and accessible to everyone, but this is a headache I never want to repeat.

Would love to hear your thoughts!

[Helen3]

I am not sure but I ask guests not to cook strongly smelling food including fish. Easier for me to enforce as I'm a homeshare host @Kristie116 

All sprays do is cover up the smell not get rid of it .

do you have a cooker hood they can turn on to help circulate air and dissipate cooking smells? 

[Kristie116]

yes, there's a cooker hood, which i thoroughly cleaned along with the stove itself.  thanks for your response.

[Ana2038]

@Kristie116 , have you tried an ozone machine? I had a guest smoke marijuana in our unit and the room had a strong skunk smell. I placed bowls of vinegar and let it sit there for 3 days. Another host suggested an ozone machine, so I purchased one (Amazon) and have used that. Seems to take care of lingering smells. 

Best—

[Kristie116]

Thanks, Ana, will give it a try.

[Zheng49]

@Kristie116 Try an air purifier, and allow clean air to be circulated in by opening the door/windows. 

Ever since I put an air purifier in the living room, these kinds of smells dissipate easily in a couple of days, although that is a couple of days too long. To speed it up, you gotta let fresh air in.

Also, I added wording on my listing to ask host first before using the stove. That way, we can remind them not to cook strong smelling dishes using the stove before they start cooking. 

[Jessica134]

I find that many air fresheners mask the smell. Once they dissipate, the scent is still there.

[Zheng49]

Air purifier not air freshener. They don't work the same.

Air freshener masks the smell; air purifier gets rid of the smell for good. 

[Jessica134]

Open all the windows and doors for a few hours. Some odors are very challenging to remove. For a lingering smoke smell, I bought an OZONE GENERATER and it was the only thing that worked after trying many things. Oxidizers can only be used when absolutely no one is in the unit or will be in the unit for a specific time frame. They can be dangerous if not used properly, but they work very well. 

The best solution is fresh air, open all the windows and doors for hours at a time.

[Lorina14 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Kristie116,

I agree with the others, an ozone machine is the best for persistent smells. It tends to work best in an enclosed room - for example if you have smoke smell in your clothes, hanging them in the bathroom and closing the door and using the ozone generator for a few hours will do the trick. If you do it in the space, make sure there is no pet/person present as it is unhealthy to have high exposure to ozone. 

We have air purifiers in our space, open the windows with fresh air, use charcoal bamboo odor absorbers in certain places (trashcan, dresser drawers, or newly assembled furniture) and this helps with off gassing.

I would not recommend using air fresheners or sprays as they mask it and are bothersome to many people.  I highly recommend the charcoal bamboo sachets; we found them online and work great for some areas. The ozone generator however seems like your best bet for the moment. Just remember to air out well after using the ozone generator. 

[Rebecca]

@Kristie116 - what a great question! You've got some great answers here for lots of members - is there one that sticks out to you that you could mark as the best answer? It's an amazing way to say 'thank you' 😊 

[Nash-Cottages-LLC0]

@Kristie116 In addition to the ozone machine (with all the caveats our fellow hosts noted) in the future, be sure to pull out any filters in the kitchen and clean them. For example, our kitchen has a built-in microwave above the stovetop with metal filters. After a similar incident, we simply popped those out and put them on the top rack of the dishwasher (third rack) and that helped immensely with the odor. We also take those out about every three months and clean them.

In addition to the ozone machine, we also have two air filters we can pull out and run between guests.