HOME IMPROVEMENT : Develop a Nose for Clean Kitchens, Bathrooms

The best way to keep a house smelling fresh is to keep it clean. Air rooms, closets and drawers regularly. Use disinfectants and chlorine bleach to prevent garbage smell and mildew.

The area of the house to watch most closely is the kitchen because so many household odors originate there. Here’s how to control kitchen odors:

* Open a window after cooking and wipe up spills promptly.

* To get rid of strong cooking odors, simmer a pan of white vinegar on the stove.

* Fast cooking reduces the powerful aroma that Brussels sprouts, cabbage and broccoli can leave. Put them in a pot of rapidly boiling water and return it quickly to a boil. A few drops of vinegar in the water also helps.

* To remove fish, garlic and onion odors wash utensils, pans and your hands in lemon juice.

* Remember that bacteria love to lurk in the cracks and little knife nicks on your cutting board. Using a brush, scrub the board vigorously with hot soapy water after each use. And don’t let any meat, fish or poultry--raw or cooked--sit on a wooden board for more than a few minutes.

* Grind lemon or orange peel in the garbage disposal to clear it of odors.

* To eliminate any lingering food odors, bake orange peels in the oven at 350 degrees for several minutes.

* For a natural room deodorizer, keep an open jar of vanilla beans in the kitchen.

* To prevent odors from spreading in the refrigerator, make sure all food is wrapped, covered or bagged in plastic. The only exception is fruits and vegetables stored in crisper drawers. In a frost-free refrigerator, bag those too; otherwise they’ll dry out.

* Use a solution of baking soda and water to deodorize the inside of the refrigerator.

* To prevent odors in the freezer, pack all foods in moisture-proof, vapor-proof materials labeled for freezer use. Do not use old bread wrappers, wax paper, margarine tubs or plastic supermarket bags.

* Also clean and deodorize the freezer with a solution of two tablespoons of baking soda in one quart of warm water. Wipe the interior of a frost-free freezer with the baking soda solution about once a month.

* If freezer odors remain, spread baking soda or activated charcoal (available at drugstores or hardware stores) in pans and place them on the freezer shelves; or place bowls filled with used or unused coffee grounds inside the freezer; remove all food from the freezer and pack crumpled, slightly dampened newspapers on each shelf. Replace the newspapers every day or so until the odors disappear. (It may take five or six days.)

* Freshen a lunch box by moistening a piece of bread with white vinegar and leaving it in the closed box overnight.

* To rid a plastic container of food odors, freeze it or expose it to sunlight for several hours. Or drop a lemon wedge in the box, close it, and let it stand until the odor disappears. (It may take a few days.)

* To keep drains free of odors, run very hot tap water through the drain after each use. Or, about once a week, pour in a handful of baking soda, then run very hot water through it. Another way is to pour in one cup of vinegar, let it stand for 30 minutes, then rinse with a stream of hot water.

* Try to avoid getting vegetable matter or grease in a kitchen drain (or letting hair accumulate in a bathroom drain). Treat any partially clogged drain promptly.

The bathroom can be another source of unpleasant odors. To get rid of odors:

* Light a match, candle or a bit of string and let it burn for a few seconds. Then put it out and leave it in a dish in the bathroom for five minutes or so.