apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Baking soda left over night on the carpets and then sucked up in the morning. Also, it sounds weird, but keeping boiling a pot of vinegar and water on the stove covers up the smell. And then there's always Febreeze if you're into chemicals...

Replace with stronger scent.

I made beef bourgignon the other day, and I browned all the beef cubes and it left the smell of charred smoky beef all over the place. My vegan girlfriend was none too pleased.

To eliminate the odor I washed everything I was cooking in or on, disinfected the countertops, and lit one of those scented oil candles from Glade, which do wonders for covering up smells you don't like with smells you do.

House smelling of bacon - this wins the award for "Least Problematic Problem of All Time".

Seriously though, I just give it a few days and wipe down all the kitchen surfaces. Goes away within 2-3 days tops.

Burning sage does wonders. Sometimes I burn some dried lavender flowers on a pan on the stove (low heat). Making some chai or herbal tea helps too.

bake vegan carob chip cookies

Febreze really does work wonders. Also, when I cook greasy stuff, I shut all the bedroom windows... keeps the smells contained to the kitchen and living room (which has no door). You can also boil citrus peels and water on the stovetop.

To help with the elimination of fish smells, I set out cups of white vinegar on the counter overnight. I loved that de-scenting your microwave post on AT recently which involved lemons. Perhaps it could be applied to the entire home? Steam a pot of lemon slices on your stovetop for a bit.

Unfortunately Febreeze and baking soda haven't worked either, possibly because bacon is such a deep, smoky fragrance. We've got hard wood floors throughout and it seems like the odour has permeated into everything...seems like this will just be a case of waiting for circulation to work its magic over time. Funny enough, the kitchen doesn't smell very much at all...it's just that stairway with the baco-bombardment.

You can buy a natural citrus air freshener at Whole Foods. They sell one called Lime Mate, and another called Lemon Mate (there may be an Orange Mate as well, but I don't care that much for the smell of orange zest). It's based on citrus oils. Just spray it in the air - it neutralizes most scents pretty well after one or two treatments. Something about citrus oil seems to burn up other scents.

I vote for making chai on the stove, but let it simmer gently for a couple hours. The oils in the spices are so strong, I bet they could replace the bacon. Take a few nobs of ginger, chop, put it in a pot with 1/2 gallon water, add 3 cloves (easy on the cloves! Otherwise you get a medicinal tasting chai), 7-10 cardamon pods, 1 tsp. grated nutmeg, 5 peppercorns, 3 cinnamon sticks...don't put black tea in, otherwise the tannins will ruin it. hm, I think I'm forgetting one thing. But that should do it as far as the bacon smell goes!

Gregory,

Sorry not to have any suggestions besides opening all windows and freezing your olfactory receptors...however, on a selfish note, can you please post your recipe for your bacon wrapped tenderloin and pomegranate yumminess? I'll risk the lingering smell - that sounds fantastic!

AnnaG: I'll consider sharing the recipe, perhaps via thekitchn.com, if they'll allow me to guest post over there. It will give me an excuse to make another one...you know...so I can take photos.

snot: the bacon smell is pretty much gone from the kitchen itself; we were pretty thorough about cleaning up the stove and sink. It's the stairwell that still reeks of bacon; the enclosed space housed the party trash overnight and the greasy bacon smell really took a hold.

Try simmering some apple juice and cinnamon sticks add cloves and bay leaf for spiciness.

Boiling cinnamon sticks and cloves works really well!

I don't know how to remove the smell, but could you share your bacon tenderlion recipe. My mouth is watering. I have a similar problem with smells. My goal is to add a door.

Cleaning the kitchen regularly with Citra-solv does the trick. Even after burnt salmon.