This Is the Best Way to Get Rid of Any Stubborn Fish Smells in Your House

My husband is a terrific cook, and I enjoy being his sous chef. We’re both of Italian descent, so pasta and fish are often on the menu. You’ll never hear me complain about the scent of sauce permeating our home, but fish is a different story. Each time we attempt a new fish recipe, I brace myself for lingering fishy odors, but I’m happy to say they’ve been practically nonexistent and I’ve never had to look up how to get rid of fish smells in the house. 

I’ve attributed it to my husband’s culinary prowess and my diligence in cleaning up, but it also comes down to something far more basic: We buy good, fresh fish. According to Bryan Szeliga, founder and owner of Fishtown Seafood Company, other than a few specific kinds, seafood is generally not supposed to smell bad. But if you’ve been purchasing “fresh” fish and it’s stinking up your home, you’re either not cooking it quickly enough — It’s likely decomposing and not safe to eat, shares Szeliga — or you need to find a new place to shop. 

I’m glad for the vote of confidence that our local fish market serves only the good stuff. But I’ll argue that our kitchen still smells different after cooking fish than any other protein or baked good. Let’s dive into why some fish smell more than others and, more importantly, how to get rid of fish smells in the house. 

According to The Fulton Fish Market in New York City, one of the country’s oldest and largest fish markets, the odor associated with saltwater fish can be blamed on a natural process involving trimethylamine oxide (TMAO), which maintains the fluid balance in the fish. When TMAO hits the air, it converts to trimethylamine (TMA), leaving a fishy odor in its wake. 

Freshwater fish may smell muddy because of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol, which are naturally occurring compounds also found in drinking water — and yes, they cause odors and bad tastes there, too.

To prevent odors during prep and cooking, The Fulton Fish Market suggests doing the following:

Baking soda or activated charcoal in the fridge can help with odor absorption.

You can remove the TMA from the skin this way. For a boost, you could soak the fish in milk for about 20 minutes, then rinse it off.

Adding acidic ingredients to your fish when you cook, like lemon, lime, vinegar, or even tomato, will lessen the odor. The citric acid neutralizes the fish’s amines, turning those organic compounds into salts that won’t remain airborne. 

If you buy fresh, good-quality fish, you shouldn’t have any pungent odors in your kitchen. But to avoid any lingering fishiness after cooking, here’s what Logan Taylor, president and founder of The Dazzle Cleaning Company, suggests to get rid of fish smell in the house.

After your meal, put any leftovers in the fridge and dispose of all food scraps — tails, shells, skins, etc. — in the compost or the garbage. Be sure to empty your kitchen pail and take it to the outside garbage to avoid stinking up the house, Taylor says.

Don’t leave them to soak and don’t just add them to the dishwasher, either; make sure you run a wash cycle to avoid odor. While it would normally be OK to leave dirty dishes to soak and take care of the next morning, Taylor says that “[it’s] not a good idea when serving seafood.”

For lingering fish odors, Taylor recommends placing a bowl of vinegar in the kitchen to remove the smell. I tried it post tuna fish sandwich and can confirm it works. Just pour a cup of distilled white vinegar into a bowl and leave it on the counter for at least a few hours or even overnight if the smell is strong. “This will make the room smell like vinegar, but the smell dissipates quickly,” Taylor says. Then, discard the vinegar after a few hours or the next morning. 

Don’t skip the vinegar bowl in favor of relying on air fresheners, candles, or incense, Taylor warns. You can use those methods to make the room smell good in general, but it doesn’t work as a remedy. “It just sort of masks [the odor], which is arguably worse than the fish smell on its own,” he says.