Hüseyin Doğan Koştu · Last updated: October 5, 2026
You walked in, closed the door and paused for a second. Not bad, but not clean either: a mix of yesterday's dinner, a wet towel and a room that has been shut.
Most of what fixes this is already in your kitchen cabinet. Below are five methods; four come from the cabinet and the window, and the fifth is ODORGO.
What is the right way to air out a home?
Opening one window is not enough. Open two windows on opposite sides at once; the cross-breeze carries the stale air, the humidity and the odor in the air outside. In most homes 10 to 15 minutes a day will do. The best moments: when you get up, after cooking, when the cleaning is done.
It has a limit, too. Airing changes the air; it does not touch odor that has settled into the sofa and curtains.
Does baking soda really take out odor?
Yes, in a small, enclosed space. Baking soda is mildly alkaline; it holds acidic odors like sour milk or sweat. Put some in a bowl and leave it in the fridge, at the bottom of the trash can or in the shoe cabinet. Sprinkling it on the carpet, waiting 15 to 20 minutes and vacuuming it up is an old household method too.
A bowl of baking soda in the middle of the living room, though, changes very little.
Which odors does vinegar work on?
Fish. The amines that give fish its smell are alkaline, and vinegar is acidic. After the meal, leave white vinegar in a small dish on the counter; the sharp vinegar smell fades after a while. You can wipe the counter with diluted vinegar as well.
Two warnings: don't use vinegar on marble or natural stone, and never mix it with bleach.
Do houseplants take out odor?
Not as much as you might hope. Snake plant, peace lily and aloe vera make a room look better; they don't work fast enough to take out frying or cigarette odor. Overwater the pot and the soil itself starts to smell.
What do you do where these methods fall short?
| Method | Where it works | Where it falls short |
|---|---|---|
| Airing | Odor and humidity in the air | Odor settled into fabric |
| Baking soda | Fridge, shoe cabinet, trash can | Large rooms, sofa, curtains |
| Vinegar | Fish odor, countertops | Marble and natural stone |
| Houseplants | How the room looks | Sudden, heavy odor |
| ODORGO Spray | Air, sofa, curtains, carpet | If the source is still there, the odor forms again |
| ODORGO Gel | Closet, shoe cabinet, small room | Anywhere that shakes or moves; it has to stand flat and still |
This is where the fifth tip comes in. Fabric carries odor the longest, and the first four methods don't reach fabric.
- Air out the house.
- Shake the ODORGO Odor Eliminator Spray 250 ml bottle well.
- Spray the sofa, the curtains, the carpet and the corner the odor is coming from.
- Let it dry; if the odor is still there, repeat.
Put ODORGO Odor Eliminator Gel 250 g in enclosed places such as a closet, a shoe cabinet or a pantry. Open the lid and leave it on a flat shelf; it needs no power or batteries. It lasts up to 30 days in enclosed areas of up to 15 m².
The spray is water-based; you can use it on any surface that water does not harm. On water-sensitive fabrics and surfaces (unfinished or untreated wood, silk, leather, electronics, etc.), test on a small hidden area first.
How is ODORGO different from baking soda and vinegar?
Baking soda suits acidic odors and vinegar suits alkaline ones; each looks at one side only. In ODORGO, plant-derived essential oils (pine needle, anise, clove, cedarwood and lime) attract odor molecules, bind them and neutralize them. It does not start with a sharp smell the way vinegar does; you notice a light plant scent when you spray, and it fades quickly. Nothing stays behind afterward, and that is the point: ODORGO is no perfume, its work is taking the bad odor out.
The fragrance-free, phthalate-free, paraben-free, dye-free, sulfate-free, and alcohol-free claims are verified by tests conducted at laboratories accredited by TÜRKAK (Turkish Accreditation Agency) and ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation). It is vegan. If you want to know why some odors keep coming back, read why stubborn odors don't go away; for kitchen smells that spread through the whole house, there is the golden rules for frying odors.
Keep the air in your home fresh
Frequently Asked Questions
How many minutes a day should you air out a home?
With windows on opposite sides, 10 to 15 minutes will do in most homes. With a single window it takes longer.
Does baking soda take odor out of a carpet?
Yes, for light odor; sprinkle, wait 15 to 20 minutes, vacuum. Settled-in odor needs the spray.
Does the vinegar smell stay in the house?
No, it fades after a while. If you don't like the sharp smell at the start, ODORGO Spray is an option.
Do plants remove odor at home?
No, they are not enough for odor removal. Overwatered potting soil can also cause odor.
Does ODORGO Spray leave a perfume smell at home?
No. It contains no perfume; the light plant scent you notice when you spray fades quickly.
Where does the gel go?
Somewhere it can stand flat and still: a closet shelf, a shoe cabinet, a small room. Just open the lid and leave it.
Can baking soda and vinegar be used together with ODORGO?
Yes. Airing and cleaning reduce the source of the odor; ODORGO takes out the odor that has settled into fabric and the air.