I have a friend who always lights a candle in the bathroom when guests come over. It's a charming little detail, yes, but they're far more confident that their house isn't going to burn down than I am. My advice: don't leave your candles unattended for longer than a few moments, seriously.
Instead, I have a bit of a ritual, specifically around making sure my bathroom smells good (all the time, yes, but it gets kicked into overdrive when we're hosting). That includes home fragrances and natural, but beautiful-smelling cleaning products, but there are some smells that you're only masking by filling your bathroom with nicely-fragranced things, and without tackling the problem, you won't have a truly fabulous-smelling bathroom.
Things like damp towels are easy enough to rectify, but where walls are damp, or the drains are kicking up an unusual smell, I have one addition I make to my bathroom scenting ritual that's specifically for deodorizing the bathroom, so you can layer fragrance on top. I hide it in my bathroom before people come over, and it does the job brilliantly. And this one thing is a food waste leftover from the kitchen. Here's how it works.
How to Make a Deodorizer From Coffee Grounds
That kitchen waste? Coffee grounds. Let's just start by saying, if you're just throwing your coffee grounds in the bin (never down the sink!), then you're wasting them anyway. You can use coffee grounds in the garden, or for your potted plants, too. They're a bit of a wonder.
However, coffee grounds also work as a natural deodorizer. "There are quite a few quick and easy hacks people can use to keep their bathrooms and home smelling fresh and free from odors on a day-to-day basis," says bathroom expert Andy Ellis from Posh. "Coffee grounds contain nitrogen, which is great at neutralizing odours in the air, for example."
However, it's not quite as easy as just emptying your espresso maker straight into your bathroom for this trick to work. Wet coffee grounds can go mouldy quickly, so you'll need to dry them out first.
- Empty your coffee grounds out onto a baking tray lined with parchment or baking paper.
- Spread into one thin layer.
- Put the tray into an oven preheated to 100°C for 30 minutes
- Check your grounds. They should be dry to the touch.
Decant your grounds into a small lidless pot, and hide it somewhere in your bathroom. I usually place mine on the floor under the vanity unit, where no one will be able to see it.
What to Use Alongside Coffee Grounds
Okay, so now you've got a neutral-smelling space, but now we want it to be smelling actively good. Here are some of my bathroom scenting favorites.
Instead of a candle, why not try this rechargeable essential oil diffuser in a bathroom when guests come round?
A fancy hand soap will always leave guests with a good scent impression.
The most stylish ways to scent a space are the ones that do it incognito.
Natural cleaning sprays helps avoid an overly chemical smell in a bathroom.
A neutralizing spray is great if you want your bathroom to smell clean, but not overly perfumed.
These toilet drops are always worth having in your bathroom vanity, just in case.
And it's not the only space you can use coffee grounds as a deodorizer, either. I often keep coffee grounds in my fridge as a way to make my kitchen smell good, especially when there are leftovers in there that can make it smell less than ideal.
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