Anyone who knows me knows two things: I have the nose of a hound, and I love Christmas with a passion. That’s why my natural Christmas tree is as massive as my living room can take, and why my tree smelling foul this year from the off sent me into a tailspin.
Despite picking the tree ourselves and having it freshly cut from a brilliant Christmas tree farm last weekend, when we got it home, as we set it up in the stand, we noticed a terrible, putrid smell. I thought we might have to get rid of it, until I tried a homemade vinegar deodorizing spray.
The great news is this tip I learned from professional cleaners worked a treat, clearing the smell in less than 24 hours when I was wondering why my Christmas tree smelled bad. I was so glad to be able to salvage this beautiful festive fir.
I fixed my smelly Christmas tree with a DIY deodorizing spray
The problem
We were putting our heavy 7 ft tree into our iron tree stand when my daughter, the shortest of the lot of us, noticed a horrible smell. I initially thought she was referring to that pine smell freshly cut trees have but soon after, I caught a whiff of it myself.
I can only be described as putrid decay meets strong ammonia smell. At first I thought it was because of the heavy rain still on its pines and branches, and the mud around its base.
Thom Rutter, our Garden content editor, says, ‘While you might hope that your real Christmas tree will fill living rooms or kitchens with the scent of fresh pine, sometimes this is not the reality. Occasionally, real trees can emit a sour, putrid smell, more noticeable when the tree is brought indoors.
‘There can be any number of reasons for this, not least that the tree has been cut down, so has begun to decompose. However, more often than not, it might be that a wild animal, fox or otherwise, could have marked its territory at the base of the tree before you brought it home.’
I think unfortunately, the latter was our problem. After we opened up the netting, let the branches spread out and put my dehumidifier on to dry it out, I noticed lots of flying bugs going up to our ceiling.
I hoovered them up and sprayed the tree with Raid Multi-insect killer spray available on Amazon. It stopped the bugs immediately. But then I noticed my husband using a different, incorrect home protectant spray for fleas on the other side which has a super strong smell of its own. The mix of the putrid tree smell and that pungent flea spray was nothing short of unbearable so we opened all the windows, despite freezing temperatures, wind and rain outside.
We proceeded to decorate the tree but later, as the smell wafted towards me on the sofa a good 10 ft away, I remembered a two-ingredient DIY cleaning mix professional cleaner Karina Toner, operation manager at Spekless had shared with me this year and reckoned it was worth a go.
I keep a stock of white vinegar in my house, which I use for deodorizing, cleaning, and tackling mold, as well as using vinegar in my laundry.
How I fixed my smelly Christmas tree with a DIY vinegar spray
I mixed up a 50/50 spray of cleaning vinegar and water in a spare amber spray glass, available from Amazon, which I keep handy for my DIY cleaning solutions and spritzed it on the worst smelling part of the tree.
Thom agrees this is a smart course of action, adding, ‘Your best bet is to clean the needles, which can easily be done with a vinegar-based solution. Simply mix a weak solution of vinegar and lukewarm water, and gently wipe the pine needles, refreshing the solution as you need to. Be sure to wear gloves to protect your hands.'
Latex free gloves, available at Walmart, are handy to keep around the house as more people than ever are allergic to traditional latex washing up gloves.
There was a smell of vinegar in the air for about 10-20 minutes while the areas I’d sprayed on the tree dried but once it had, the putrid smell had reduced by a whopping 80 per cent, and all vinegar notes were gone, making this a brilliant natural deodorizer. That was in the early evening. Before we went to bed, I sprayed my vinegar cleaning mix all over the tree, concentrating extra bursts under the lower areas as I reckon a wild animal had indeed probably marked it and we hadn’t realized before bringing it home.
The next morning, the smell was not noticeable unless I was standing right in front of the tree. I sprayed it again in the morning and by lunchtime the smell was completely gone.
The best thing, apart from the smell lifting, is that vinegar mixes like mine won’t harm trees. Thom, co-author of Lonely Planet The Tree Atlas, available on Amazon, explains, ‘Vinegar-based mixes are often used by gardeners as a natural remedy to kill weeds or treat pest infestations in the garden. This natural solution will do no harm to the Christmas tree and hopefully will help to remove any foul smells.'
My verdict
If you’ve ended up with a smelly Christmas tree this year, try this remedy out and see for yourself how effective it is.
I was on the verge of taking the tree back and getting another, but this fixed the problem quickly, cheaply and with minimal disruption. Vinegar is brilliant for cleaning all around the home, tackling bacteria, mold and odors without issue.
Next, learn the places you should always avoid putting your Christmas tree, and why your Christmas tree is dropping needles already.
