Keeping a home smelling fresh can be a challenge, especially for anyone who loves to cook and eat fish. A fish’s odor can vary; it has a different odor before cooking and, at times, a far stronger odor when being cooked. Even more odorous is a rotten fish smell, especially when a fish dies in an aquarium or fish tank. There are chemicals that can get rid of different types of fish odors; however, it is better to use home remedies that are safer to use.
Gather Materials
It is important to determine the location where the fish odor is coming from because one solution that may work for one source may not work for the other. Home remedy concoctions are often made of materials or ingredients already available at home. Vinegar, salt, water, bleach, lemon, baking soda, detergent and water are just some of the few materials you can use to clean and get rid of fishy odor. Get olive oil, cinnamon sticks, scented candles and sheets of fabric softeners.
Methods of Application
Pour a cup of vinegar in two gallons of water and soak fish in it prior to cooking. Rub the fish with salt inside and out and rinse the fish thoroughly. This should not affect the flavor of fish when cooked.
Heat a little bit of olive oil in a pan and sprinkle it with cinnamon to reduce the fish smell while cooking. The sweet cinnamon smell should overpower the fish smell.
Remove the fish odor from a microwave by soaking a wet dish towel with a squirt of dish detergent. Place the towel at the center and then microwave on high for two minutes. Let it air out once finished.
Clean the counter tops with a solution made of equal parts of vinegar and warm water. You may also use a solution made of bleach and water.
Open a box of baking soda and place it in the refrigerator or freezer where you store fish. Put a slice of lemon in a bowl of boiled water to remove the odor when cleaning the refrigerator or freezer.
Mix one to two tablespoons of baking soda to one quart of water to wash items such as cutting boards and knives. You may also use this solution in cleaning a fish tank. Empty the fish tank first prior to cleansing. Use dishwater detergent or a mixture of equal parts of bleach and water to clean a fish tank; however, make sure to rinse out thoroughly prior to use.
Brew some tea for 10 to 15 minutes on pots and pans. The tea would help absorb and remove the fish odor.
Soak clothes for one hour using diaper soaker such as NappiSan. Soak overnight if heavily soiled. Use fabric softener sheets when drying clothes. Once dry, fold the clothes neatly and place unused sheets of fabric softeners in between clothes.
Rub hands with salt and a piece of sliced lemon. Rinse well. Rub hands against a stainless steel object such as the back of a spoon or ladle, and then wash with lemon-scented soap or detergent.
Remove the odor from your car’s trunk by using air freshener.
Light an incense or scented candle to remove remaining fish odor in your house.
