Having a smelly home is never comfortable – we’ll teach you how to remove fish odor from the house. But first, what exactly causes fish odor?
When you last cooked fish, have you forgotten to clean up the pots immediately? Were there spots in your kitchen that were accidentally dropped with the fish (or its liquid) while you’re cleaning it or preparing it for cooking? Do you cook fish very often?
Those questions all identify that you may have a smell fish problem. Many apartments and apartment dwellers don’t like smelly fish odors and that’s why some don’t permit their tenants to cook fish. But, if you absolutely must cook fish (and your neighbors or association allows it), here are tips to get rid of the bad smell.
How do you get the smell of fried fish out of your house?
There are a couple of ways on how to remove the cooking smell from the house, such as:
- 1. Using home ingredients. This may include lemons, oranges, cinnamon, cloves, and rosemary as spices. You can simmer them on a pot and let the aroma spread around the room. Use the peels of the citrus fruits for that. You can also try vinegar for scrubbing the walls and flooring.
- Using an air purifier. An air purifier can get rid of bad odor thanks to its activated carbon filter, which is usually coupled with its 3-in-1 filter system, alongside the pre-filter and the true HEPA filter. It can get rid of most cooking odors, including fish smells.
- Cook fish less often (or clean up thoroughly afterward). We all know this is difficult, but if it’s not an issue for you, cooking fish less often can help. You can also just clean immediately to avoid fish smells lingering.
How do you cook fish without smelling up the house?
The raw smell of fish (and even the fried ones) is quite inescapable, so here are a couple of ways to minimize the bad smell:
- Buying fresh fish. Most people will tell you to buy the freshest fish possible because this can affect its odor while you are preparing it. You may find it best to buy from local markets.
- Try poaching the fish. You can add any flavored liquid for the poaching process depending on what you want in terms of taste, as long as the liquid can mask away from the odor.
- Try brine solution for the fish before cooking. Brining is a process by which you soak fish in the brine solution for about 10 minutes or so. Brine is composed of 5% salt in water.
Why does my house smell of fish?
The fish odor usually comes from the following sources:
| Pots and pans | The fish you’ve cooked might have had its odor lingering in the pots and pans, which you may not have cleaned properly. |
| Non-fresh fish | As we mentioned above, fish that aren’t that fresh may start to smell rotten and off-putting. |
| Certain fish species | You may want to check the fish species, as some do particularly have worse smells than others. |
What gets rid of the smell of fish?
Do air purifiers help with smell? Yes, they do! Air purifiers are capable of getting rid of odors, which include smelly fish odors. Here are a couple of suggestions we had for you because we care about your indoor air quality:
For large rooms, we’d like to recommend the BISSELL air320 2768A Smart Purifier due to its capability of up to 1,000 square feet. It targets odors using its honeycomb-structured activated carbon filter.
- Whisper-quiet operation, to help you sleep soundly.
- Up to 0.3 microns, to get rid of smaller particles such as dust.
- It has air quality feedback, to help you know whether to turn it up higher or not.
- Has 5-speed options, to help with allergy season or really bad kitchen smells.
The Vremi Large Room Home Air Purifier could be for your needs if you want a portable air purifier for your kitchen and bad smells. It uses activated carbon filter for odor reduction, much like our previous pick.
- 360-degree air intake, to cover the entire room without having to move the unit around.
- Night lamp, for kids’ rooms so they don’t feel scared at night.
- Up to 300 square feet, which means it’s ideal for medium-sized rooms.
- Less than 52 dB (on the loudest setting), to help you sleep peacefully.
If you have a kids’ room and want a nightlight, you can try the hOmeLabs Air Purifier for Home for that feature. Its 3-stage filtration features the Activated Carbon Filter which can target bad smells, such as those from the kitchen
- Compact design, to save space and footprint.
- Up to 194 square feet, to accommodate most small rooms.
- Child lock function, so curious little fingers won’t mess with the unit.
- 1-year warranty, to give you peace of mind.
For light sleepers who want a quiet air purifier – you can try the Blueair Blue Pure 411 Air Purifier which can go as low as 17 dB! As with our other picks, it also has an Activated Carbon Filter to get rid of the bad odors such as fish smells.
- From 100 to 175 square feet, ideal for small rooms.
- 3-stage filtration, for thorough air cleaning.
- Washable pre-filter, so you can maintain your air purifier easier.
- It only consumes 1.5 to 10 watts, so that it saves energy in the long run.
Conclusion
In the long run, the fish odor could be a difficult odor to remove but it can be managed by using an air purifier as well as a couple of home ingredients that are easy to find. Fish can be a healthy and tasty meal, but knowing how to cook it without causing too many bad smells at home can be important for your guests, too.
Remember that it’s alright to cook fish as long as you know how to manage the odor. We hope you liked our article and learned something!
