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How to Keep House Smelling Okay?
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this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2026
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No one mentioned checking all the seals around the property?
Since the smell is coming from outside, check that all your windows, doors, or any other openings are well sealed. As much as possible keep the bad smelling outside air from seeping in. You don't mention the age of the property, but if it's over 20 years old it's probably leaky af.
You do need some air exchange (clear CO2 & let in oxygen), but if you get it well enough sealed you can then look into an air exchange that you can filter (also reclaim heat / cool).
After that all the air filter & deodorizer suggestions from others will help. But my first thought is minimizing the smell from getting in as best you can.
The seals are all super solid. This is pretty recent construction and a custom build (not a spec house). When running exhaust fans, there is enough negative pressure to pull in a little bit of stinky outside air, and enough resistance to reduce the effectiveness to exhausting cooking and bathroom air (humidity is my foremost concern there).
Lots of great suggestions in the thread that launched me down a few different rabbit holes. Ideally, I'd like to exchange some fresh air at will, but right now that is limited to when the wind is blowing the right way. It's starting to look something like a heat exchanger outside air intake with a zeolite cartridge and/or photocatalytic mitigation.