How to Get Rid of Pickle Smell

By Fen Malayan

Cucumber pickling remained widespread across the Levant and Maghreb regions, where it is still very popular today. Pickled cucumbers became popular in the United States due to the influence of the cuisine of Eastern European immigrants.

In any case, as beloved as pickles are, the stench that these brine-preserved vegetables can cause to your jars, cupboards, fridges, cars and your entire home is almost enough for many to wish that this so-called treat had vanished along with Ancient Rome and Greece. How can you get rid of the odor of the pickle juice spilled on your sofa or eliminate the odor from that empty pickle jar? Here are some tips to help you out. Pickle Smell Removing Products * Febreze uses a chemical compound called cyclodextrin that has been used in household and custodial cleaning products for quite some time now. The sugar-like substance doesn't necessarily "clean" the pickle odors out, but acts as an absorbent - like baking soda or crumpled newspaper - to help soak the odor out.

* An Ozone Generator will get rid of any odor you can think of if it's left on long enough in a closed house or apartment. The specifics of this procedure are a bit unclear, but if you're getting desperate enough, it might be worth a shot.

You will have to take full responsibility for what this might do to your home or your health. Just be sure to air out the home thoroughly after doing this because ozone is bad for your lungs.

* Get a Prozone Air Purifier. They're good for keeping your whole house smelling fresh, not just eliminating those pickle odors. Unfortunately, they are also quite expensive.

* If you want something a little cheaper, you can try Ozium Air Freshener. It's a small bottle, but just a little goes a long way. You can get this product at most Wal-Mart branches and some car part dealerships.

* A few deodorizing products that you can also use include Nature's Miracle, Bane-Clene (which is great for allergies), and a well-recommended mattress cleaner used by the hotel industry called ProKlean.

* Try Renuzit on any scent. You pull it up, and the product's gel-shaped cone absorbs the smells. It takes about 24 hours, but it works. The first day, the smell of the gel is very strong, but soon it fades along with the odor you want to get rid of.

* You can also buy home oil fragrances and burners from various candle shops. With fruity flavors like mango and all the benefits of aromatherapy, it may be the way to go. The selection of aromas available is quite extensive, and would suit most any aromatherapy fan's taste.

They make useful burners for the oils too. The best part is that even though the bottles are small, all you need is about five or six drops each time, so the bottles last forever. You can even find a little fragrance burner you can plug into the lighter in your car, which is a lot more effective than those cheap little air fresheners you hang from the rear view mirror.

* Natural cleaners and odor-removing products are a good idea. If you want to get rid of that smoke odor in an eco-friendly manner, how about using some of the cleaning products found in the organic and natural foods section of your local grocery store? Often, these products work just as well as the brand name chemicals. Examples of these so-called natural cleaners are good old borax, hydrogen peroxide, enzymatic cleaners, and oxygen bleach.

Pickle Smell Removal

First of all, it should be fairly obvious to you that it isn't the pickles themselves that are causing the funky smell in your house/car/cupboard/jar; it's actually the smell of the pickling agents (vinegar or brine) that's clinging onto your valued properties and possessions. If you want to get rid of this foul odor, try one of these tips.

* First, wash the jars well in hot, soapy water and rinse completely. Then pour in a solution of equal parts vinegar and water. Let it stand overnight with the lids off. Rinse, dry, store with the lids off, and the smell should be gone.

* You can also fill the jars with crumpled-up newspaper and let them stand overnight to remove odors.

* Use your pickle jar only for pickles, nothing more. If you can't use it for pickles, throw it out or recycle it.

* For entire spaces that smell of pickles, try leaving an open box of sodium bicarbonate, otherwise known as baking soda, in the contaminated region (like the fridge or your cupboard). It can work there for a few months and it tremendously helps eat up pickle odors and other smells. Buy two boxes and sprinkle one of them on your carpets to help deodorize as well.

* You can either go to your local hardware store and rent a carpet steam cleaner to shampoo the carpets yourself, or you can hire a professional to bring in a big truck and do the dirty work for you. If you want to save money, the choice is obvious, and the guarantees some businesses will make these days smell funnier than the pickle odor you want them to remove.

* Check all corners and closets for any pickle residues in the apartment, then air out the place for a few days with as much cross-ventilation as possible.

* Potpourri or air fresheners are just going to mask the smell, but for a short time, they'll do if you just need to get through one more day of pickle smell hell. You can also burn some incense, if you'd like; it basically uses the same idea.

* The key is to disinfect. A bottle of bleach or ammonia and a heavy-duty pair of rubber gloves should help a lot in sanitizing every little nook and cranny of your pad. Yes, elbow grease is the way to go when getting rid of pickle funk.

Cleaning Services

* Hire professional cleaners as a last resort; however, for many people the cleaners are the first choice because of the sheer ordeal of pickle smell removal. Indeed, if all else fails, commercial cleaning does exist to help you out.

Whatever the situation of the hirer, a professional cleaning service can cost a lot less money than most people would expect. The cleaners provide all the equipment and detergents. Above all, they have the experience of having cleaned rooms that would probably make your pickle-stinking room smell like roses in comparison.

Another point to consider is that if you tried to do the job yourself, you would no doubt spend more time than a professional cleaner would, and time is money! Get yourself out of that pickle and let somebody else do the job for you.