Last night’s fried fish, curry or bacon was great. Smelling it the next morning in the living room, the bedrooms and your clothes is not. Cooking smells are made of tiny droplets of grease and smoke that float through the house and land on everything. In a closed-up Florida home with the AC running, they get pulled into the return vent and carried room to room. Here’s how to clear them, and what to do when a smell has been building up for months or years.
Why Some Cooking Smells Won’t Go Away
- Grease film. Frying and searing put a thin layer of grease on cabinets, walls, the ceiling, the range hood filter and the top of the fridge. That film holds the smell and releases it again on warm days.
- A range hood that doesn’t vent outside. Many condo and apartment hoods just filter the air and blow it back into the kitchen. Others have clogged filters.
- Soft surfaces. Couches, curtains, rugs and carpet soak up cooking smells. See how to get a smell out of a couch and how to get a smell out of carpet.
- The AC system. The return vent pulls kitchen air into the system, and a dirty filter can hold onto the smell and spread it through the house.
- The trash and the drain. Sometimes the “cooking smell” is actually scraps in the trash, the garbage disposal, or grease in the sink drain.
While You Cook: Stop the Smell From Spreading
- Turn the range hood on before you start and leave it running 10 to 15 minutes after you finish. Use the back burners; the hood catches more from there.
- Cover pans when you can, especially when frying, and use a splatter screen.
- Close bedroom and closet doors while you cook strong-smelling food so clothes and bedding don’t pick it up.
- Take the trash out the same night if it has fish skin, shrimp shells or meat scraps in it. In Florida heat, it won’t wait until morning.
The Next Day: How to Clear a Cooking Smell
- Simmer water with lemon or a splash of white vinegar on the stove for 20 to 30 minutes with the hood running. It won’t remove grease, but it helps freshen the kitchen air.
- Wipe hard surfaces with a degreaser: stovetop, backsplash, cabinet fronts, the hood, the microwave and the top of the fridge. Warm water with dish soap works for most kitchens.
- Clean or replace the range hood filter. Metal mesh filters can soak in hot, soapy water. Charcoal filters need replacing.
- Set out bowls of baking soda or activated charcoal overnight to absorb what’s left in the air.
- Wash what you can: kitchen towels, dish rags, curtains, throw pillow covers and rugs.
- Run the AC and change the AC filter if the smell is in every room. Keep the fan moving air so the house doesn’t sit stale.
- Clean the drain and disposal: run cold water with the disposal on, grind a few ice cubes and lemon peels, and never pour grease down the sink.
Fish, Curry, Fried Food and Bacon
Fish: clean the pan and the trash right away, and wipe the stovetop while it’s still warm. If your house smells like fish and nobody cooked it, don’t ignore it: an overheating outlet or wire can give off a fishy smell. See why your house might smell like fish. Curry and strong spices: the oils cling to fabric, so curtains, couch cushions and clothes matter more than the counters. Fried food and bacon: this is mostly grease, so degreasing the cabinets, walls near the stove and the hood filter is what actually removes it. Burnt food: that’s a smoke smell, not a cooking smell. See burnt smell after a kitchen fire.
Apartments and Condos
In an apartment or condo, the range hood often recirculates instead of venting outside, and the whole unit is one open space. Keep the charcoal filter fresh, clean the hood regularly, and keep bedroom doors closed while you cook. If you’re a landlord dealing with years of built-up cooking smell between tenants, see getting rid of odors between tenants.
When the Smell Is in the Whole House
One night of fried fish clears up with the steps above. Years of heavy cooking, a previous owner’s cooking you can’t get out, or a home you’re getting ready to sell is a different problem: the smell is in the walls, the fabrics and the AC system. Clean the grease off hard surfaces first, then our whole-home odor removal treatment treats the air throughout the entire home, including one AC system and an attached garage. You’ll be out for about 8 hours. It’s an odor treatment only, so heavy grease buildup still has to be cleaned off. Selling? See how to get rid of odors before you list.
Smell something different? See our smell-by-smell guide.
Whole-Home Odor Removal in South Florida: $997
Our Whole-Home Odor Removal Treatment is $997 and includes one AC system ($550 for each additional AC unit). You can buy and schedule it online, or call 877-224-2532 to request a free visual inspection. We answer 24/7; when you call, we’ll tell you honestly when a technician can be there based on that day’s schedule. Hablamos español.
About the author: James Rice-Peña is the owner of FL Cleanup and a Florida-licensed Mold Assessor (MRSA4035) and Mold Remediator (MRSR4158). He has worked in property restoration in South Florida since 2012, and FL Cleanup has earned 200+ five-star Google reviews.
