While you may immediately think of vanilla, jasmine and freshly baked goods as favourable scents for your house, the best smell your abode can have actually hit a lot closer to, well, home.
The first thing you’ll notice when you walk into someone else’s home isn’t the shoes in the entryway or that statement rug someone spent hours deliberating over.
It’s actually the scent of a space that will immediately catch your attention.
“The way your home looks isn’t always the thing that evokes the most immediate response,” says fragrance evaluator, Erica Moore, from Fragrances of the World.
“Chances are, your brain will have already received, processed and returned a result on how a home smells, long before you’ve even noticed that new Bonnie and Neil cushion cover.”
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Research indicates we remember 35% of what we smell and only 5% of what we see. Picture: Getty
Every home has a scent (yes, even yours – not that you can necessarily smell it yourself), which is determined by many factors.
Food that’s been cooked, cleaning products, the presence of pets, dust, natural light, furniture and a home’s age are just a few of the things that influence your place’s unique fragrance.
But of course, some scents are more inviting than others and the most highly regarded smell, as revealed by our expert, may come as a surprise.
“For a scent that’s most widely accepted as clean and fresh, we don’t need to look any further than the smell of fresh laundry,” she says.
The reason why Erica explains is largely due to positive associations in the brain that relate to the scent.
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“The smell of fresh laundry has a subtle, underlying effect. It’s the scent equivalent of mood lighting or background music.” Picture: Martina Gemmola
“Clean laundry connotes all the good things about a home. For many, it evokes a sense of comfort and nurturing, which is a takeaway from early childhood memories.
“The positive scent association of fresh laundry is firmly embedded in our olfactive fingerprint, as it’s something that we will have linked very early in our lives to our parents, or to home.
“Think clean towels, fresh sheets, warm PJs in winter and laundry drying on the clothesline in the sun.”
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How to make your home smell like fresh laundry
“If you have an internal laundry with a clothes dryer than you have one of the most effective home fragrance tools at your disposal,” says Erica.
Of course, wet or damp laundry can be a different story altogether, so it pays to be diligent about keeping on top of your laundry duties.
She suggests you try different products like liquids, powders and softeners until you find a scent that resonates with you.
“Stick to it and it may even become your home’s signature scent.”
If you feel your home could do with a little boost of freshness, Erica suggests running a hot wash, as this can boost the diffusion of the laundry fragrance around your abode.
“This can be a little excessive in terms of energy and water consumption and so should be reserved for special occasions.”
Laundry detergents are tough, and the scents can remain in fresh linen and towels long after washing. Picture: Denise Braki
Article repurposed from The best scent for your home, according to an expert by Katie Skelly. Author at realestate.com.au.
