Any number of incidents can result in a strong, unpleasant odor. You could have smoke damage, a mold problem, or a musty smell in a new home. You might think it’s something you can handle yourself; however, odor removal is more complicated than it may seem. Unless you are professionally trained, you could end up doing more harm than good. Here’s how you should never try to get rid of odors.

How Not to Eliminate Odors

1. Fabric Freshener

Fabric fresheners don’t remove odors; they simply mask them. You must keep spraying the material—otherwise, the odor continues to return, and you could change the smell entirely, resulting in something equally unpleasant. The only way to banish the smell altogether is by having a professional take care of it.

2. Household Cleaners

Household soaps and cleaners, while excellent for small cleaning tasks, are no match for a job that requires heavy-duty odor removal. They may do nothing, but they’re more likely to leave residue and marks on the surface where you use them. Only a professional cleaning team has products that get rid of an odor completely without damaging your furniture.

3. Baking Soda as a Fix-All

An old wives’ tale is that baking soda cures any odor. While it does have cleaning properties, it’s more effective in small quantities to clean metal kitchen items. If you cover your home in it, you’ll end up with a worse mess than you started with, and the odor may still come back because baking soda doesn’t have the power to eradicate smells permanently.

If you need odor removal in your home, contact the professionals. Rumpke Restoration is locally owned and operated and provides honest and reliable service to Greater Cincinnati, OH, including the cities of Loveland, Milford, West Chester, Mason, Amelia, Batavia, Anderson, New Richmond, Northside, Hamilton, Fairfield, Springfield, and Dayton, OH. They also serve Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, Highland, and Warren counties; Union, Montgomery, and Symmes townships; and the Village of Indian Hill. Rumpke Restoration specializes in complete disaster restoration services, diagnosing problems and providing prompt service. Whether you need damage restoration from a flood or mold infestation or a top-to-bottom home cleaning, trust them to make your house feel like home again. To learn more, visit them online or call (513) 760-5501.