The problem

I've encountered three situations where odors linger in wooden furniture and transfer to nearby belongings:

1. Second-hand furniture
I've looked at used cupboards and drawers that smell of their previous owners — sweat, perfume, or other lingering odors. Clothes stored inside absorb these smells and need to be washed again.

Even non-fabric items, such as boxes, stationery, and my passport, pick up the odor. This makes the furniture practically unusable for me.

2. Perfume odor absorbed by wood
I once placed a closed box of Ariel pods (Lenor variant) inside a cupboard. The perfume smell became so strong that opening the cupboard made me feel physically sick. Even my gimbal absorbed the Lenor fragrance.

3. Chemical smell in new furniture
The new cupboard in my rented apartment has a persistent chemical-like smell that transfers to my clothes. I don't know what is causing it.

What I've tried

• Leaving the furniture open to air out in my room and on the patio.
• Wiping the surfaces with a vinegar-and-soap solution.
• Sprinkling baking soda inside to absorb the odor.

Unfortunately, none of these methods has solved the problem.

My questions

Wood is porous, and I suspect it absorbs odor-causing compounds and gradually releases them into the air.

• Has anyone successfully removed persistent odors from wooden furniture, especially perfume, sweat, or chemical smells?
• What worked in practice, and how long did it take?
• Are there effective treatments that remove the underlying odor rather than simply masking it with another fragrance?
• Is there a point at which the odor is too deeply absorbed into the wood to be removed practically?

I'm particularly interested in solutions that have worked on real furniture, rather than just general recommendations to air it out or use baking soda.

Thanks!

Are there cleaning services that teach you how to clean?
Several posts have reminded me of something I’ve looked for, a cleaner who works alongside you, explains what to do and how to do it. Basically cleaning lessons, maybe offered as a package until you feel confident doing it yourself?

I’d expect to pay more than for a typical cleaning because teaching is an additional skill. I did consider companies would see it as teaching themselves out of customers, but I’d absolutely call the people who taught me if I needed extra help.

Does this already exist?

I’m not sure if this will be the most appropriate sub but I have to start somewhere I guess!

I can’t seem to add the photo in this post so I’ll try to add in the comments.

I was gifted this decorative cow’s head about 10 years ago. It has sat on a wall collecting dust since. I would like to remove the things that I put crosses on in pink. This means I’ll need to clean the bone and, if possible, find a way to clean the small amount of crochet and stones left. I’m happy just to leave the crochet type things as is and dirty, if wetting them are only going to bring out the dust and grime worse.

I had thought maybe a baking soda pasta? But I am definitely no expert when it comes to these things. I’m not US based so using things I can find around the house would be great, if anyone has any ideas. I have vinegar, baking soda, a lemon tree, dishwashing liquid etc.

Thank you so much!

We moved last summer and bought an Off-white leather couch for the new house. Have just gotten around to unpacking some of our boxes and came across our blue-light flashlight. And you guessed it, I used it on our couch and it lit all over. I see our dog licking some spots on the couch once in a while, so I think it’s the dog drool.

Any tips how to clean it?

Sometimes stuff also comes out covered in small black pieces. So close to just hand cleaning everything again. My parents don't know what to do.

OK so despite my attempt at a funny title, the situation is anything but funny. I have a mouse issue I called the exterminator for, and we're trying to fix it. However, as part of that, I washed all my sheets and slept elsewhere last night, only to find mouse droppings literally ON my mattress. I mean the bare mattress itself, no cover, no duvet, no fitted sheet as all were being washed.

What do I do? Obviously the mattress is porous so I don't think I can use typical disinfectant. I couldn't find any advice specific to what to do for a bare mattress. Any help would be very appreciated.

Thanks.

so I have a bath tub that's lightly (as in there's definitely more than a little but the situation isn't dire) covered in garden soil, cat feces, sand, and litter. I got all the big parts out but some of the litter is stuck to the bottom and the tub won't drain and the rest of the dirt won't rinse out. what cleaning supplies should I use to make the tub usable again?

Switching from bar soap to liquid soap has made my condo so much cleaner. No more soap scum or residue from bar soap. It may be more expensive but it’s totally worth it. Why did nobody tell me this sooner? 😭

Hi! First time posting here. I have a granite countertop that used to house my roommate’s soap dispenser. I never noticed before, but she just moved out and there’s a huge black stain on the granite countertop that hasn’t gone away in the last day. Anything I can do???

Thanks in advance please help!

Hi everyone — hoping for some gentle guidance here, no judgment please, I'm genuinely starting from scratch on this one 😅

I'm 28, and most of my adult life has honestly been more "survive" than "live comfortably" — moved around a lot, lived pretty bare-bones, never really had a reason to build proper home habits. That's about to change in a really good way: my wife is joining me soon, and we're moving into a cozy little 500 sq ft one-bedroom apartment here in Canada. With about 8 months of winter ahead of us, we're going to be spending a lot of time at home together, and I really want it to feel warm and taken care of for her, not just "livable."

The honest truth is I just don't know the basics that a lot of people seem to pick up naturally, so I'm hoping some of you lovely people can point me in the right direction:

How do you handle your bedding/laundry routine? Like how often do sheets actually need washing, and is there a simple rhythm that works (every week, every other week)?

Ironing — I have genuinely never learned this. What's a good beginner setup, and is it worth learning or just easier to send things out?

For a small one-bedroom space, what are the first few things that made the biggest difference for you in keeping it feeling organized instead of cluttered?

I'm not trying to make this place magazine-perfect — I just want the little basics handled so it feels like a real home when she walks in. Any tips, product recs, or even a YouTube channel that helped you would mean a lot. Thank you in advance 🙏

I work a 8-5 five days a week and have two children under the age of 3. I’ve been doing little chores everyday in the evening but have been so tired maintaining everything that some days I just go straight to bed after the kids are all tucked in. How do you manage keeping your house tidy with toys galore all over the house? I have bins that I put them in but sometimes I feel like it’s not enough as they’ll just pull it right back out. Any tips or tricks on what to clean everyday without overwhelming yourself?

Im tired and what is left can't be done for a few hours. It sucks feeling unaccomplished despite finishing ove 10 things when last week 1 felt overwhelming. I have to remind myself too that it's okay.

Having trouble cleaning out these two shower drains. Mostly hair dust and a bit of stray kitty litter in there. I’ve tried draino(ruined the aluminium) and bleach gel.

Really need help it’s making the whole apartment smell

Trying to get our home clean is always such a big deal. It isn't horrible, but I never have a picture worthy clean home due to lack of organization.

I live with a man so most of the time I’m the one cleaning up cups and taking multiple up and downstairs, there’s only one area of my room that’s messy and that’s my alcove bookshelf desk area. The desk is filled with books and scraps of paperwork, it is a large stack of books and documents spread haphazardly covering the desk (I think we were doing a diy job and that’s how it’s resulted in this way). Honestly can’t remember how many months it’s been that way, the rest of my space is fairly neat but I always say to myself “tomorrow I’m going to tackle that” rinse and repeat. I might have something minorly wrong with me where I notice something I cannot stop until it’s fixed and clean but even though this area bothers me I haven’t zoned in on that area at all. Does anyone have any suggestions? I genuinely don’t understand why I’m delaying this job or how I can overcome the mental barrier of the amount of hours it’s going to take to fully sort.

Hi! I moved here less than a year ago and the place has a bath tub made of a white plastic. Apologies if the photo doesn’t clearly depict it (lighting is always weird in the bathroom) but I’ve been having trouble keeping what I believe are water stains out of the tub.

I’m worried about corroding or ruining the tub, so I’ve mainly been using dish soap and a soft bristled brush to scrub. Is there any cleaning agent or material I can use to prevent these stains or reverse the current stains?

I do typically use a bathmat and try to clean under it often, but even then there’s still some water stainage.

I got out my Beast blender today to find that the lid/ blade attachment (which has been stored closed up against one of the blender cups) had a thin layer of mold (mildew?) coating its surfaces and crevices (around the interior of the edge, under and around the blade, etc).

I scrubbed with soap and hot water repeatedly, using a small brush tool to get into the crevices and ridges. I also soaked for a few minutes with vinegar. But it still has a hint of that mold/mildew smell.

Any suggestions for further cleaning?

Someone who is to remain nameless (for the sake of my marriage), put a mini pumpkin on our wood kitchen table.

It rotted and stuck to the table. When I pulled it off there was some dark gunk on the table.

After wiping with water and dish soap it now looks horrendous.

I think it’s something on top of the table since it feels a little raised, but wondering if it’s just the wood without the finish.

I scraped really gently with a drivers license to see if any little bit came off but nothing did.

what do I do?

I'm sure something similar has been asked before but I can't find a post with exactly what I need. My cat won't stop scooting on the carpet 😭 (many vet visits, she's fine- trying to adjust her diet to get more fiber, etc and now she's taking miralax. Vet also said when they start scooting it's hard to get them to stop even if they are pooping normally again fml). I've been using an actual carpet cleaner to clean but it's gotten a little better so I think a spot cleaning spray would now be better so I'm not dragging out the whole carpet cleaner for a small spot every other day. Does anyone have any recommendations for a spot cleaning spray that won't stain the carpet (brown carpets) and is pet safe? Thank you so much!

I can’t take them down to handle them by hand. I’m not sure what cleaners would be safe for the metal, glue, lucite, and enamel. The pieces date from the 1930s. Any advice is appreciated!

Bought a new place recently, it’s lovely but there are a few nooks and crannies in the actual shower unit I’m struggling to clean. I’m going to replace the actual seals on the sliding doors, but there is a weird gap between the “skirting board” and the actual shower unit and it’s accumulated a lot of debris and such. I’m thinking a rag on a stick but if anyone has a better idea I’m all ears!

I accidentally spilt some boiling water on my garage floor. Will this go away on its own or have I ruined the top coat?

I spilled Taco Bell sauce on my light blue sweatshirt so I got some hand soap and rinsed it with a little water I thought all was good untill it dried and this stain appeared I let the sweater sit in water where the stain was to see if it’d come off but nope so then I put it in the washing machine with detergent and stain still did not come off anyone know how to get this gone or if it’s even fixable I’ve never seen this before the sweatshirt is 100%cotton please help

I’m 17 and I like to keep a tidy room but my parents make me keep an aggressive dog in my room, so they force him to be in there 24/7 all hours of the day. He has an ear infection that they neglect and it leaks this strange stinky juice that ruined anything it touches smell wise, my carpets stink as well as my bed and everything else in my room. My parents constantly bring him outside on a leash then put him in my room and cause mud to be everywhere, I’ve tried everything I can think of, but my room just ends up stinking due to his infection and getting dirty again due to mud, what can I do?

So I noticed these orange stains deep in my granite countertops after someone moved out. I suspect it's from some kind of beauty care products but I'm not 100% sure. I tried baking soda paste on it for a couple days but it didn't work out. Any tips?