The smell of summer turning to autumn is one of the nicest smells in the world–fresher air, crisp drying leaves, and the ever-present scent of pumpkin spiced everything. Keeping it smelling nice inside your home can make the start of the season even more pleasant and comforting to your household and guests, but thankfully, you don’t have to bake a fresh pumpkin pie every day to accomplish that.

Here are 6 simple tips to keep your home smelling fresh, clean, and autumnal.

1. Keep the air ducts clean. It’s likely you’re still using your air conditioner at the beginning of autumn, and air ducts can collect and distribute a surprising amount of unpleasant smells, especially if anyone in the home smokes or if mildew or standing water is an issue in the air conditioner. Try replacing the filters first, and consider getting them professionally cleaned if the smells persist. To kick things up a notch, try clipping a car air freshener or deodorizer to the air vents, as the air flow through the vents will spread the scent throughout the room.
2. Keep carpets clean. Carpets are a plush place for nasty smells to hide out, and it can be difficult to tell where the smell is coming from without putting your nose to the ground. Vacuuming up and treating spills and stains immediately is key to keeping bad smells from sinking in, but sometimes a professional cleaning becomes necessary to get old, musty or stinky carpets smelling like new again.
3. Simmer scented water on the stove top. Remember how good hot apple cider smelled as a kid? You can create some autumnal aromas on the stove with nothing more than  water and some spices. Try simmering orange, lemon, or lime slices along with herbs like mint or cinnamon.
4. Clean the garbage disposal. You can do this by running lemon or lime peels down the disposal, followed by plenty of water, or a baking soda rinse.
5. Get some plants. Potted plants will actually improve the air quality of your home, and some will add a nice smell, as well. Flowers, potted herbs, and other fragrant plants like eucalyptus will make your home both feel and smell more inviting.
6. Scented candles are a nice touch to mask any less-than-pleasant aromas and give off a warm, comforting smell. They are especially nice in bathrooms and living rooms, but in general should be kept out of the kitchen to avoid competing pleasant scents. You can even try placing them in cabinets or closets without lighting them, so that fabrics around them pick up a nice scent.

Of course, keeping the house clean and removing bad odors, including from the carpets, garbage can, and furniture, is the most important precursor to anything else you can do to , create nice aromas. For assistance with carpet and upholstery cleaning, call Royal Carpet Cleaning to take the first step towards a lovely-smelling home.