How To Keep Your Basement Smelling Fresh With Coffee Grounds

There are plenty of spots in a house that can turn stinky, from the bathroom and kitchen, to your teen's dish-filled bedroom. Basements are also notorious for having a funky smell. While some people use them mainly to store junk, others use them as an extra living space, which is why having that distinctive "basement odor" isn't always ideal. If you have some old coffee grounds laying around though, you're in luck! You can actually get your basement smelling fresher by leaving a container of them in it. Coffee makes an amazing deodorizer, even in spots like basements that oftentimes are more exposed to moisture and have poorer ventilation.

There are multiple unexpected uses for leftover coffee grounds around your home, and even genius ways to use them in your yard. Since it works as an all-natural and inexpensive solution when it comes to deodorizing, many people prefer it over products that contain chemicals. It's the nitrogen in coffee grounds that help neutralize those bad smells — and even more, they can help absorb them, along with moisture. For a bonus, they add a wonderful aroma too.

If your basement is producing a strong moldy smell, that's definitely an issue to look deeper into first — as there might be a bigger problem to address. Also, decluttering your basement and tossing odor-causing items is a great idea for maximum results. If you prefer to try this coffee trick over using a store-bought air freshener, simply start saving your used grounds. Just know that they have to be dried out prior to leaving bowls of them around your home.

There are several methods for drying out leftover coffee grounds so that they're ready to work their magic. For example, you can spread them on a newspaper-covered cookie sheet and set them out in the sun. Or, for a faster method, add a thin layer to a baking sheet and put them in the oven on the lowest setting. Keep an eye on them, giving them a stir every once in a while. They should be dried out in about 20 to 30 minutes (be sure to let them cool before you do anything with them).

Once you have a batch of dried-out coffee grounds, it's time to get that basement smelling fresher. Make a small bowl, or multiple bowls of them, and place them in different areas of the space (the size of it will determine how many you use). They should help capture those bad odors, moisture, and leave behind that yummy coffee scent.