Ahhh, popcorn. There’s nothing quite like it. The smell of freshly popped popcorn is one of life’s simple pleasures – that is, until you accidentally burn the batch and your entire house starts to smell like smoke. There’s nothing worse than that smell! Don’t worry, we will show you how to get burnt popcorn smell out of house. Removing the burnt popcorn smell from your home can be challenging, yet it is not impossible. The good news is there are a few steps that you can take to get rid of that unpleasant aroma quickly and easily.
When Will The Smell Be Gone?
The length of the burnt popcorn smell that lingers in a house can vary greatly depending on the intensity of the burnt odor, the size of the area where it was burned and how quickly action is taken to get rid of burnt popcorn.
Generally speaking, a light to moderate burnt popcorn smell can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks if left unchecked. However, if you take immediate action there are several steps you can take to help drastically reduce or fully eliminate the burnt popcorn smell and lingering odors.
How to Get Burnt Popcorn Smell Out of House?
Ways To Remove The Burnt Smell
One key factor that determines how long burnt popcorn smell lasts is how much popcorn was being cooked and how badly it was burned. The more popcorn that has been cooked and burned, for example, will produce a stronger burnt smell than lesser amounts and may linger for longer periods.
Additionally, if the popcorning took place in an enclosed space such as an oven or microwave, then it will be more difficult to remove due to fewer air exchanges with fresh air from outside.
To start, it’s important to locate the source of the smell — this could be the outside of your microwave, or elsewhere in your kitchen. Once identified, open up as many windows in the room as possible to help air out the space and dissipate some of that foul odor with fresh air circulation. Finally, regular cleaning and maintenance of any appliances used for cooking can prevent remaining smells from sticking around for too long in future.
Let’s go in-depth with more instructions for removing foul odors associated with burnt popcorn smell.
Get Rid Of The Popcorn
First things first: you’ll need to remove the nasty microwave popcorn from your home. it’s best to collect the burnt popcorn, the bag containing it, and all burned food from inside the microwave (aka burn site).
Put the burnt popcorn and all other debris inside a plastic bag that can be sealed (think ziploc baggies). This will create a barrier that will prevent burnt smells from further dispersing in your home.
Don’t be tempted to toss the plastic bag into your indoor garbage pail! You want to remove this from your home entirely! Place the plastic bag with burnt popcorn debris in an outside garbage receptacle.
This method works for any burnt popcorn, regardless if you cooked via microwave or stovetop. Essentially, you gotta get the burnt food totally out of the house before you can start eliminating burnt odors and keep your microwave smelling fresh.
Clean Your Microwave
Keeping your microwave clean and free of smoke smell and burnt residue is an important part of kitchen maintenance. There are several methods detailed below that can assist with this cleaning process to get rid of burnt smells.
Method 1
You will need:
- Microwave safe bowl
- A few lemon halves
- Water
Begin by pouring the water into a microwave safe bowl or dish. Cut your lemons in half and squeeze all the lemon juice into the water. Make sure to mix everything together so that there is no undissolved juice remaining at the bottom of your container.
Next, place your lemon water into the microwave and set it to high for 3 minutes. This will cause the mixture to steam in order to release any odors present within your microwave and also helps to deodorize every corner of your kitchen.
Once the time is up, do not remove the container straight away; let the bowl sit inside the closed microwave for another 10 minutes in order to ensure that all traces of pungent odors have been eliminated and replaced with a fresh lemon scent. Wipe out its interior with a damp cloth or paper towel to clean up afterward.
Method 2
Baking soda is a very effective way to get rid of burnt popcorn smell in your home (and it’s great for yellow butter stains). To do this, add baking soda to a microwave-safe dish and slowly add water until you have a thick paste. This paste should then be cooked on high for five minutes to release odors. After cooking the paste, leave it in the microwave for a few hours (or at least an hour). Or, you can leave it in the microwave overnight. This will give the baking soda time to absorb all of the “burned smell” odors from inside.
When you’re ready, take out the microwaved dish with baking soda and give your microwave tray a good wipe-down with a cloth.
Method 3
To get rid of burnt popcorn smell can be a difficult task to handle. However, using a simple solution of vinegar and water can help get rid of the smell quickly and easily.
To do this, grab a microwaveable bowl or dish and mix together about half a cup of vinegar with an equal measure of water. Then place the bowl of white vinegar water into the microwave and set it to cook for 3 minutes on high power. Once the time is up, allow the white vinegar mixture to sit in the microwave for a few hours or so before removing it. This will help to break down any food particles that may have been left in there which could be contributing to the smell.
Once you have removed your solution from the inside of your microwave, make sure to follow up by wiping down all surfaces (including microwave door) with a damp cloth or paper towel. Additionally, if you are still struggling with an unpleasant smell, try adding a few drops of essential oils into your vinegar-water mix before microwaving it.
Method 4
Surprisingly enough, u
Using coffee grounds to get rid of the burnt smell of popcorn is an effective odor neutralizer to remove unpleasant odors from your home. Freshly ground coffee has the ability to overpower a lot of smells, including getting rid of burnt popcorn. To successfully use coffee, you need to take certain steps that will ensure its maximum efficiency.
The first step is to place coffee grounds into a microwave-safe coffee cup and put it in the microwave. Depending on the quantity of grounds you are using, you may need to adjust your cook time accordingly. As a general rule of thumb, 3 minutes should be enough for one cup’s worth of grounds. After cooking your mixture, it is important that you let it remain in the microwave for several minutes afterward, as this will allow for optimal diffusion throughout your kitchen space.
Removing The Smell From Your House
Now that we’ve cleaned the microwave, and removed the burnt popcorn, we want to make sure to eliminate any lingering smells in the home (ideally before we burn popcorn again!).
Open The Windows
The first step in eliminating the burnt popcorn smell from the surrounding air in your house, is to ensure that the air is circulating. This means opening up all the windows in the entire house. If you have portable electric fans or a similar system, make sure it is running as well to prevent stale air accumulation.
Turn On Your Diffuser
Put those essential oils to good use, and run your difuser to remove unpleasant odors. When running portable electric fans, you’ll find your air freshener device to be a lot more effective.
If you don’t have a difuser, you can use store-bought air fresheners to freshen up your home.
Baking Soda
Baking soda is great for absorbing burnt odor that may be lingering in upholstery. Pour a healthy amount in a few small bowls to place around your home.
Boil Lemon
Add lemon slices or several chopped lemons with boiling water to create your own fragrance with a fresh lemon scent. Boil for 10-30 minutes to create steam that will refresh your home. You can also add in orange peels, vanilla extract, or your favorite fragrant spices for a unique air freshener! Pour the warm water in a few small bowls to place around other rooms if the smell is really bad.
Absorbent Bread/Vinegar Soak
Add two cups of vinegar to a pot filled with water and set to boil. Transfer to a glass tray after simmering for 15 minutes. Dip white bread into the vinegar. Set the bread out on a plate to absorb bad odors. If you don’t have bread or vinegar, use jasmine rice with a few drops of essential oils, vanilla extract, or your favorite fragrant spices.
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Grainne Foley
Grainne Foley is a wife and mother of 2 great kids. During her 5 years of full time RV travel, Grainne learned to become very efficient at household chores, in order to make time for family adventures. Now, back in a house, she has continued to create tools and techniques to help others lighten the load of household organization and cleaning.
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