How to Make Your Bedroom Smell Good All Day (and All Night)
To make your bedroom smell good all day, air the room and the bed every morning, wash your bedding once a week and keep worn clothes and shoes out. Then add a soft, steady scent such as a reed diffuser. Bedrooms go stale for simple reasons. You spend eight hours breathing, sweating and shedding skin in a small room, usually with the window shut. Fix that first, and a good fragrance will keep the room smelling fresh from morning to night.
A good bedroom smells of almost nothing in the morning. Then you open the door at night and catch something soft: cool air, clean cotton and a hint of vanilla. Getting there takes five minutes each morning and a few small habits, and this is the routine we use ourselves.
If your bedroom smells worst when you wake up, read our guide to why your bedroom smells in the morning. This guide covers the full daily plan.
Why do bedrooms start to smell?
- Your bed. Sheets, pillows and the duvet soak up sweat, skin oils and dead skin every night.
- Still, damp air. Your breath adds moisture overnight, and with the door and window shut it has nowhere to go.
- Worn clothes. A chair piled with "not quite dirty" clothes, or gym kit left on the floor, fills a room with smell surprisingly fast.
- Shoes. Trainers stored in the bedroom leak smell into the whole room.
- Carpet and dust. Skin and dust settle under the bed and deep in the carpet.
Most of this slips past you, because your nose stops noticing smells you live with. Other people notice them straight away.
What is the 5 minute morning routine?
1. Throw back the duvet
Leave making the bed until later. Pull the duvet back to the foot of the bed and leave it for at least half an hour, so the sweat from the night can dry out of the sheets and mattress. It may help with dust mites too. Researchers at Kingston University found that mites in bedding need damp to survive, and an aired bed dries them out.
2. Open the window for 10 minutes
Open the window while you get ready, and open the door too if you can, so the air flows right through. Cool morning air clears out the stale night air quickly. Some people call this "burping" the house.
3. Put clothes away or in the wash
Hang up anything clean and put worn clothes in a laundry basket with a lid. Keep gym kit in a separate bag or basket, and wash it the same day whenever you can.
4. Make the bed
Once the bed has aired, make it. A made bed stops dust from settling on the sheets during the day.
What should you do each week?
- Wash sheets and pillowcases every week. Use the hottest wash the care label allows, and dry them outside when the weather is kind, because fresh air leaves them smelling cleaner than a dryer.
- Vacuum the floor and under the bed. This is where most skin and dust gather.
- Empty the bin. Tissues, food wrappers and cotton pads start to smell within days.
- Air the wardrobe. Leave the doors open for an hour while you clean.
What should you do each month?
- Freshen the mattress. When you strip the bed, sprinkle bicarbonate of soda over the mattress, leave it for an hour and then vacuum it off.
- Wash the duvet, pillows and mattress protector, or have them cleaned, following the care label. Replace any pillows that have gone flat or yellow.
- Wash curtains and throws every few months, because they catch every smell in the room.
How do you keep bad smells out?
- Store shoes somewhere else. If they have to live in the bedroom, keep them in a closed cupboard.
- Keep food in the kitchen. Crumbs and spills in bed go stale quickly.
- Put a small pot of bicarbonate of soda in the wardrobe. It soaks up damp and smell, and it needs swapping once a month.
- Check for damp. Condensation on bedroom windows in the morning is a sign of damp air, so wipe it away each day. If a musty smell stays, read our guide to getting rid of old house smell.
How do you scent a bedroom?
Once the room is clean and aired, a gentle scent turns it into a place to rest as well as sleep.
Use a reed diffuser for all day scent
A reed diffuser gives the room a steady, gentle scent all day and all night. It needs no flame and no plug, and there is nothing to switch off, which makes it the safest way to scent a room you sleep in.
Bedrooms are small, so you need less scent than in a living room. Start with fewer fibre reeds and add more if you cannot smell it, and use our room size guide to see how many fibre reeds suit your room. Stand the reed diffuser on a coaster on a chest of drawers or dressing table, away from the bed and out of reach of children and pets.
Use a candle to wind down in the evening
Light a candle for an hour before bed while you read or get ready, and notice how it changes the mood of the room. Always blow it out before you get into bed.
Pick soft, warm or gently floral scents
Sharp, bright scents such as strong citrus or peppermint can feel too lively for a bedroom, and most people prefer something softer.
- Soft and snug: our Mayfair Library reed diffuser blends vanilla, tonka and cedarwood. It is a warm scent for slow evenings.
- Calm and green: our Hampstead Spa reed diffuser brings lemongrass, pine and cedar. It is a green, herbal scent made for bedrooms and bathrooms.
- Light and clean: our Belgravia Linen reed diffuser blends Earl Grey, cucumber and white musk. It is a clean tea scent with a soft floral feel.
Stick to one scent family per room, because a vanilla reed diffuser, a citrus candle and a floral linen spray will fight each other. Match your candle to your reed diffuser instead. Each of our luxury scented candles comes in the same scent as one of our reed diffusers. For more on the scents that help people relax, see the best scents for the bedroom and sleep.
Go light on sprays
A light mist of linen spray on the pillows can be lovely at bedtime. Spray from a distance and let it dry before you lie down, because a little goes a long way and too much scent on your pillow can keep you awake.
The best scents for a bedroom
Soft, comforting scents suit a bedroom best. Keep the scent light, because you spend hours there with the door closed. Start with about half the fibre reeds, and stand the reed diffuser on a chest of drawers rather than beside your pillow.
- Lavender: clean, herbal and calm. For a similar green, herbal feel, try Hampstead Spa (lemongrass, pine and cedar).
- Vanilla and amber: warm and cosy. Mayfair Library (vanilla, tonka and cedarwood) is our warm choice.
- Rose and jasmine: soft and floral, for a gentle, pretty room.
- Cedar and sandalwood: grounded, for a calm, grown up feel.
Think of scent as part of a wind down routine: a room that smells clean and familiar simply feels more restful. See all our bedroom reed diffusers.
Quick answers
How can I make my bedroom smell good all the time?
Air the bed and the room every morning, wash your bedding weekly and keep worn clothes and shoes out. Then use a reed diffuser for a steady scent all day and all night.
What is the best scent for a bedroom?
Soft, warm or gently floral scents suit most bedrooms, such as vanilla, musk, amber, neroli or lavender. Save bright citrus and mint for the kitchen and bathroom.
Is it safe to have a reed diffuser in the bedroom?
Yes, for most people, as long as you place it well. Keep it on a coaster and out of reach of children and pets, and use fewer fibre reeds in a small room. If anyone in the room has asthma or is sensitive to scent, start with a light fragrance. Read more in are reed diffusers safe.
Why does my bedroom smell musty?
Usually because of damp. Your breath adds moisture overnight and a closed window traps it, so air the room each morning and wipe away any condensation.
Find your scent
At IVNA London we make reed diffusers and candles in England, in four scents. Each luxury reed diffuser costs £58. Pair it with the matching luxury scented candle, which costs £42, and your bedroom will smell the same by day and by candlelight.
Scenting more than one room? Our reed diffuser Home Sets let you mix any three scents for £159, or five for £250.
More answers in our reed diffuser FAQs.
