I want to heat and eat food not emit it.

October 4, 2008 7:45 PM

How can I make sure my clothes and bedding don't smell like food if I'm cooking only a few feet away?

For the next little while I'm going to be living in a kitchen-less bachelor pad. I don't cook often but I plan on heating stuff up on a hot plate or making stews in a crock pot. The proximity of said crock pot would be a mere few feet away from my clothes and bedding. The room has a ceiling fan and a window that I can open.

Are there any tips or tricks I can use to avoid having my clothes smell like last night's chili?

posted by 913 to home & garden (7 comments total)

Try placing a desk fan between the crock pot and the bedding/clothing area, and point it to blow out toward the window. In such a small area, you're probably not going to be able to avoid a little bit of permeation, so maybe you could try to avoid foods with really overpowering and/or offensive smells (e.g. no hard-boiled eggs or fried onions).
posted by amyms at 8:02 PM on October 4 [1 favorite]

When you're done, some Oust or Febreze?
posted by IndigoRain at 9:03 PM on October 4

I really miss having a kitchen that's separated from the rest of my domicile by a door.

At one place I was living at, it was separated but there wasn't a door. I bought a ... something... it was a huge piece of Indian fabric which I nailed up over the door frame separating the kitchen from the rest of the basement suite. Did a reasonable job. The kitchen also had an external door, which I left (at least cracked) open when cooking.

I'm in a 1-bed apartment right now and don't have the luxury; do you have a 'real' exhaust fan or an "apartment" exhaust fan in your kitchen? If it's possible to upgrade that, that can help. My cousin has a 2-bed but with a really crappy kitchen exhaust fan - it's horrible. People leave smelling like cooking even if they've arrive after the food's done cooking. If heat is included in rent, open your windows when cooking (and afterwards) to air the place out.

Even if you're living in a 1-bed without a discreet kitchen area, your bedroom probably has a door; close that before you start cooking.

Sprinkling backing soda on your carpet before vacuuming can also help get lingering cooking smells out.
posted by porpoise at 9:33 PM on October 4

A Bounce sheet in the dryer with a damp wash rag for 15 minutes will drive out pretty much any nasty smell - as will an hour in the sun. But, really, unless you are frying your food right next to your bed, you shouldn't have too much trouble. The crock pot is very unlikely to dispense a lot of food odors - you should be fine.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 1:18 AM on October 5

Put an extra sheet over your bed. The cooking smells/particles will settle on that, then you can just fold it up and wash it or stow it into a bag until you use it again.
posted by kimdog at 7:14 AM on October 5

Burn a candle while you're cooking. It can be a scent-free candle, but if you go scented, please get a soy candle or something natural, and not anything you might see advertised on television, for example. I do that while I cook fish and it goes a long way towards making the house smell non-fishy. Also keep it burning for a little while after you're done cooking.
posted by micawber at 11:30 AM on October 5

Keep your clothes and bedding in trash bags.
posted by nicwolff at 2:07 PM on October 5