Peanut Butter Is The Odor Eliminator You Didn't Know You Needed. Here's Why

Dealing with unpleasant kitchen odors is never fun. If you're committed to using safe, eco-friendly odor eliminators in your home, there are some common ingredients that will keep your kitchen smelling lovely. Surprisingly, one of those ingredients is peanut butter. Heating up a tablespoon of peanut butter in your microwave or in a pan on your stove can mask gross odors like fish, old food, and boiled cabbage. You can also add some peanut butter to the oil in your pan before cooking fish in it, or wipe some peanut butter in a pan that you used to cook fish or other odorous food to eliminate the smell.

While this may be one of the most unconventional ways to use peanut butter, it is a non-toxic and inexpensive way to eliminate kitchen odors. Rather than smelling something unpleasant, you will instead just breathe in the nostalgic aroma of peanut butter. The brand you use doesn't matter, so no need to go out and buy an expensive or high-end peanut butter brand. Though it's probably best to skip chunky varieties or all-natural peanut butter. Some natural peanut butters contain more oil, which could make a mess when you heat it up.

Unlike vinegar, baking soda, and other natural household cleaning products, peanut butter doesn't neutralize or eliminate odors. Instead, it can temporarily mask certain odors or even trick your brain into not noticing them anymore. One of the most interesting facts about peanut butter is that it is considered a pure odorant. This means that while it stimulates your olfactory system, it doesn't activate your trigeminal nerve. In simple English, you smell the odor of peanut butter but it won't make your body unconsciously react the way that other scents can. While some scents that do trigger the trigeminal nerve can cause you to experience a burning or tingling feeling in your nose or mouth, peanut butter won't.

This could mean that when you use your store-bought or even homemade peanut butter to mask other unpleasant odors in your home, smelling the peanut butter scent will be more enjoyable than the previous odor. Another possibility is that because peanut butter is a pure odorant, your brain will become used to the smell quickly as it won't cause any uncomfortable physical reactions in your nose or mouth. You will be able to ignore the smell more easily than you would be able to ignore the smell of fish, garbage, or other icky kitchen aromas.