The Real Reason Your Kitchen Still Smells Like Fish

Cooking a delicious meal at home for dinner has several advantages. For one, you get to save a few bucks, and not to mention, you get a firsthand choice of what actually goes into your food every step of the way (which can make the ultimate difference). Also, you'll find you don't have to deal with missing waiters or waiting 30 minutes for a table, outside in the cold.

In all honesty, of course, there are also several disadvantages to cooking at home, like being stuck with a mountain of dishes after cooking, and also one of the biggest factors — the smell. If you're planning on cooking items like bacon, fish or steak, this could be totally off-putting, as the smell will more than likely linger in your home for days, seeping into everything from your curtains to your furniture. So what's to blame in this all too common scenario? Stove fan filters.

When was the last time you peeked underneath your stove's hood and looked into the fan filters? Although easy to overlook, the truth is that they make an incredible difference when it comes to controlling the smells in your kitchen. With its main job to collect grease and suck out smoky air, layers of grease can easily be found on filters if it's been some time since their last cleaning (via Food Network). If smells are lingering a little (or a lot) longer than regularly, it's time to clean those filters.

Fortunately, cleaning them isn't all that difficult. According to the Food Network, you can try placing them on their side in a dishwasher, where plates go. You can also fill your sink up with very hot water and mix in degreasing dish soap along with ¼ cup of baking soda and proceed to submerge the filters. Soak for 10 minutes, scrub with a non-abrasive brush, rinse and dry (via Kitchn). As a rule of thumb, try cleaning these filters once a month and get ready to smell the difference!