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Have you ever walked into the house of a friend, a cousin or a grandparent and thought it has a unique smell? Lots of things can impact the scent of a home. The owners may have old furniture or pets, be near the ocean, or be baking bread. The types of cleaners they use or how often they vacuum can also impact smell. Every home has a smell, even your’s. So why can’t you “smell” your own home’s smell? We turn to our friends at mentalfloss for the answer to that question.
The quick answer as to why you can’t smell your house is “Because you don’t need to!” Let’s explore that further, though, which starts with understanding the role the sense of smell plays in your life. Smelling the air around you can tell you a lot. Your sense of smell can tell you that breakfast is cooking in another part of the house. Smell can trigger memories too - Did you know that your sense of smell has an even greater impact on your memory than sight?!
Also as important, though, is smelling can help you know when you are in danger. For instance, if you are at home and smell smoke you can assume there is a fire somewhere even if you can’t see it. The same goes for a rotten egg smell that comes with a gas leak. Your sense of smell can be a warning system that something is different and needs attention. That attention can be good (the smell of freshly baked cookies) or bad (a fire).
Your brain is always using your senses looking out for things that may pose a danger to keep you safe. With all of the information from your eyes, ears, nose, skin and tongue coming at you at once, your brain needs to filter out the things that don’t matter so it can focus on the things that do.
So, when we ask “Why can’t I smell my house?” the answer is that your home is a safe space, so your brain filters out the information your nose is sending it. Your grandparent’s home may be a safe space too, but nonetheless, it is a less familiar environment when you arrive so your brain may be on alert. After a while, you will notice you can no longer “smell” your grandparents' home either which is your brain’s way of moving on to other information.
Do you want to know how your home smells to an outsider? Here are some tips from mentalfloss:
“Since familiarity is the key, you can give your nose a fresh start by leaving the house for a few hours. When you return, you should be able to get a good idea of what everyone else smells. If that doesn’t work, try jumping around the room for a few minutes. The increased blood flow can briefly improve your sense of smell.”
Just be careful not to do too many jumping jacks because then you may be smelling a bad smell from your armpits and not the smell of your house!
