Mostly, no. A scented candle adds fragrance to the air, which can cover a cooking smell, but it doesn't remove what's causing it. What clears a kitchen is moving the air: a range hood that vents outdoors, an open window and a clean filter. Once the air is clear, a candle or another scent can finish the job.
Masking vs removing
To remove an odor, the molecules have to leave the room (pushed outdoors, or caught by a filter) or be broken down. To mask one, you add something stronger and let it compete for your nose. A candle's job is the second. Fraunhofer WKI, a German research institute that studies indoor air, advises against masking bad air with fragrance: "Cleaning and ventilation are better than using fragrance."
The idea that a flame burns odor away has some science behind it, but less than the legend suggests. Science Norway asked two chemists, at the Universities of Oslo and Bergen, about the old trick of striking a match in a bathroom. One explained that hydrogen sulfide, the gas behind many bad smells, reacts with oxygen and a flame to form water and sulfur dioxide, which smells different and is much less unpleasant. But a single match would never meet all of a dispersed gas at low concentration, and both chemists were confident the match's smoke simply disguises the smell, "just like the different perfumed products people leave around" in a bathroom. One added that adequate ventilation and an efficient fan are much easier to install than the alternatives (Science Norway).
That article is over ten years old and concerns matches and bathroom odor, not candles and cooking. Nothing in it, or in the ventilation guidance below, suggests that a candle flame clears a kitchen.
What actually clears cooking smells
Run the hood, and run it longer than feels necessary. Berkeley Lab's indoor air researchers advise turning it on every time you cook, at the highest speed you can tolerate, and cooking on the back burners if the hood doesn't reach the front ones; that could make it up to twice as effective (Berkeley Lab). NC State Extension suggests keeping the vent on for about 15 minutes after you finish (NC State Extension).
Check where the hood sends the air. The Building America Solution Center, a Department of Energy-funded resource, says hoods ducted to the outdoors remove odors and moisture from cooking, while recirculating hoods only filter the air and return it to the kitchen (Building America). If you have no hood that vents outdoors, Berkeley Lab says opening a window while you cook helps, and NC State Extension calls a recirculating fan better than nothing as long as you clean its filter frequently.
Clean or replace the filter. A kitchen that always smells of cooking or grease may just need a fresh filter, according to Building America. Washable metal filters should be washed about every three months, in the dishwasher or in warm water with dish soap. Disposable filters in recirculating hoods should be changed every three to six months, and some of them contain carbon to capture cooking odors; those can't be washed and reused (Building America).
Open a window. The EPA's mold guide advises using exhaust fans or open windows whenever you cook (EPA). Opening a second window across the house lets the air pass through.
Remove the source. Wipe the stovetop, counters and the outside of the hood, take the trash out that night, and wash dish cloths and towels. That is ordinary housekeeping, and it's what's left to do once the air has cleared.
Scenting the kitchen after
Treat scent as a finishing touch, not a cleaner. A few practical points:
- Ventilate first, light later. The National Candle Association advises keeping candles away from open windows, fans and air vents (NCA). Those are exactly what you use to clear a kitchen, so wait until the air has cleared.
- Mind the stove. The NFPA advises keeping anything that can catch fire away from the stovetop (NFPA) and keeping candles at least 1 foot from anything that can burn (NFPA). In a small kitchen, the counter by the range may not qualify.
- Think about the next room. A scent in the dining area or hall reaches the kitchen without competing with the stove.
- Expect your nose to adapt. People get used to an odor quickly (Pellegrino et al., 2017), so the kitchen may seem clear to you before it is to a visitor.
An unlit candle fits here because it has no flame to place. Our Le Bonne Pomme is an apple of hand-poured soy and beeswax, hand-painted one by one and presented under a handblown glass cloche. Displayed under its cloche, it scents a room without being lit, for about 60 days, depending on room size. Keep it out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources, which in a kitchen means a shelf well back from the stove and oven. It can be lit, but isn't meant to be: the painted finish will melt and the wax may drip, which is not a defect.
For the rest of the house, How to Make Your House Smell Good: A Room-by-Room Guide takes each room in turn. How Many Candles Does It Take to Scent a Room? covers how much scent a room needs, and How to Make Your Bathroom Smell Good, Always applies the same ventilate-first order to the other room where moisture and odor build up.
FAQ
Do scented candles remove odors?
No. A scented candle adds fragrance, which can cover an odor while you're in the room. What removes a cooking smell is moving air out of the house or through a filter that captures it.
Can a candle get rid of smell?
A flame can, in principle, burn some smelly gases, but the chemists in the Science Norway piece say a match doesn't meet enough of the air to matter and that its smoke mainly disguises the smell. That article was about matches, not candles. For cooking smells, ventilation is the answer.
How do I make my house smell good after cooking?
Run the hood while you cook and for about 15 minutes after, open a window, wipe up and take out the trash. Add scent only once the air is clear.
Do kitchen candles work?
A candle sold for the kitchen is still a candle. Read what its label promises, treat any odor claim as the maker's own, and don't count on it in place of a range hood or an open window.
