Topic: How to avoid lingering curry smells - is there a way?

[Sverige]

A familiar problem - you're making progress with your quest to achieve true BIR nirvana at home and have possibly been cooking curry once or twice too often in the past weeks. You open the door to walk back in from a shopping trip and wifey exclaims that the place smells like an Indian restaurant. Boom, before you know it you've had a total curry exclusion order slapped on you, and you can only browse this forum and weep at the memory of the curries you once cooked 

How to avoid this sad state of affairs?

Yes, some things are obvious, the splatter guard over or around the pan. Cleaning the cooker and splash back down straight after cooking and of course the humble kitchen extractor fan / cooker hood. However... these things in my experience are not a fully reliable solution and that smell just spreads and seems to soak into kitchen cupboards, plasterboard walls and soft furnishings. Something to do with the tiny airborne drops of curry infused oil which erupt from the pan as you're frying spices.

So... since we all presumably share this common problem, do any of you bright sparks have a solution?  I see some of the more dedicated ones have built curry sheds outside your main home, with a second hob, worktop, etc.  Nice if you have the space, time, money, etc... but are there any other solutions you've found to this problem?

[livo]

Sadly Sverige, probably not. I used to love to have that BIR curry aroma wafting around my entire house and the family would come home and say "What are you cooking?"  The neighbours would comment and ask for samples.

Now it's "Oh no. Not curry again!"

Not to mention the countless shirts and tea towels I've hidden in the bin due to excessive turmeric splatter. Mrs Livo is wondering where all the tea towels went.  Oops.

[chewytikka]

Good post Mr. Sweden
Cleaning, Cleaning, Cleaning, Cleaning is the only solution. (or Divorce) ;D

The thin film of grease which coats everything is very accurate.
Check above your kitchen cabinets, you will be amazed at the uniform coating.

Hot soapy water and a degreaser, I use restaurant stuff called Deepio.
Good sense of satisfaction, when your finished, fresh clean aroma, wifes off your back.
 cheers Chewy

[Peripatetic Phil]

Not to mention the countless shirts and tea towels I've hidden in the bin due to excessive turmeric splatter. Mrs Livo is wondering where all the tea towels went.  Oops.

Dettox "mould and mildew" spray is first-class for turmeric stains.
** Phil.

[Bob-A-Job]

Cleaning, Cleaning, Cleaning, Cleaning is the only solution.

I often use "Flash Bathroom with lemon" as I originally thought it might neutralize the smell but in reality it only masks it.
Whilst guests comment on a clean and fresh smelling bathroom, my family are beginning to associate it with curry and have even begun to wonder if I now cook in the bath tub..... not yet!

[Sverige]

Thanks. Probably need to work on my setup a bit as currently not easy to contain the curry odours just to a small area which could be cleaned as described.  No doors on the kitchen for a start, which is always going to be a challenge (tried cleaning the sofa with deepio chewy?!) Plus oil absorbing wood everywhere - walls, ceilings, floor.

Maybe I will yet have to come up with a curry shed concept, but -10C outside at the moment, so that's also somewhat challenging.

For now, total curry exclusion order remains in place. 

[livo]

That's terrible. Have you considered olfactory surgery? ;D