Commercial Air Freshener vs. Odor Eliminator vs. Fabric Refresher
Bad odors are enough to make your nose wrinkle and your skin crawl; no one feels comfortable in a rank-smelling facility. But to solve it, you need to get to the root of the odor. Is it coming from the trash? An old piece of furniture? Stale air? Are you more interested in adding a pleasant scent than eliminating a foul one? Different goals necessitate different treatments.
At State Chemical, we manufacture and distribute chemical and biological solutions for various applications, including odor elimination. When you’re dealing with stubborn odors, it can be frustrating to figure out what solution will actually eliminate the problem.
To help you understand what form of odor control you need, we will compare air fresheners, odor eliminators, and fabric refreshers, and we will explain when to use each. After reading, you’ll know which product will work best for your facility’s odor problem.
What is a Commercial Air Freshener?
When you hear the term “air freshener,” your mind will probably jump to an aerosol product like Febreze. And this is a correct categorization. An air freshener is usually a handheld can that you spray into the air to emit a pleasant fragrance, but it can also come in the form of a liquid spray, solid, gel, and more.
If odor elimination is not claimed on the label, air fresheners are usually odor maskers—not odor eliminators. When you notice a bad smell in your lobby, for instance, and decide to spray down the area with your cinnamon-scented air freshener, you may think you’re getting rid of the odor. After all, now you only smell cinnamon.
If this works, that’s great, and you may not need a stronger product. However, without odor elimination technology, this is a temporary solution since the air freshener only masks the odor. Because of this, odor-masking air fresheners don’t fully get to the root of the problem, which may lead to lacking results when you have severe odors.
What is an Odor Eliminator?
Meanwhile, an odor eliminator does exactly what its name suggests: eliminates odors. There are several ways they might work, but they often work in one of two ways.
The first method involves changing the odor’s chemical composition so that the nose no longer recognizes it as a foul odor. This renders the odor undetectable and keeps your space smelling fresh.
Similarly, the second way this may happen is through a chemical process that actually eliminates the malodor from the air. Once this happens, there is no odor left to smell, leaving your space smelling clean via a different method.
Whatever method is used, the results are clear: odors are removed from the space rather than masked (though most odor eliminators also contain a masking fragrance for a more freshening effect).
Odor eliminators come in aerosol cans, ready-to-use cans and bottles, and fragrance systems. In this way, they are generally more adaptable for the size of your space, last longer, and are more comprehensive solutions than odor-masking air fresheners.
What is a Commercial Fabric Refresher?
In contrast, a fabric refresher is a form of odor control specifically intended for fabrics and textiles. Typically, it uses both odor elimination and air-freshening technology to eliminate fabric odors while adding a pleasant fragrance, though there are generally also fragrance-free options if desired. It usually comes as an aerosol or a liquid spray.
Fabric refreshers can be particularly useful for furniture, bedding, towels, curtains, carpeting, and other textiles. For example, if you’re running a hotel, you might need to quickly eliminate smoke odors from a room. While these odors could be lingering in the air, it’s also likely that they’re clinging to the drapes, for example.
In this situation, rather than replacing them with new drapes, it would be quick and cost-effective to spray them with a fabric refresher. This way, the smoke odor will be eliminated, and a clean aroma will await the next guest.
Fabric refreshers work especially well because they remain on the surfaces they’re applied to. This way, they keep your fabrics and textiles smelling fresh for days or even weeks in between treatments.
What Kind of Odor Control Should I Use?
Now that you know how each product category works, it’s time to determine which is right for your facility’s unique odor problems.
The ideal solution for you depends on what kind of area needs treatment, the source of the odor, the size of your space, and your goals for odor control.
Outdoor Odors
Generally, an outdoor area will be harder to treat than an indoor area. Due to the open air, outdoor spaces require more product to work. This is because the product molecules are less likely to come into contact with the odor molecules, meaning you need to use more product to give a better chance of an interaction.
This also makes pure odor masking or pure odor elimination far less feasible. Therefore, for an outdoor location, an odor-masking and odor-eliminating air freshener in problem spots is your best option.
Indoor Odors
Meanwhile, in an indoor space, an odor eliminator will be contained enough to fully eliminate malodors, so it could be a helpful solution here. But if your odors aren’t particularly severe, a masking air freshener could also be effective. This is variable based on your situation.
Furniture/Upholstery Odors
Of course, if you’re dealing with odors in fabric, furniture, upholstery, or other similar materials, a commercial fabric refresher is the solution for you. It will freshen the spongy fabrics in your facility that take on odors so that you don’t have to replace furniture or keep spewing an air freshener into the space.
Large-Space Odors
For larger spaces (more than 6,000 cubic feet), it’s more efficient to use an odor-eliminating fragrance system than a handheld product.
These systems regularly dispense an odor-eliminating fragrance into your facility to keep the space smelling fresh throughout the day. Just ensure that you choose the correct system for the size of your application area.
Small-Space Odors
On the other hand, for smaller spaces (less than 6,000 cubic feet), it can be efficient to use a handheld odor-eliminating air freshener or a small-space fragrance system.
Handheld products are usually enough to treat a space depending on the severity of the odors, but if you don’t want to constantly keep up with spraying a handheld product, small-space fragrance systems can do the work for you.
Livening a Dull Space
If your facility doesn’t exactly have odors but also doesn’t have a pleasant scent, it can be beneficial to use an odor-masking air freshener. This can add personality and a new life to your space.
Imagine walking into a facility with no distinguishable smell compared to one that smells like fresh-baked pastries. Usually, the one that smells like fresh-baked pastries will stand out and make a more positive impression. By using this principle in your facility with odor-masking air fresheners, you can make a more positive impression on visitors.
Odor Problems Where Fragrance Sensitivities Are Involved
Sometimes, you’ll be in a situation where your facility has obvious odors, but you aren’t sure how to treat them because of common fragrance sensitivities among your staff or guests.
If some of your facility users have allergies or sensitivities, low-fragrance or fragrance-free odor elimination will treat the space without causing reactions. Specifically look for odor eliminators and air fresheners of this variety, and you will find effective options.
Learn the Answers to the Top Five Questions About Air Care
A foul-smelling facility is unpleasant for staff and customers alike, so it’s important to get to the root of the odor to control it most effectively. Now that you know the difference between air fresheners, odor eliminators, and fabric refreshers, you’re ready to choose the right product for your facility’s needs.
To further zero in on the ideal odor control for your facility, watch the video below to learn the answers to the top five most common air care questions.
5 of State’s Most Common Air Care Questions: Answered – State Industrial Products