Commercial Air Freshener: Subtle vs. Strong Scent

Wednesday, September 4, 2024
air care

Commercial Air Freshener: Subtle vs. Strong Scent

You want to treat odors, but will the ready-to-use spray you apply to your dumpster be so overwhelming that it creates an even nastier odor? Will the pleasant aroma you add to your lobby be so subtle you don’t even notice it? You want a solution to your problems, but finding something of the right strength is a challenging task.

At State Chemical, we manufacture and distribute chemical solutions for a range of problems, including scenting concerns. Fragrances can be difficult to choose for your business—after all, every visitor has different preferences and every space benefits from different kinds of scents.

To help you learn about different fragrance levels, we will explain what a strong fragrance looks like, what a subtle fragrance looks like, and how to know what kind of fragrance you need. After reading, you’ll know what types of fragrances will succeed in your business and which might be less effective.

Strong Fragrance and When to Use It

Some people gravitate toward strong fragrances—after all, you want them to work. Meanwhile, others shy away from them—if you’ve ever smelled a scent concoction and gotten an instant headache, you understand why. However, strong fragrances have their own time and place.

For example, in a facility or particular area that deals with extreme odors (like a manufacturing plant, a trash room, or a wastewater treatment plant), a strong fragrance will do you good. You may be thinking, “Won’t adding a powerful fragrance to my bad odor just make the odor worse?” While this can happen, if you use a fragranced odor eliminator rather than a simple masker, you’ll avoid this possibility.

An odor eliminator changes the composition of an odor so that your nose no longer recognizes it. When you use a fragranced odor eliminator, it also adds a pleasant fragrance to cover up any remaining odors. As a result, when you’re dealing with truly foul odors, this is a comprehensive odor control method.

If you’re experiencing a severe odor problem, look for powerful fragranced odor eliminators. Usually, the product label will define such a product as an “odor eliminator,” and powerful scents can vary by product.

Research powerful fragranced odor eliminators for your facility, and you’ll find the best solution for your severe problems.

Subtle Fragrance and When to Use It

Mild scents greatly contrast strong fragrances in their purpose. While strong fragrances are used to control odors, you’ll likely use a subtle fragrance to add a pleasant ambience to your space.

Suppose you’re running a local boutique. You’d like to add a pleasant, welcoming scent for customers but don’t want to overpower the space. People won’t necessarily be interested in buying clothes that reek of cologne, and they won’t stay long in a store that gives them a headache. Instead, you’d be better off using a light, less noticeable scent. This adds a pleasant ambience without drawing focus away from your products.

However, subtle fragrances are also beneficial in industries where overpowering fragrances would be out of place. Consider a hospital waiting room. It won’t exactly feel hygienic if sick patients and nervous family members must sit waiting under a heavy perfume of rose. However, it might be appropriate to have a light or fragrance-free odor eliminator to get rid of bodily odors.

If adding an ambience to your facility is important to you, look into subtle fragrances and find the best solution for your situation.

What Level of Fragrance Do I Need?

It may still be difficult to define exactly what level of fragrance you need—especially if your needs fall somewhere between subtle and strong. If you’re unsure, there are three points to consider: type of application, customer expectations, and personal goals.

Type of Application

One of the most defining aspects of your fragrance decision will be your type of application. The application determines odor severity, fragrance expectations, and other restrictions.

For odorous areas, use a strongly fragranced odor eliminator. For a more hospitable location, use a subtle fragrance. For those in between, use a medium-strength fragrance.

Customer Expectations

Tying closely to type of application, customers’ (or guests’) expectations will be largely formed by their experiences in similar businesses. If they’re going to a spa, they’ll expect a relaxing scent like eucalyptus. In this situation, you’ll want to meet their expectations.

Meanwhile, if they’re going to a fitness center, they might expect to smell sweat. This is an instance where you can surpass their expectations by having a pleasant scent instead. A fitness center could use a subtle fragrance or a pure odor eliminator to get rid of the sweat smell, and customers will be pleased to see that your facility is clean.

Think about what customers expect to see from your business and use fragrance as a way to best fulfill what they want. There is no one right answer with fragrance, but when you consider these factors, you can craft an experience your customers will be satisfied with.

Personal Goals

Lastly, think about your own expectations when it comes to fragrance. Do you want to work in an environment with an ambient fragrance? Do you want to fight your location’s odors? Do you want fragrance to be easily detected or less noticeable?

Think about what you want in your facility as you work there each day. You may be a school custodian sick of smelling the cafeteria’s Taco Tuesday permeating into Friday. You may be a hotel manager frustrated with the odor of cannabis in the hallways. You may be a restaurant owner tired of holding your breath while you hose out the dumpster.

You are impacted by your work environment just as easily as guests are. Find a fragrance of the right strength for you on a day-to-day basis, and it’s likely that most facility users will agree with your judgment.

Learn About Odor Elimination vs. Odor Masking

Treating odors is a necessity for any plagued facility, but it can be difficult to most aptly treat them when you aren’t sure whether your product’s strength will be appropriately balanced. Now that you know when to apply subtle versus strong fragrances, learn more about scent solutions by reading about odor maskers vs. odor eliminators.