Monday, January 28, 2008

Ken has a question

It seems that we are seeing more and more ads for air fresheners on TV lately.

There are air fresheners that plug in, air fresheners you spray (aerosol) or spritz (manual), air fresheners that look like candles, and air fresheners that change colour. There are air fresheners that alternate two scents so you don't get bored. There are even multi-scent, themed CD air fresheners that require a special player.

Ken turned to me the other day, as yet another ad came on for scented candles that play music and change colour, and asked:

"What is wrong with people? Do their houses stink that much? Why do we need all these air fresheners?"

I thought that was a really good question. There are definitely more products available than ever before. To me, they mostly smell of chemikills. I try to avoid them if at all possible. In my opinion, the only place an air freshener should be necessary on a regular basis is in the loo. But apparently you're supposed to use them all over the house.

Do people not have time to clean anymore? Do their homes stink that badly that they need a plug-in freshener in every room? Or do some people actually enjoy the air freshener flavours?

Please, write in and answer these burning questions.

19 comments:

Karen said...

I don't think my home stinks at all and in general my home is clean (at least for the few days after the cleaning woman comes). But I burn scented candles around the house everyday. Vanilla, Apple Pie, Holiday Cider, Key Lime Pie - whatever - I like my house to smell yummy.

The only air freshener I have is the bathroom though - and I do prefer a candle in there too.

Anonymous said...

I think it's less a question about houses stinking and more a thing of people being used to the smell of those things in the house.
Plus, with all those AC and whatnot, people don't let any fresh air in the house no more.
Or they barely can when they live in the Middle East, because it instantly is all covered in fine dust ;)

Keera Ann Fox said...

Y'know, that's one thing that got me when I visited family in the US: All the ads for air fresheners, carpet deodorizers, etc. Had me wondering the same thing as Ken.

Anonymous said...

Do people open their windows any more? Most times, when I visit people's houses, the air smells a bit "stale". There are always at least 2 windows open here, so I'm used to the smell of fresh air, I guess.

R.E.H. said...

No... I only keep an air freshener in the toilet bowl - it kind of makes sense to freshen the air in there a bit... if you know what I mean ;)

Sparkling Red said...

Karen: Mmm... your scented candles sound nice. I used to burn insence, not to cover any other smell but because I liked it in itself. Ken doesn't like any smell at all in our home, so I don't even do that anymore. Sometimes I miss my incense.

Nicole: It's true; people don't open their windows much anymore. I used to live on a main street, and opening the windows let in bus fumes a lot of traffic noise. I guess it's more appealing if you live somewhere where the air outside is actually fresh.

Keera: Interesting to hear that it's a North American phenomenon. In know that Europeans are into aromatherapy, but I don't consider that to be in the same catagory. The line between chemical air fresheners and natural aromatherapy is being blurred more all the time.

Solomon Broad: You must be living somewhere closer to the sun. :-) I can't wait until springtime, when opening a window is an appealing prospect.

r.e.h.: Word. Sometimes its a necesity! ;-)

Jameil said...

LMAO!! hilarious. i don't even like scented candles. my fave smells? laundry detergent and soap. a man who smells like either of those will have my attention for an extended period of time. i love when you use non-american words and spellings like "loo" and "colour" and "flavour." random... i know.

OenoLogical said...

I suspect air fresheners are the grown-up equivalent of sitting at the back of the class sniffing correction fluid. Maybe it's what people do whilst watching daytime soaps on the TV.

Sparkling Red said...

Jameil: Just about every spell-checker I've dealt with gives me a red line under my Canadian spellings, but I refused to give up my u's. I'm glad that you appreciate them. :-)

Oenological: I just got the funniest image of a couple in their 40's huddled over a can of Oust, huffing it like glue. "Dude, Morning Mist is cool, but I hear you get a sweeter high from Springtime Meadow."

Emma Gorst said...

We have a fan in our bathroom, but it still doesn't make stinky farts go away very quickly. So I have a scented candle sitting next to the toilet. If you ever come to visit, you know what to do.

The Ex said...

I never use those but I do like the scents on some of them. Especially the Christmas-y ones.

red's little sparkle said...

for the most part i can't deal with perfume-y smells. my roomate has an orange mist spray that she used to use a lot, and as nice as it smells it just makes me gag. realisticly i'd generally prefer a not-so-nice smell to a strong "nice" smell, although i DO burn insence when i clean my cat's litter box cus that can get pretty intense.

Jenski said...

Huh. That's sorta all I have to say. Ken has a great point! I definitely burn scented candles on occasion, but not to cover any scent up. I usually have one going in the loo when we have a party, just in case. At work there is a spray can of deodorizer, and that is certainly handy. But in general, I don't like my house smelling all "chemikilly", if you will.

Sparkling Red said...

Aurora: OK. Just leave the matches someplace obvious. ;-)

Little Sparkle: I find what tends to happen with air fresheners is that the smells layer, instead of one replacing the other. So then instead of smelling like poo, the air smells like poo and cinnamon. I'm not sure if it's better or worse that way. I do prefer incense as a powerful smell masker.

Jenski: Work bathrooms... now that's a whole other post. ;-)

NH Yocal said...

Its another thing they can market to the masses. We area all afraid to stink. I keep seeing ads for special deoderants for those that "sweat too much" or more than the norm.

As far as the house ones, I am kind of a clean freak so we hardly ever use air fresheners here. I used to hate them because once you spray them around, it was like I could taste them. Gross! Now I used candles ever onces in awhile but I don't buy those pricey Glade ones. Regular scented candles do fine.

Sparkling Red said...

Melinda: That's exactly what turned me off spray air fresheners - I was tasting the mist in the air! I thought: "This can't be healthy".

Zoemonster said...

Perhaps the proud owners of air fresheners are also cosumers of durians???

Sparkling Red said...

Mex: That is a very sound theory. I would say that in that case, air fresheners are justified.

Maxie said...

I have cats...and my cats smell like animals...so i freshen :-)