Let me ask you a question, what first comes to mind when you think of “clean”? Is it the smell of lemons? The fragrance of pine? Or, the overwhelming odour of chlorine? For many of us, the smell of clean is born out of what our parents used to clean our childhood homes. For me, the smell of vinegar instantly takes me back in time to my mother cleaning the windows in our turn-of-the-century farm house. In a way, we have each been brainwashed to associate a freshly cleaned room or surface with a particular smell. But does it have to be this way? Luckily, no.
In reality, the true smell of clean – is no smell at all. The foul stench we most often associate with dirty or soiled areas is commonly the result of odour causing bacteria. If we are successful in removing or killing this bacterial contamination, the smell will also be eradicated. Unfortunately, many commonly used cleaning and disinfectant products often have strong odours or fragrances associated with them for one of two reasons. Firstly, many products are simply ineffective at completely killing or removing the odour causing bacteria. Therefore, fragrances are added to compensate for this deficiency and to mask the original offending odour. As Nicole expounded in a previous blog posting, the negative aspect of this is that fragrances are key contributors to poor indoor air quality and the development of scent sensitivities in part of our population. So to follow Nicole’s lead, we should avoid the unnecessary use of these types of products whenever feasible. In other cases, the scent of a particular cleaning or disinfecting product is not the result of an added fragrance, but rather the undesirable by-product of the chemical itself. Bleach is a great example. At the concentrations required for thorough disinfection, bleach carries that unmistakable, strong chlorine odour. Depending on the concentration this odour can range from simply annoying to the development of actual respiratory irritation. Fortunately, these two types of cleaning and disinfecting products are not our only options.
There are cleaning and disinfecting products available that will safely and effectively clean/disinfect the environment, thereby eliminating the original odour causing bacteria, without the unneeded or unwanted fragrances or odours of their own. These fragrance-free, odourless cleaners and disinfectants are ideal because they will address the job at hand while causing, or contributing to, the least unwanted side-effects.
Are you ready to make the transition to the smell of clean...MEANS no smell at all?
Hasta la vista!
Lee – The Germinator
