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I have always wondered why these things are a allowed to be called "Air Fresheners". They don't make the air fresher, they mask bad odors, so they should be cal

I have always wondered why these things are a allowed to be called "Air Fresheners". They don't make the air fresher, they mask bad odors, so they should be called Air Scenters. I've always felt a bit alone in this but I much prefer a bit of residual faecal scent left by a ventilation system than the heavy blanked smell of an Air "Freshener", I could only imagine what filth it was hiding. These things are the cheap alternative to true fresh(er) air.

londons_explore 6y ago
We should call them "Smell blockers" or maybe "Scent blinder"
gher-shyu3i 6y ago
Exactly. It's misleading marketing, if not straight out lying.
Steve44 6y ago
> They don't make the air fresher, they mask bad odors I read a little while ago there are some which just add scent to mask the smell, but others have a doughnut shaped molecule which captures the smelly molecule. It doesn't 'clean' as such and does nothing to stop the source of the smell though so perhaps calling it masking is correct. I don't know enough about the specific science of cyclodextrin, I've put a couple of links below. https://www.direct365.co.uk/blog/how-air-fresheners-work/ https://www.direct365.co.uk/blog/how-air-fresheners-work/ > The key to odour eliminating air fresheners is a molecule called cyclodextrin. This is a donut shaped molecule suspended in a water carrier. Due to cyclodextrin’s hydrophobic interior, it attracts the odour molecules in the air. As the water dries, the molecules on the interior of the cyclodextrin are encapsulated inside, therefore reducing their volatility and minimising their smell. https://helix.northwestern.edu/blog/2015/06/take-whiff-chemistry https://helix.northwestern.edu/blog/2015/06/take-whiff-chemi... > When you spray Febreze the hydrophobic cavity of the β-cyclodextrin traps these volatile, odor causing molecules, preventing the molecules from binding to the odor receptors in your nose

londons_explore 6y ago

We should call them "Smell blockers" or maybe "Scent blinder"

gher-shyu3i 6y ago

Exactly. It's misleading marketing, if not straight out lying.

Steve44 6y ago

> They don't make the air fresher, they mask bad odors I read a little while ago there are some which just add scent to mask the smell, but others have a doughnut shaped molecule which captures the smelly molecule. It doesn't 'clean' as such and does nothing to stop the source of the smell though so perhaps calling it masking is correct. I don't know enough about the specific science of cyclodextrin, I've put a couple of links below. https://www.direct365.co.uk/blog/how-air-fresheners-work/ https://www.direct365.co.uk/blog/how-air-fresheners-work/ > The key to odour eliminating air fresheners is a molecule called cyclodextrin. This is a donut shaped molecule suspended in a water carrier. Due to cyclodextrin’s hydrophobic interior, it attracts the odour molecules in the air. As the water dries, the molecules on the interior of the cyclodextrin are encapsulated inside, therefore reducing their volatility and minimising their smell. https://helix.northwestern.edu/blog/2015/06/take-whiff-chemistry https://helix.northwestern.edu/blog/2015/06/take-whiff-chemi... > When you spray Febreze the hydrophobic cavity of the β-cyclodextrin traps these volatile, odor causing molecules, preventing the molecules from binding to the odor receptors in your nose