what's the deal with all these airfresheners?

[Cappucino]

dh and I are becoming more and more perplexed at these airfreshener ads. there are endless ads for electronic ones which blast themselves at you throughout the day, one which happily boasts that due to it's megablasting power, 'you'll always be aware of the fragrance'

to us that sounds like a threat. it sounds like assault in your own home, being blasted by artificial fragrance all the time and never being able to ignore it.

I can understand maybe for smokers and dog owners but surely people's homes don't need this kind of full-on fumigation?

does anyone buy them?

oh they're horrid
inhale aritifical fumes all day? No thanks!
My mum buys them and I sneeze all the time in her house.

Agree both - serious pongs need tackling not masking. I find air fresheners make me sneeze too.

and if you do smoke or have dogs, a little tip -

THEY DON'T BLOODY HIDE YOUR SMELL!

They're fecking awful and a long source of contention on MN.

You can just visualise the focus group meeting.

'Right,the proles are already coughing up their hard earned cash on Kandoo wipes,Fruit Shoots,stroller books,trainers for 2 week olds,and Muller liight yoghurts.What other crap can we flog 'em???'

They are a fecking threat and an assault and would argue that dog owners and smokers have even less of a need for 'em.

Nowt worse than bad smells fighting with each other. Bleurgh.

I've actually started sneezing just reading this thread!

I like Muller light yoghurts

Can't stand them. My mum uses them and I try to tell her they can't be good for the grandchildren but she doesn't listen. The house MUST smell of an airfreshner!

I agree cappucino

I find myself talking to the tv

'who ARE these people with stinky houses?"

yuk. they make DD1 wheeze and they smell rank.

light some beeswax candles. get an oil burner, mix some oils and light it up. bake something.

mueller lights. no. ANYTHING w/artificial sweetners is just yuckarama.

i use my old breast pads as sachets.

they work a treat and are washable when you want to try a new scent.

i just put a few drops of whatever essential oil i fancy - right now it's lavender for my wardrobe and cedarwood for DH's - and tuck it into a corner.

smells delightful!

I prefer the smell of farts, poos, dirty nappies, AND smelly feet to the smell of air freshener.

It gives me a terrible headache. Hate the stuff.

I like the vanilla Mullers

not all that cheesecake pap

(thank heavens no-one else is going 'Good God! How do you live without Airwick?')

the first childcare situation i found for ds, the lady used air freshener. i thought i could cope. i cannot describe to you how viscerally alienating it is to pick your child up at the end of the day and not want to hug him because he SMELLS weird. That lasted 3 weeks, most of which was me giving notice.

ooh! ooh! expat!

I use orange and lemon oils in my house

have based my house fragrance on Clinique 'Happy'

didn't want to wear it myself since personally I like to smell of something sexier than fruit

a really nice essential oil blend for winter is orange, lemon and a little bergamot.

i also like nutmeg, cinnamon and clove.

My MiL must keep the airfreshener companies in business all by herself. She had three in her downstairs loo alone last time I looked. A block one, a can of oust and one of them stuck on the wall ones you press. Oh and a coloured thing actually inside the loo rim as well.

Its not like she has any smells to mask coz she is the most obsessive house cleaner i've ever met. She's moved into her brand new house 6 years ago and its still in show house condition.

And then there's all the biological washing powder, conditioner, smelly water to put in steam iron, spray polishes, spray window and mirror cleaners and on and on and on.

Am actually a bit jealous. I can't keep our house that clean even if I go at it like a maniac.

those things give me asthma.
my cleaning lady used an airfreshener here once (she actually must have BROUGHT it to WORK with her!)
told her off, but it took a good 3 days to get rid of the smell.

I don't understand why anyone's house would smell anyway, if it is clean. If you do a particularly stinky poo, light a match! Ta daaaa.

Pamina3

Me too, I have to change the brand of wipes I use regulary because they start to smell like poo

I make my own air freshner, with fabric softener and water in a spray bottle, a couple of squirts and my house smells lovely, good for freshening up curtains etc too.

but why? why spray fabric softener into the air? how is that in ANY way better? What is the point? Why do your curtains need "freshening?" Do you regularly bury your nose in them? And if so, why do they smell bad?

genuinely mystified

Err to be honest, I have no idea

themoon66 - your mil sound slike my mother. Are we related?

If there's a new cleaning product out on the market, my mother falls for it and stocks up big time.

ps I don't do fabric softener either. more stinky smells intruding on life.

Most fabric softeners are petroleum-based. They coat your clothes. That's why fabrics like terry towels and fleece become less absorbant if you use fabric softener on them.

Try filling a spray bottle w/water, a little alcohol - I use cheap vodka - and a few drops of essential oil to use as room spray.

Or put a few drops of oil on a cold light bulb. The smell will diffuse when you turn the light on.