Getting the Stink Out As Well (better late than never)

Well, Musette’s post inspired me to take a look at some of the home fragrances I usually use. My old place had a closed kitchen with windows and a windowed bathroom so the extent of necessity for home fragrance was pleasantly scenting he bed sheets (Annick Goutal Eau de Lavande was a favorite, but those were palmier days) while Santa Maria Novello pot pourri was and still is a favorite. One of my new neighbors was kind enough to give me a bottle of Le Labo Santal room spray, which is divine. So for the non-essentials I am covered.

My present place, while much larger has different issues. It has a semi-open kitchen with a microwave based vent that doesn’t really go anywhere that I can find. It’s not so bad if I am making a Lean Cuisine, but if I am cooking Salmon, watch out. As for the bathroom, the vent is the vent but it doesn’t prevent the problem that I face:

Men Stink.

We can take clorophyll pills until we poop emeralds, use antiperspirant (and if you don’t buddy please don’t sit near me after 5) and shower daily (ditto buddy, but make it don’t sit near me ever) but we still stink. More so as we get older (TMI approaching.) Sometimes I wonder at what I had eaten and/or drank that would produce such a god-awful reek? Did I eat asparagus and carrion casserole and wash it down with diesel fuel? That morning bathroom trip could peel paint..

My dainty little room spay from Guerlain would gather her skirts and flee in horror.

Luckily I found something at the local hardware store called Ozium. It call itself an “air sanitizer” and it’s pretty good at zapping offensive odors fast. It’s not a surface thing like Lysol, so it’s not to de-germ your kids backpack, but it clears the air fast. If you are too liberal with it it will also clear the room fast, so go steadily. I tend to use it right before I leave all over the house so I don’t come home to the scent of my morning coffee and other less pleasant morning smells. The label on the back gives dire warnings that it is not the best thing to be around breathing deeply, so don’t spray, take a deep breath and go “ahhhh.” But if you have a room that reeks that you won’t be using for 15 minutes or so I don’t think you can do better.

Ozium is available at Amazon in several different forms and sizes. I have always purchased my cans at the local hardware store. If you have a safer, more natural solution (or one that you thinks just works better) let us know in the comments.

Still can add an image. Can’t think why..

  • Diana says:

    LOL. “Asparagus and carrion casserole” almost made me spit my tea out laughing! May I suggest “Poo pourri”? A couple sprays in the toilet before you go really does keep most of the smell trapped underwater and leaves a nice scent when you flush. They sell it at Bed Bath and Beyond and on line too.

  • Ellen Byrne says:

    I swear by Fresh Wave spray — I have one in every room of my house. Their gel works really well in the closet to get the musty smells out. It’s an odor neutralizer, not a fragrance. It’s non-toxic, safe around animals and biodegradable.

  • Meg says:

    Laughing so hard, but always up for a good convo about poop! So…probiotics!! Really good multi-strain ones. If you don’t already have some you like, I have had good luck with Jarrow. They make some especially for colon health, if you’re so inclined, but I use the Ultra and their Jarrowdophilus + FOS (one each, every day). It doesn’t smell like cherries and sunshine, but there’s way less smell, and it dissipates faster (like a minute or two), and I almost never get intestinal bugs or food poisoning, etc., anymore. My immune health overall has actually really improved, and my autoimmune joint issues rarely flare now. It takes a bit for your gut colony to get built up, but I really think they’re the single best thing I did for my health in the last year.

    Aging is very…interesting!

  • Musette says:

    and if you do end up pooping emeralds, please do let me know. I can throw on a mask and some rubber gloves. 😉

  • Musette says:

    OMG! I nearly choked on my lemonade, reading this. You are TOO funny.

    and yes, Men DO stink. El O is old AF now and omg…that ‘morning’….um…y’know? omg. I scrub the toilet, now, at least twice a day. Even when there’s nothing to actually clean. y’know? A little bit of Comet, just to tell the Stink who’s boss.

    ew.

  • March says:

    Men DO stink! LOL My 15 year old twin boys and their friends come over to my house which is near the high school, and the whole joint smells like a locker room!