Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Be nice to my nose

Ariadne

07:46 / 13.09.05

Dear Women's Institute and Agone Barbe,
My office smells horrible. It doesn't smell of anything specific - it's just a small room that's shut up too much so it's sort of fousty smelling. It's fine if I open the window for a while, but as autumn progresses I'm going to be less and less keen on that idea.
I don't want to get some hideous plug-in chemical thingummy, and I doubt my employers' fire officers would be thrilled to find me with a scented candle. So what are my options? Am I condemned to pot pourri?

Loomis

07:50 / 13.09.05

For a small hourly rate I can be hired to come and smoke my pipe in your office. For an added fee, you can select the tobacco flavour yourself.

■

08:23 / 13.09.05

Might be worth trying the old Baking soda trick. Get a pack or tub and just leave it open somewhere in the room.

Axolotl

09:13 / 13.09.05

You could go all suburban and get some pot pourri.

■

09:26 / 13.09.05

[Ian Paisely voice]
We'll have no potpourri here!
[/old joke]

Brunner

10:05 / 13.09.05

groan

Axolotl

10:08 / 13.09.05

An old one, but a good one.

woolly

10:27 / 13.09.05

Miss! Miss! I know! *sticks hand so far in air, arm comes out of socket*

I actually know what you need. I have one. It is vg indeed. You need an aromatherapy diffuser, but one that plugs into the wall, rather than has a candle underneath it. You plug it in, put a few drops of essential oil in the bowl type thing and Bob's your uncle.

And, if boss complains, essential oils can be v good for productivity and concentration. Rosemary particularly. There you go, my good deed for the day is done.

You can get them from Tisserand (obvious web site) I think

Ariadne

10:34 / 13.09.05

wow, Woolly, that sounds spot on - thanks!

Lord Morgue

10:45 / 13.09.05

Well, I don't know if this'll work for the whole house, but what my family used to do is stick a whole bunch of cloves, pointy bit first, into an orange, let it dry out, and put it in the wardrobe. The cloves would stop it going mouldy, and it would be like a potpourri.
Or you could go all techno-mage and buy an air ioniser- makes all the dust and smells drop right out of the air by changing the static charge in the air. Don't be tricked into spending hundreds of dollars on one, though- you can get them for $20au at an electronics store. 'Though I've heard putting a wide bowl of water in front of a fan and blowing the air across it does much the same thing...

illmatic

10:47 / 13.09.05

Not something I can vouch for absolutely, but surely some plants would help to keep the air turning over?

Ariadne

11:08 / 13.09.05

Ah yes, plants. I don't have a good track record with plants. I have brown thumbs, i think.

Mourne Kransky

13:55 / 13.09.05

Neutradol. Comes in a variety of dispensers. I use the globes. Works wonders on the fragrance of cat litter, so your office should be nae problem.

Sekhmet

14:08 / 13.09.05

There are also little ring diffusers that fit onto a lamp lightbulp. You just put a couple of drops of essential oil in the ring and plop it on the bulb. The heat diffuses the scent.

I've seen metal ones and also felt ones. Alternatively, you can just add a drop or two of oil directly to the bulb, but be careful that it doesn't dribble into the socket...

Sekhmet

14:09 / 13.09.05

Oh, and I saw something unbelievable in a catalog recently - a candle heater. It's like a little hot plate that you put scented candles on, so it releases the scent without having to light a flame. I found it quite odd, but I suppose in your case it might be useful...

■

18:46 / 13.09.05

I love Neutradol. I would guess that avoidance of aerosol air fresheners is kind of the point of Ariadne's request, but the little gel thing works remarkably well. They have them in Meadowbank Sainsbury's occasionally.

Mourne Kransky

19:53 / 13.09.05

Get a coffee machine. Or slice a bit citrus fruit in half and squeeze, twice a day.

Dot the Narc...Oleptic, That Is

23:03 / 13.09.05

Of course the open window is a great idea until it's too cold outside. There's a carpet/fabric freshener that comes out as a foam and disappears in a few moments. I'd think something like Febreeze would also work well sprayed onto the carpeting. Maybe the jelly looking things from Glade?

alas

23:50 / 13.09.05

Be sure the room is well cleaned--first and foremost, get rid of the dust. If it's carpeted, then there are baking-soda based carpet fresheners that can be left on and vacuumed/hoovered up. That will help. Vinegar water is a good cleaner; it will neutralize even the smell of garlic and to a great degree cat urine.

Ariadne

06:22 / 14.09.05

I don't have the tools to clean it myself - I suppose could put carpet cleaner down and hope the cleaners hoover it up. It's not a nasty smell, just a closed-up one, really. I'm looking out for an electric aromatherapt thingummy. Maybe neutrodol would be a cheap experiment first, though. And I like the lightbulb idea but they're all in the ceiling and they're enerby saving loops. And I'll open the window and door as much as i can. Thanks, everyone!

Add Your Reply