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19-Dec-1980
Dear Cecil:
Is it possible you can answer a 20-year-old concern? My high school chemistry
teacher told us that Airwick worked by deadening one's olfactory nerves with some mild
anesthetic, thereby "eliminating" unpleasant odors, and presumably every other
odor, pleasant or not. I notice on the Lysol can that it "actually eliminates odors
by neutralizing them." Could this be corporate advertising jargon for "kills
your olfactory nerves"? Was my high school chemistry teacher (gasp) right? --Chuck
C., Chicago
Cecil replies:
You got it, Bub. There are three basic ways of getting rid of undesirable odors: masking
them with stronger scents, such as the ubiquitous lemon and pine fragrances; chemically
dissolving or absorbing them, as with activated charcoal or silica gel; and numbing out
your nose, so you can't smell a damn thing. In the old days the air-freshener folks used
to make products in the last category using formaldehyde (or its solid version,
paraformaldehyde), which, as you may know, is both poisonous and carcinogenic. In 1976,
the Monsanto company came up with a somewhat less murderous nasal anesthetic (the precise
formulation of which, needless to say, is secret), which has since been incorporated into
some air-fresheners along with the usual masking fragrances.
Airwick Industries denies that it makes use of a nasal anesthetic, saying that its
products employ a combination of masking fragrances and "odor counteractants"
instead. Curiously, however, the similar-sounding term "malodor counteractant,"
as used in the scientific journals, is usually a code word for nasal anesthetic, so you
can draw your own conclusions. The numbing effect is temporary and not thought to be
harmful in itself, but who knows. Lysol spray disinfectant supposedly works by killing
airborne microorganisms that cause odor as well as by masking, although it's debatable how
effective the disinfecting part is. If you want my advice, open the window, or else learn
to live with a little stench. Never killed anybody.
--CECIL ADAMS
The Straight Dope / Questions or
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