Anyone got air freshening tips?

[HEyHEY]

Our office reeks like cigs and bad food because there are apartments right underneath us. The smells seep up, it is really bad. But how do you air freshen a whole office? IT's about 1,500 sqaure feet in a totally open room.

Any ideas?

[MsUnderstood]

1. crumpled newspaper seems to work for suitcases

But since you are bigger than a suitcase, what about febreezing the carpets?

[bubblesby2002]

2. There are commercial products that cleaners use

that you could probably buy at a wholesale place. Or bring in lots of baking soda and put it in the corners

[FlaGranny]

3. Unfortunately, there is no permanent cure for the smells,

since they are always being regenerated. You might try Febreze - it's pretty good. Perhaps HEPA filters would work fairly well. Whatever you do, it will not make the odors go away completely.

Which reminds me, have you seen that Taboo TV program on NGC? Last night they were showing a story about a Moroccan leather tannery. Visitors get sprigs of mint to place in their nostrils to filter the bad smells. They did say it didn't work that well, though.

Edit: changed springs to sprigs

[HEyHEY]

4. nope, haven't seenit

[matcom]

5. hange garlic from every cube?

:shrug:

[truthseeker1]

6. Essential oils in a diffuser

I wouldn't use anything chemical, like Fabreeze. You can get a diffuser and some essential oils - like citrus scents work well (grapefruit, orange, tangerine, lemon) and peppermint is always nice.

There is a great article on "Essential Oils in the Work Place" at this site:
http://www.essentialwholesale.com/aromatherapy.html
(scroll about halfway down the page) well, here is most of it:

....
The Japanese have been using Essential oils in the work place for years. Construction companies employ special engineers to incorporate Aromatherapy into their new buildings.

At one Japanese bank, Lavender and Rosemary are used in the customer area to relax and sedate while the worker areas are infused with lemon and eucalyptus to keep workers alert. When lavender is infused into the air, keyboard-punching errors fell by 20%, 33% with Jasmine and 54% with Lemon.

Calculus students were proven to increase their speed of learning by 230% with aromatherapy.

Lavender and Rose combined creates calming, stress-relieving and reduces blood pressure. After lunch, Lemon and Jasmine are used to refresh and revitalize. Peppermint is dispersed into offices and conference rooms to increase work efficiency, dispel drowsiness and lessen mental fatigue. Lavender helps establish a positive mood.

The Tokyo stock exchange has peppermint diffused into the atmosphere every afternoon to make brokers feel invigorated and refreshed.

Many workers have clocks that diffuse eucalyptus and pine before the alarm goes off.

Businesses that have invested in Aromatherapy for their workers have seen a major change in attitude.

The Heath Promotion Research trust has found that 80% of workers report feeling unwell because of their working environment.

People who work in offices have 2x as many colds, coughs, and sore throats. Essential oils combat bacteria and viruses. Employers that invest in aromatherapy units find that they pay for themselves within the first week.

Occupational stresses weaken the immune system. Essential Oils in Retail Nike shoes were used to test if aromatherapy could be used to increase sales. Subjects were either in an unscented room or in one with a light floral aroma. Some 84% of the people in the aroma room were willing to purchase and they were willing to pay an average of $10.33 more for the same item. Proof that aromatherapy has an effect on impulse decision making.

Gambling machines with Aromatherapy increases sales by 45%.
<snip>

You can get really great wholesale prices on essential oils on that site, and here is a good place to get a high-powered diffuser:
http://abundanthealth.us/catalog/index.php?file=catalog&action=catalog_productinfo&uid=4881&pi_id=85188&clist=&PHPSESSID=7926b6645d64ef1bf344294baa8d28e3

[radwriter0555]

7. Ionic air cleaner....

smarter image has em.

[mac1000a]

12. Ditto

They work great. I haven't been sick once since I got one. I think you mean Sharper Image though.

[JVS]

8. Have you ever seen the movie Se7en?

It contains a scene that may help you solve this problem.

[Imalittleteapot]

9. Get some Lampe Bergers

These little things really clear the air of odors - better than candles and sprays. I burn mine before company comes to get rid of dog and smoke stink. It really works. I get lamps and oil at www.maisonbouquet.com, but there are lots of sites where you can find them. Do a google search. You can bid on them on ebay as well. The trick is to find fragrances that you like. I like green apple. If you don't want perfume, you can get an oil that has no fragrance --- but it works the same to eliminate odors.

[jburton]

10. Be careful, it's just like politics

You know, the coverup can be worse than the original problem.

[ConcernedCanuk]

11. PLANTS !

.
.
.

They are nice to look at

Absorb all sorts of stuff

And their by-product?

OXYGEN

[MissMillie]

13. coffee

If you have a microwave or a hot plate, heat up some ground coffee beans. That will help a little.

[Ganja Ninja]

14. Most Heating/Air Conditioning units are required to bring in ...

a certain amount of outside air by building codes. You might check to see if your system has an intake for this purpose. If it does then see if it has a damper that can be opened up to allow more fresh air in to the system. Lots of times a cheap landlord will close the damper to cut down on bringing in cold or hot air.

It sounds like your building has an air balance problem and there is a negative pressure in the space you work in. Negative pressure means more air going out than is being brought in. If you can let in more air it might help to keep the equipment in your space from drawing the building air from other spaces around it.

[JVS]

15. If you all started smoking a lot and eating bad food you'd not notice

[FlaGranny]

16. To really get the smell out of fabrics,

there is stuff called OdoBan. It can be put into extraction cleaners to clean furniture and rugs. I don't know of any way to get the odor out of electronics though. I once had to put a couple of programs on a computer for a friend who smoked, and my house reeked until I got that computer out of there. The computer case was yellow and there was a fuzz stuck all over it, like peach skin.