Choosing The Right Multi-Purpose Cleaner Part 3

Have you ever had someone doubt whether you'd cleaned a space just because it didn't smell like anything? It can be a frustrating experience. You know the area has been expertly cleaned-maybe even disinfected too-but we humans experience the world through many different senses. One of them is, of course, smell. So, for some people, the scent is an essential signifier of "clean." That leads us to today's blog topic. In the last couple of blogs, we've focused on the questions you should ask yourself when you're choosing a Multi-Purpose cleaner. 

• Do you require a Green Certified cleaner? 
• What level of sanitization or disinfection do you need? 
• What smell makes the occupants of your building believe something is clean? 

Now, the scent of a product might seem like one of the lesser considerations when it comes to picking the right Multi-Purpose cleaner. And, for your facility, it might be. But it's still worth giving some thought. 

Most of what drives what scent a cleaning staff uses is personal preference. Often, it might just be down to the discretion of whatever manager is doing the product order. But, you might want to do a little more investigation beyond that. Some people can have strong reactions to different scents. Polling workers and/or building occupants might not be a bad idea if you have fragrance choices that are all equally as effective and powerful as with our line of multi-purpose cleaners. At EnvirOx, we choose the fragrances of our products with an eye toward the overall health profile of our product. That means we look for scents that will smell good during cleaning and provide some faint evidence that it has been used but will quickly dissipate. 

Citrus is King 

In the cleaning market, citrus is still the reigning champion when it comes to smell. The citrus smell became a popular choice in the 1980s, eventually dethroning pine scent as the leading choice. Now, 20% of cleaners have some sort of citrus scent.1 We have citrus-scented options in our popular H2Orange2 range of cleaners and our Green Certified H2O2 range. This scent is achieved naturally with cold-pressed orange oil. The smell isn't made to linger, though, and generally fades quickly after use. This is useful if you clean spaces where people are sensitive to smell. 

For the Love of Lavender 

Another popular scent for all kinds of items, including cleaning products, is lavender. Lavender is loved throughout the US but seems especially popular in the southern states. Lavender, in general, can have a calming effect. Much of what people like about a specific smell comes from memory and associations with the scent in the past. However, much like "grape" flavored candy really doesn't taste like grapes, a "lavender"-scented product may not always smell like lavender. Or it might be overpowering and nauseating. A heavy hand with any floral scent can cause a strong reaction in those who don't like it. With that in mind, when we formulated our new Green Certified H2O2 Lavender Multi-Purpose Cleaner, we developed it so that while the scent was present, it was light and not overpowering. It's a pleasant tinge to the air, not a gloved fist ready to punch you in the face when you walk into the room. 

Getting Fresh 

And, of course, another popular scent is “fresh.” This isn’t always the easiest scent to pin down when you’re trying to discuss it. It’s almost more of a concept than a particular smell. And the interpretation of what this means can vary wildly. But for our Green Certified Multi-Purpose cleaner, we designed it with a fresh linen scent. It should conjure ideas of sheets on a line, flapping in a gentle breeze. Again, it’s formulated to be faint and unobtrusive once you’re finished cleaning.

Wrapping it All Up 

In this blog series, we've covered three critical questions to ask yourself when deciding what cleaning product to use. We've also referenced the specific product we have in our product line to meet your needs. But, to help even further, we've made a decision tree for you. You can download it by clicking the image below or by clicking here. 

Just follow along, answer the questions asked, and we'll get you to some recommendations. You might have more considerations than just the ones we've raised. Our Client Relations team is here to help if you have any questions. You can contact them by calling 1-800-281-9604 or by contacting us here. 

1. Mattia, N. (2021). What's the Most Popular Cleaning Product Scent on the Market? MarthaStewart.com. Retrieved from: https://www.marthastewart.com/8101947/popular-cleaning-product-scent-citrus