Air Freshners 3

[dik]

This is not related to engineering, but is a personal curiosity. Maybe someone can inform me.

Do air freshners like 'Fabreeze' work by masking odours, absorbing odours, or a combination of both.

thanks, Dik

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[TugboatEng]

In order to "smell" something the odor particle must bind with a receptors protein in your sinuses. Febreze works by binding do the odor molecule so that the same binding sites are not available to bind with your sinus receptors.

There are perfumed versions of Febreze which do mask odors but the primary method of action aligns more with absorbing the odor.

The active ingredient is cyclodextrine.

Here is an article on how odors are detected:

https://www.wired.com/story/how-a-h...at human noses,larger, musky-scented muscone.

 

[dik]

Thanks very much, Tug

Great Wired article.

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[TugboatEng]

If only we could train our receptors to recognize viruses.

 

[drwebb]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Febre... as,emulsifiers, preservatives, and perfumes.

 

[dik]

Thanks...

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik