Let’s face it: nobody wants a house that reeks of cigarette smoke, wet dog, litter box, or diaper pail, not to mention the hundreds of other unpleasant odors we often live with. There’s only so much that surface cleaning can do. Using a bleach or disinfectant product to clean floors, bathrooms, and counters makes the surfaces clean, but it doesn’t clean the air in the rooms. Those cleansers usually leave the original unpleasant scents, and adds an odor that some of us dislike just as much as the original stink, whether it’s pine, phony citrus, ‘mountain fresh” (which smells like nothing I’ve ever caught a whiff of while hiking in the mountains) or the ubiquitous scent of Lysol (TM). Zero Odor claims, on its ads, info-mercials, and websites, to actually remove odors from the air, while leaving no scent of its own in their place.
I have three dogs, and although two of them are basically indoor dogs, and the third, while a large dog, rarely smells “doggie” like some dogs do (typically water dogs, who have an oily coat), they nevertheless manage to leave an odor indicating their presence in the house. It’s not often overwhelming, unless one of them has an accident, which is rare and generally my fault, or becomes sick. In those cases I wash rugs, clean floors, and spray sofa cushions with Febreze (TM) – ooh, another “fresh scent” which is completely unnatural! But still, a lingering odor remains behind. I won’t even mention bathroom odors after this line, but products like Oust (TM) and Neutra-Air (TM) mask them well with overwhelming citrus, and the air in the room stings my nose for the next three hours. Also, because I do have Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS), they tend to trigger asthma attacks and rashes, so I had to stop using them.
When I saw an ad on television for Zero Odor, I decided to try it, as the expense wasn’t huge for the amount they offered, and they had a money-back guarantee. I waited, and my package came pretty quickly for products purchased from an ad. In the box were a 22 oz. trigger spray bottle of the product, 8 oz. and 4 oz. “spritz” type sprays they say are great for the car or travel, and a whopping 66 ounce refill jug, with an extra trigger spray top that can be used with the jug if you prefer not to use it for refill (or, I guess, if you have some seriously bad odor problem!). The manufacturers say that Zero Odor works by breaking down the molecules, typically organic or carbon-based, that produce odors, thereby eliminating them. The product is non-toxic and biodegradable. My package arrived conveniently after my large dog was drenched in a sudden downpour (my fault, I should have brought her in sooner), so I had a particularly strong “wet-dog” scent to counter. I tried Zero Odor in each room of my (small) house, and to my surprise and pleasure, the scent of wet dog was gone. Fluke? I wondered.
About 3 days later, my smallest dog had an “accident” while I was out of the house, leaving both numbers 1 and 2, messily, on a rug, and soaked through the rug onto the wood floor beneath. Let me tell you, dear reader, that an unfinished wood floor, or one whose finish has worn very thin, absorbs fluids and odors like a sponge. I cleaned the mess, washed the rugs, used a popular wood-cleaning product on the floor, and still the horrific scent lingered. I remembered the Zero Odor, and tried it both in the air and on the floor. It does leave a slight “fresh” scent that lasts no more than five minutes, and doesn’t burn the inside of my nose, which they say lets you know it is working. After that five minutes, I smelled nothing. Thinking that just maybe I had become used to the scent, I asked my neighbor (who uses bleach on her sidewalks…) to come in and sniff. She did, and asked me what she was supposed to be smelling, since she didn’t smell anything. Victory!
I don’t smoke, so I don’t know if it works on that, but it works on vomit, rotting fruit and vegetables (OK, so I forget the things that are in the drawers of my fridge – hey, nobody’s perfect!), garbage, and of course all manner of dog scents. An employee at the place I volunteer once a week told me that some days she just couldn’t bear the scent of her cat box (she has three cats), even when she had just cleaned it and changed the litter. I sent the 8 ounce bottle, which was in my car at the time, home with her. She gave it back to me the next week, telling me that it worked unbelievably well, and so she had gone to their website and purchased her own set! She occasionally mentions to me that she’s still using it, and thanks me for introducing it to her.
I give this product a big 5 stars – I’d give it 10 if I could. It works, and it doesn’t leave any scent behind it, it just removes odors from the air. Perfectly. The package I described above, with the 22 ounce trigger spray, the 8 and 4 ounce spritz bottles, and the 66 ounce (more than a gallon!) refill jug, can be purchased for $39.99 (plus shipping and handling) from their website, www.ZeroOdor.com . I have been using it for over two months now, and haven’t emptied the 22 ounce bottle yet, so this really is a bargain for a product that works this well. I have recommended it to many other people, and everyone who has gotten it is thrilled with it. I now recommend it to you!
