Before we could develop our revolutionary foot odor spray, we had to learn how odors actually do what they do. What makes an odor what it is? How does the human brain recognize and perceive odors? In our search to find the answers, we discovered there are three main ways product manufacturers are attacking bad odors: masking, absorbing, and neutralizing.
What you read in this blog post does not apply just to foot deodorizer sprays. It applies to any and all products designed to eliminate odors. We speak of them only in the context of eliminating foot odors because that is what ShoeFresh does.
How Odors Work
There are several causes to odors. Ultimately, when your nose smells something, it’s because airborne molecules enter your nostrils and activate receptors that send signals to your brain. The molecules are what carry the smell your brain perceives. Eliminate the molecules and you eliminate the smell. Pretty simple, right?
In principle, eliminating odors is simple. It is not so easy in practice. The problem scientists run into is dealing with the properties of different odor molecules. Some molecules are larger than others. Some molecules more easily permeate porous surfaces. In order to eliminate a particular odor, scientists have to understand its molecular structure. Unlock that structure and you can come up with ways to break up those molecules.
Masking Foul Odors
One of the easiest ways to deal with bad smells is to mask them. This is not the best way, mind you, but it is pretty easy. Just introduce a heavily scented perfume with an odor stronger than what you are trying to eliminate. Problem solved. Or is it?
Masking odors has a bad habit of creating more problems than it solves. First and foremost, you have to use a heavy perfume which, in and of itself, could annoy people. On top of that, your chosen perfume doesn’t really eliminate the bad smell. The smell just lingers. It can combine with the perfume to create something even worse.
Absorbing Odors
Another way to attack foul odors is to absorb them. In this type of scenario, you would introduce a substance capable of absorbing odor molecules and holding them permanently. Baking soda is very effective in this regard, at least for certain types of food odors. That’s why experts have long advised to put an open box of baking soda in the refrigerator.
As odor molecules move around in the refrigerator space, they eventually find their way to the baking soda. They are then absorbed and eliminated. Incidentally, charcoal is another good option for absorbing odors. Charcoal is often used as an air filter because it can trap a variety of molecules of different sizes.
Neutralizing Odors
The most effective way to attack offensive smells is to neutralize them. That’s what our foot odor spray does, by the way. There are some commercial home deodorizer sprays that do the same thing. They do not merely mask or absorb, they actually eliminate. How do they do it?
Odor neutralizers essentially break the chemical bonds that hold odor molecules together. Break those bonds and the molecules ‘evaporate’, so to speak. They don’t stay together long enough to reach your nose and activate the olfactory system. Rather, they break up and dissipate into the air.
If your goal is to create a shoe odor remover, you have a few choices. You can mask the odor with a heavily perfumed spray that could potentially annoy people. You could come up with a product that absorbs smells temporarily. Finally, you could create something that actually neutralizes foot odors. We will let you decide which option is best.