Air Fresheners and Issues

Air Fresheners and Issues

Member since 2024 · 20 posts · 10 votes

Hey guys I had a guest complain about plug in air fresheners. To me I never notice a difference and pick light scents just to keep my home smelling nice because its an older wood home in the country and sometimes gets a different smell to it that can be a turn off.

The guest lost it on me after arriving and said she had asthma and couldn't stand being in the house and wanted a full refund. I was nice enough to do so even though I say I use air fresheners and she never said anything before arriving.  She still left a one star review and airbnb refuses to remove it because it was her "experience" at my property even though I dont have a single other rating out of 30 thats below a 5.

Anyways does anyone have recommendations for better alternatives? I wanted to try essential oils / diffusers but those are a lot of work and cant function on there own. 

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Collin HaysBusiness Member
Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
2y
Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

Ditch any kind of freshener and get to the real problem, like @Collin Hays said. I've owned old houses and love them....but they can have that 'old house odor'. Not everyone finds it charming like some of us. If there is still an old musty smell, then you need to disclose it in your description. Wish I had a better answer, but that's the best option...

 Bruce, did you forget to take a shower this a.m.  ??  

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  • Collin HaysBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    2y

    Air fresheners can be offensive to a lot of people. They are often covering up an underlying odor. I'd ferret out what odors you have and address them, rather than having scents. 

  • Bruce WoodruffPro Member
    Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
    2y

    Ditch any kind of freshener and get to the real problem, like @Collin Hays said. I've owned old houses and love them....but they can have that 'old house odor'. Not everyone finds it charming like some of us. If there is still an old musty smell, then you need to disclose it in your description. Wish I had a better answer, but that's the best option...

  • Collin HaysBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    2y
    Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

    Ditch any kind of freshener and get to the real problem, like @Collin Hays said. I've owned old houses and love them....but they can have that 'old house odor'. Not everyone finds it charming like some of us. If there is still an old musty smell, then you need to disclose it in your description. Wish I had a better answer, but that's the best option...

     Bruce, did you forget to take a shower this a.m.  ??  

  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    2y

    Maybe keep an ozone machine running?

    This still has to be a one off situation. We have used these in the past and never had any issues.

    Pretty mean of her to get all her money back and still ding you this hard.

  • Real Estate Agent · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    2y

    @John Underwood. ozone air cleaners are dangerous, should not be used especially when people are in the home. Just search dangers of ozone air cleaners and you’ll see lots of federal and state information against using them.

  • Michael BaumPro Member
    Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    2y

    Hey @Luke Masaschi, I had a similar problem but the guests didn't have a complete cow about it. They just unplugged it.

    In the end, I got rid of them completely.

    What you might look at is a sachets. You can put them in hidden locations and they will work to freshen the air without giving off a ton of scent. Simple ingredients. Rose petals and the like. Avoid things like the plugs ins (which you know), read up on sachet ingredients and asthma. I found a bunch of info but can't post it as the site is blocking links.

    Having said that, there will always be someone who's asthma is severe enough it will be triggered. That is pretty rare as people like that simply don't go anywhere until they get a medication regimen that works.

  • Andrew SteffensBusiness Member
    Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    2y

    When starting out we used fresheners and a lot (by a lot I mean maybe 10%) complained.  So we ditched them and used more scented cleaning supplies.  That also drew complaints.  Now we use very green no scent cleaners.  Unfortunately you cannot make everyone happy here.

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