Air Fresheners
Tagged: air freshener
- This topic has 5 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 3 months ago by Louise Stewart Beck.
-
AuthorPosts
-
-
December 12, 2017 at 1:26 pm #137725Laura FiserParticipant
I’m curious if anyone has found a collections-safe form of air freshener. We have dance performances in our historic estate during the holidays, and the smell of sweat starts to permeate the period room toward the end of the performances. I have told our event staff Febreeze is not allowed, but they are asking for alternative options. As far as I can tell, there really are no options, other than cleaning the costumes more often and airing out the space briefly between performances. If anyone has other ideas, I would love to hear them.
Thanks!
Laura Fiser
Paine Art Center and Gardens
Oshkosh, WI -
December 13, 2017 at 9:56 am #137740Louise Stewart BeckParticipant
Hi Laura,
Unfortunately, I think you are correct – there are not air fresheners that would be suitable for use in a period room. I suspect that your best course of action has to do with improving air flow through the room, and yes, cleaning the costumes more often. I have reached out to a few people with expertise in historic houses and environments to see if they have any ideas or suggestions, I will be sure to update when they get back to me.
Best,
Louise -
December 13, 2017 at 10:04 am #137741Tammy ZavinskiParticipant
Hi Laura,
Thank you for contacting C2C with your question regarding a safe option for air fresheners. Like Louise, I also think cleaning the costumes more often and airing the space in question sounds like a good idea. Also the NPS’ Conserv-O-Gram 2/21 2003 suggests safer cleaning alternatives. https://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/02-21.pdf
Although, they do not mention air fresheners specifically, they do note baking soda as a safe deodorizer. Since the smell is offensive to people working in the area, it may be possible to mix essential oil with the baking soda and place it in bowls near where people are located for any length of time.I hope you find this information a helpful alternative.
Kindly,
Tammy -
December 13, 2017 at 12:54 pm #137743Laura FiserParticipant
Thank you both so much for replying! This is very helpful as I try to stand my ground against spraying Febreeze in the period room. Yikes. I’m thinking a baking soda option may be our best bet.
Thanks again!
Laura
-
December 13, 2017 at 1:13 pm #137744Amber SkantzParticipant
Hi Laura,
I once worked at a house museum where part of our holiday programming included making orange clove pomanders for period appropriate decoration. They were left sitting in bowls that were part of our collection that had been ok’d to be used in this manner. A rather wonderful side effect was their citrus clove fragrance! This might be an avenue to explore in addition to the baking soda. I looked up your site online; what a lovely program! -
December 13, 2017 at 4:07 pm #137748Louise Stewart BeckParticipant
Hi Laura,
Here’s a response with a few ideas, from Rick Kerschner:
“What I have used in my home and Shelburne’s collections in the past are natural odor absorbers called zeolites. They are sold by marine supply stores to “suck up” musty odors in closed up spaces on boats. They can be “recharged” by placing the mesh bags in the sun for a few hours every few weeks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeolite
Here is a source. I have a bag in each room of my house to help control mildew odors and they seem to help.
Read the reviews at the bottom of this page:
https://www.amazon.com/Gonzo-Odor-Eliminating-Rocks-Homes/dp/B0061UMTVG/ref=sr_1_33_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1513181955&sr=8-33-spons&keywords=zeolite+odor&psc=1Another source:
https://justforodors.com/zeolite-odor-control-rocks.htmIt is cheaper bought in bulk if they want to make their own bags, although it does “dust” with handle.
http://www.refreshinglyfree.com/Online-Catalog/Bulk-ZeoliteOzone is used to clear odors after a fire and may be a lesser evil than that strong odor on a one time basis, but it would not recommend it for repeated use because of its powerful oxidizing properties.
I would also not recommend any of the plug-in deodorizers that are so popular these days.”
I hope this is helpful!
Best,
Louise
-
-
AuthorPosts
- The forum ‘Connecting to Collections Care Forum Archives – 2015 through 2018’ is closed to new topics and replies.