What is the scent of "clean" to you?
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
Canada
January 26, 2009 11:42am CST
I was just finishing up my morning housecleaning routine and I came to the realization that, until I can smell either Pinesol or Mr. Clean or Lysol - even Comet! - then I don't feel that my house is "clean." I guess that seems silly but I think it's a holdover from growing up in my Mom's house LOL My mother was obsessive about cleaning (I'm talking about a woman that washed walls and ceilings multiple times per year) and I find that the cleaning products that she favored are the ones that I still associate with "clean."
What about you? What are your favorite household cleaners? Do you associate their scent with your house being clean? Or, do you have a difficult time with these scents, as many people do?
5 people like this
17 responses
@jesssp (2712)
• Canada
26 Jan 09
To me the 'ultimate' clean smell is bleach. My fiance hates the smell but I purposely buy cleaners with bleach just for the ultra clean scent. Comet is another one that just screams clean. Aside from those two I like linen scented candles and sprays to give the house a clean, fresh smell between those bleach and Comet scrubbings!
2 people like this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
26 Jan 09
You're right! Comet DOES scream clean LOL I use it to bleach my tub and it does a fabulous job on my kitchen sinks. The one thing that drove me nuts, though, was that my mom never seemed to fully rinse it off so there was always a white accumulation that had to be washed off the tub before we could bathe! Oh well... least it was REALLY clean LOL
@jesssp (2712)
• Canada
26 Jan 09
Some of our single guy friends had a 'bachelor pad' after graduation and they weren't quite with it when it came to cleaning. They attempted to clean the tub with Comet but didn't rinse it properly - EVER. I guess since they only showered they weren't too concerned. They must have had extra clean feet!
1 person likes this
@mwilliams34 (150)
• Canada
27 Jan 09
I think the scent of clean is pinesol. My mom uses pinsol all the time and i've grown to love the smell of it. I hate the different kinds it has to be original pinesol for me to enjoy. I clean my walls in my room with it so my room smells fresh all the time. I know I know Why would you do that? But its just one of my weird obsessions
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
27 Jan 09
I agree! I don't like the other scents... Pinesol original for me too hehe And if cleaning your walls is a weird obsession, could you pass it on to my daughters, please? I wouldn't mind a closet-cleaning obsession while you're at it! *grin*
@mwilliams34 (150)
• Canada
27 Jan 09
Well I do clean my closent a lot more than usual...There is just so much junk in it..I don't even know where half of it comes from!
1 person likes this
@annjilena (5618)
• United States
27 Jan 09
i like the smell of clean from pine power smelling all through the house.i also like the smell of bleach throughout the house smell really good.
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
27 Jan 09
Good warning message! Here's a bit more that might be of interest:
"BLEACH: is a strong corrosive. It will irritate or burn the skin, eyes and respiratory tract. It may cause pulmonary edema or vomiting and coma if ingested. Never mix bleach with acid toilet bowl cleaners or ammonia. These mixtures may produce fumes which can be DEADLY."
Source: http://www.mamashealth.com/doc/cleanprod.asp
@mwilliams34 (150)
• Canada
27 Jan 09
The smell of bleach makes me sick. I washed some white clothes today and the sent of bleach was really strong I had to sit outside for a few minutes. Also Lysol bathroom cleaner makes me dizzy if i clean to much with it
1 person likes this
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
26 Jan 09
well, seeing as i dont smell that well (my nose is perma stuffy due to nose issues) i dont have a clean smell necessarily, but i can smell candles sometimes if they are really strong, so that is what i reward myself with when the house is clean.
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
27 Jan 09
If you can recommend any candles with a strong enough scent, cher, I'd be glad to hear of them :) A lot of the ones I buy smell nice in the packages but really have no noticeable scent as they burn.
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
27 Jan 09
Most of the household cleaners you mentioned are banned in our household. Pinesol can literally put me on the floor unable to breathe. I even had an episode in Walmart one day when someone had broken a bottle of it. I had to frantically search for my rescue inhaler. My asthma just can't handle chemicals. For me cleaning has to be done with products that have no strong odors. Such as windex, or the scrubbing bubbles or even soft scrub. Those I can handle. But to me the "clean" smell is Febreze. I use it often and I love the scent. Its scary not knowing what scent will trigger a severe asthma attack. So I do my best to avoid chemicals, scented candles or cleaners.
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
27 Jan 09
You know, Tess, I've often wondered how some people are able to shop in the cleaning products aisles of stores like Walmart. The scent is SO strong... particularly from laundry products, I've noticed. It smells nice to me, because I don't have the sensitivity, but it must be terrible for you :( I'm glad that there are effective products that you can use though. I'm a HUGE Windex fan myself lol I use it for counter top cleanups, shining up my stove after dinner and things like that, in addition to windows and mirrors.
1 person likes this
@Jenaisle (14078)
• Philippines
27 Jan 09
The smell of mild soap, or new mown hay, or mild cologne. Or simply the smell of newly washed clothes. These are all clean to me. My favorite household cleaner is lysol perfumed, the new version, smells flowery and fresh and yet could kill germs. Happy mylotting.
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
27 Jan 09
Newly washed clothes... yes! I got a new detergent recently (Xtra) and the scent is Spring Sunshine. All the clothes smell SO good! My daughters comment all the time when they're getting dressed. I imagine, with the weather warms up and I can go back to drying clothes on the line outside, they're going to smell doubly good!
@tammyr (5946)
• Etowah, Tennessee
26 Jan 09
I do not like the smell of Lysol or Pinesol. Both bother me.
I like to use the scented cleaners, Orange being my favorite. I think that smells clean. I also like the lavender smells. They are relaxing as well so you get two in one with them...Clean, and relaxing.
My mom usually went for the lemon smells so it brings back those feelings like you are talking about. Especially Pledge lol as we had to use pledge on everything that was made of wood every week on cleaning day, lol
Bleach is one smell I do not care for but it makes me feel that things are clean.
oh and BTW... I STILL love Lukas
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
26 Jan 09
Tammy! How are ya girl? Long time no see! 
I was away for some time but I'm trying to get back to posting again. Glad to find you here.
I totally forgot about PLEDGE! LOL My mom was a Pledge fanatic. It was a hazard to walk around the house in socks because you KNEW you were going to slip somewhere because of the Pledge getting on the wood floors.
(and I still love him too I was watching some of his videos just last week! LOL)
I was away for some time but I'm trying to get back to posting again. Glad to find you here.
I totally forgot about PLEDGE! LOL My mom was a Pledge fanatic. It was a hazard to walk around the house in socks because you KNEW you were going to slip somewhere because of the Pledge getting on the wood floors.
(and I still love him too I was watching some of his videos just last week! LOL)1 person likes this
@eaforeman6 (8979)
• United States
26 Jan 09
I am using a lemon cleaner which I make with fresh squeezed lemons. I delute it with water and I am much happeir with the shine and the scent. It is doing more then many of the exspesive cleaners that I had tried. Its great. I use a strong strenght and it cuts the grease and germs and works great on my glass. I have gone more natural then ever before. I also use vinegar....which cant be beat when it comes to killing odors and for fresh scent.@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
27 Jan 09
Great information, eaforeman! I hadn't thought of making my own lemon cleaner, although I do love citrus scents. I, too, use vinegar for quite a things around the house... and it's excellent for cleaning the coffeemaker! I tried CLR, for example, and good ol' vinegar did a better job for me.
@explorations (1712)
• United States
26 Jan 09
I use a variety of cleaning supplies when I'm housekeeping, but I always finish off by spraying my fabrics with maximum strenght Febreeze (we're a big family with tough odors, so I need to take out the heavy duty stuff). So, until I smell my finishing touch, I don't feel like my house is truly clean.
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
26 Jan 09
Oh I forgot about Febreeze! I have a generic type of fabric spray like that... I use it periodically to freshen throw rugs and I really like it. Smells like baby powder :) I use that on days that I'm not doing heavy cleaning because that would be a lot of scents mixed together and one of my daughters complains if I do it LOL
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
26 Jan 09
My fiance and I don't have our own house so the things we do to clean to be helpful is basically dishes and sweeping. So as for right now, I associate a clean floor to be well swept, and a clean counter top to have a sheen to it. I don't enjoy in particular smell to associate with clean as the products my fiance's mom uses does not have a distinctive smell.
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
26 Jan 09
I understand exactly what you mean about the sheen :) My mom's fridge door handle was chrome and, oh my word, did she ever fuss over keeping it free of finger prints. Well, that, and the front door window... which, as kids, it's inevitable that you push the door closed by the window and not the doorknob, right? We must have driven her crazy LOL
@snowcat46 (2322)
• United States
26 Jan 09
I have a hard time with chemical smells, but I still adore Pine-sol and anything with lemon scent. Those mean clean to me. Isn't it amazing how certain scents mean clean? Ammonia gets things clean, but it doesn't smell clean to me. I hate it.
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
27 Jan 09
I didn't used to mind the smell of ammonia, actually, but after caring for my mom throughout the course of her cancer and spending countless hours in hospitals and such with her, I have come to associate that smell in a negative way... so I don't use it... but, you're right, it's certainly effective!
@kimberly99 (54)
• United States
27 Jan 09
I like cleaning my house, but not putting those sheene thats silly for me as long as its clean then fine, im satisfied..
@tcorbs (5)
• Canada
26 Jan 09
I am actually using greenworks products that are eco friendly. These products have that same lemony scent that smells clean to me, are cost friendly and good for the environment. I've been able to buy them at my local Walmart.
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
26 Jan 09
Citrus and pine definitely smell good to me... and I'm very glad to know that Walmart is carrying more eco friendly products! I will definitely look into that on my next trip! Thanks! :D
@grecychunny26 (9483)
• Philippines
14 Apr 09
I use plegde for my home furniture, but mostly my mother is the one who cleans the house, i don't kind of cleaner she uses.
@forslahiri (1042)
• India
27 Jan 09
Hi,
U talked about the Family-Hygeine subtly.certainly a detergent/cleaner is needed- may be more scented or foamy(where lies the level of Satisfaction), but more importantly Ur attitude for GERM-FREE environment is praiseworthy.Type of detergent/smell etc are unimportant.
=Lahiri,Kolkata,India.
