If you manage facilities or work as a professional cleaner, you know that keeping spaces clean and odour-free is key to a positive user experience. Bad smells can hurt hygiene perceptions, especially in busy shopping centres, schools and healthcare facilities. Poor odour control doesn’t just affect reputation – it can also lead to health and safety issues.
In this professional cleaning contractors’ guide, we’ll run you through the importance of odour control, some easy strategies to prevent odours and facility cleaning tips. We’ll also introduce you to our sustainable cleaning solutions that leverage innovative ingredients and eco-friendlier formulations to help facility managers and cleaning contractors maintain environments that are welcoming, compliant with health standards and free of nasty smells through effective odour control.
Why Odour Control Matters
Odour control and reputation
Odour control plays a crucial role in shaping a facility’s reputation. When someone enters a space, their immediate perception of cleanliness is often influenced by the presence or absence of unpleasant smells. Maintaining clean, odour-free spaces fosters positive user experiences and builds trust with employees, customers, and visitors. Effective odour management enhances these experiences and ensures operational efficiency and a positive atmosphere.
Odour control and the law
Odour control is also vital for ensuring compliance with health and safety standards, including those focused on air quality, hygiene and waste disposal. According to the Environmental Protection Act 2017, failing to manage odours effectively can contribute to health risks, particularly in environments where vulnerable people are present. The EPA states that ‘risk of harm from odour that is offensive to the senses of human beings must be reduced as far as reasonably practicable’.
Odour control and workplace wellbeing
Unpleasant odours in the workplace can harm employee health and productivity. Studies show that bad smells and irritants can cause discomfort and symptoms, even for people without particular sensitivities. Poor air quality and stress can make this worse. While adding pleasant smells doesn’t seem to improve things, removing bad odours is key to keeping the workplace healthy and supporting employees. Implementing strategies to eliminate odours, such as advanced air filtration systems and specially formulated odour control substances, ensures a cleaner and more pleasant working environment.
Common Sources of Unpleasant Odours in Facilities
In high-traffic environments, such as offices, schools, healthcare facilities or retail spaces, maintaining a pleasant or neutral smell can be challenging due to the sheer volume of foot traffic and use. Unpleasant odours can arise from various sources, including:
Rubbish and refuse zones
Organic waste can quickly lead to stubborn odours if not appropriately managed. Incorporating baking soda along with other commercial odour eliminators can help neutralize acidity and absorb bad smells in rubbish and refuse zones.
Washrooms
High use, poor ventilation or plumbing issues often cause unpleasant smells.
Misting systems that mix essential oils with potable water can be used for odour control in washrooms.
Carpets and soft fabrics
These tend to trap odours, especially in aged care or childcare facilities. Using air fresheners can significantly improve air quality in these areas.
Outdoor toilets
Found in parks or remote areas, these need substantial odour control to stay fresh.
Drains and sinks
Odours from hard-to-reach spots can build up over time without proper treatment. The breakdown of organic materials in drains and sinks can release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere, contributing to unpleasant odours.
The Science Behind Enviroplus’ Odour Neutralising Products
So, you know eliminating unpleasant odours is essential – but how do you do it, and how do odour-neutralising cleaning products work?
Our approach to odour control combines advanced, eco-friendlier ingredients designed to target odours at the source. A key ingredient in many of Enviroplus’s cleaning products is enzymes.
Enzymes are natural proteins that break down organic matter at the source. In odour control, enzymes target the molecules responsible for bad smells, such as proteins, fats, and starches. By breaking down these organic materials, enzymes prevent the growth of bacteria that might otherwise thrive, producing persistent odours. This direct action allows for more prolonged elimination of odours.
We offer a range of products that provide eco-friendlier odour control, each formulated to address specific challenges in different areas of a facility:
e-Washroom X
e-Washroom X is a specialised, concentrated biological preparation for multi-surface cleaning of bathroom and washroom surfaces. The product-specific microbes penetrate porous surfaces and establish effective self-renewing biofilms deep inside inaccessible surfaces, providing residual cleaning action and long-lasting, effective odour control by breaking down organic matter, including volatile fatty acids, proteins, uric acid and ammonia.
e-Flush
e-Flush is an effective biological treatment for cleaning and deodorising washrooms, toilets, urinals and stainless steel troughs. Washroom odours hide deep within tiles, grout, traps and plumbing lines, making them hard to access and eradicate. The beneficial microbes in e-Flush digest organic debris at the source and target the breakdown of insoluble and unsightly uric scale, significantly reducing its build-up and potential to block pipes. e-Flush provides excellent all-round performance, designed to clean, refresh, eliminate organic waste build-up and deodorise by successfully destroying the source of foul odours.
e-Odourize:
e-Odourize utilises specialist enzymes to break down organic odours at the source and remove stains. Odours from food and organic waste invariably penetrate porous surfaces, becoming deeply embedded in fabrics, carpets, seats and flooring. Traditional air fresheners and cleaners often only temporarily mask odours but fail to address the cause of the problem, enabling bad odours to return. The product enzymes quickly and easily penetrate porous surfaces and fabrics, helping to accelerate the breakdown of hidden organic deposits at the source. This ensures immediate and long-lasting odour control and optimal stain removal by targeting the breakdown of human and pet soils such as urine, vomit and faeces in addition to grass and protein food-based stains such as milk and egg.
e-Fabric X:
e-Fabric X is a biotech-based fabric cleaner that breaks down and removes deep-rooted stains and odours from worn and dirty fabrics and carpets. The formula quickly targets organic matter, protecting fibres and leaving behind a fresh clean scent.
e-Fresh
e-Fresh is a highly concentrated air freshener and blue toilet concentrate for toilet bucket cleaning and deodorising. It has been designed to counteract unpleasant odours in commercial and industrial septic water systems using a combination of biodegradable surfactants, a nutrient source of vegetable origin and a fresh fragrance. The plant-based nutrient helps to stimulate naturally occurring microbes in the sewer environment, thus accelerating organic waste break down and eliminating associated odours.
e-Portaloo
e-Portaloo liquid is a highly concentrated biological product containing a blend of naturally occurring beneficial bacterial strains to reduce odours and accelerate organic waste breakdown in portable toilet systems.
e-Zyme Crystals
e-Zyme is a highly advanced bacterial granule designed to speed up the natural breakdown process of septic waste in long drop, open and closed, flush and non-flush toilet systems. e-Zyme contains specially selected strains of active bacteria designed to provide a toilet system with a broad range of microbial action for optimum performance.
e-Surface X
e-Surface X is a specialised concentrated biological preparation for multi-surface cleaning. The product-specific microbes penetrate porous surfaces and establish effective self-renewing biofilms deep inside inaccessible surfaces, providing effective odour control by breaking down organic matter, including starch, protein, fats, oils, grease and cellulose. The organic debris is targeted at the source, and long-term residual cleaning action is provided.
Step-by-Step Guide to Effective Cleaning and Deodorising
A cleaning routine is crucial for effective odour control and a hygienic environment. Proactive measures to prevent odours can significantly reduce the need for reactive solutions. Proper application is key to getting the best results from any cleaning product. This step-by-step guide shows you how to effectively clean and deodorise different areas using Enviroplus products, ensuring your facility stays fresh, hygienic, and odour-free.
Carpets and Soft Fabrics
1. Vacuum Thoroughly: Begin by vacuuming the carpet or soft fabric to remove any loose debris, dirt or dust. This ensures that the odour-neutralising products can work directly on the source of the smell.
2. Spray e-Fabric X: Apply a generous amount of e-Fabric X evenly across the surface, ensuring the product penetrates deeply into the fabric.
3. Allow to Dry: Let the treated area air dry. The enzymes in e-Fabric X will work to break down the organic materials causing the odour, leaving a refreshed, odour-free surface.
Rubbish and Refuse Areas
1. Clear Debris: Remove any obvious rubbish from the area to ensure proper cleaning.
2. Scrub Surfaces: Clean all surfaces using a detergent or general-purpose cleaner to eliminate surface grime and food residue.
3. Apply e-Surface X: Spray e-Surface X generously over the entire area, particularly in high-traffic spots where waste accumulates.
4.Rinse and Repeat: Rinse the area thoroughly with water, repeating if necessary to ensure it remains fresh.
Outdoor Toilets
1. Squirt e-Flush: Squirt e-Flushdirectly into the holding tank or toilet base, brush then rinse.
Washrooms
1. Use e-Washroom X Regularly: Incorporate e-Washroom X into your routine cleaning plan, particularly in washrooms where urinal odours persist.
2.Check Frequently: To keep the washroom fresh and hygienic, inspect it regularly and applye-Washroom Xas needed.
General Odour Control
Apply e-Odourize:
For overall odour control, spray e-Odourize in high-traffic areas like offices or washrooms. Let it work by breaking down malodour molecules at the source, providing lasting freshness without simply masking the scent. e-Odourize is also effective in managing odour issues in these high-traffic areas.
By following these simple practices, you can maintain a fresh, odour-free environment in your facilities year-round.
Odour control is crucial for keeping facilities clean, safe, and pleasant. Our eco-friendly products remove odours at the source, supporting your sustainability goals and keeping your spaces fresh, hygienic, and welcoming.
Explore our full range of eco-friendlier odour control solutions and contact us for product recommendations tailored to your specific facility needs.
