Vacuum Scent Tabs

[mark40511]

I'm going to try these and will report back on how they work. But while I'm waiting, has anyone tried these? They get great reviews. My epic 6500 is GREAT and the bags are great as well, but I always have to change the bag WAY before it needs it because of that smell. The ONLY thing that helps somewhat is putting the rainbow green deodorizer on a cotton ball into the bag. It kills somewhat of what grows inside the bag....I don't really care about scent, but I'm thinking this product actually keeps the bacteria from growing in the bag so that even though the bag is a few weeks old, when you turn the machine on, you won't have that stale smell....I hope these work. It says they neutralize bag odors....so I'm guessing it's not just some perfume scent that covers them up....



http://www.amazon.com/Oreck-Fresh-Vacuum-Scent-Tabs/dp/B000CKNCGC

 

[sebo_fan]

Or just half a cup full of charcoal powder? I think there was another thread regarding this earlier this month.

 

[rvarley]

Charcoal ...

I tried aquarium charcoal pellets and Featherlite in my Simplicity F3500 and neither worked. I'd love to know if there is a product that does work. My Rainbow never smells, but for quick run throughs, the rainbow takes too long to setup and tear down. The light, little Simplicity is great for that. Except for the smell.

 

[kirbylux77]

Randy

I read that tip to use charcoal in that post I made about charcoal HEPA Cloth bags, & I tried it & it works for me. Here's the stuff I bought from my local pet shop, Fluval Carbon, a 900g bottle for $20 bucks. Just allow your vacuum to suck up 2 tablespoons & it WILL absorb & eliminate most of the odor. This was done with a Kenmore canister I use daily that takes the 5055 HEPA Cloth bags....you may have to use more or less depending on the size of the bag & amount of dirt in it.

Mark, if you try using the Fluval Carbon, I would suggest just 1 tablespoon for your Electrolux bag, since it is half the size of the Kenmore bag I tried it on. If you do want a fragrance, one thing you could try if you don't like the Oreck scent tablets is to try some of the scented oils they sell in small vials at the dollar store. I have used them, as well as the Mandarin & Tangelo home fragrance oil from The Body Shop, & they work great at masking vacuum bag odors. Just put 3 or 4 drops right onto the bag.

Rob

http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-A1447-Hagen-Carbon-900G/dp/B000HHSE8G

 

[dedede]

I've used the kirby version of these. I'm guessing they're similar but I don't know. They seem to work okay, not great. It seems like they really just mask the smell with more smell.

 

[sebo_fan]

Pellets won't work - after all they will just jump around the bag - charcoal powder is the way to go. I got the BBQ type bricks and crunched them up in my pestle & mortar. The powder seems to coat the bag but it doesn't seem to clog it.

 

[cuffs054]

I tried sucking up some of the Downy ultra scent or whatever they're called with the Kirby. It seemed to work very well. It's been over 3 weeks and I can still smell them with the vac on and if you get close to vac you can smell them.

 

[mark40511]

OH!!! I actually have

this huge thing of activated charcoal pellets that I use when I change my pet fountain water filter for the cat. I never even THOUGHT about sucking some pellets up to try that....But a few already said they did this and it didn't work..

It's amazing how a vacuum bag can smell even though your house is clean and you only have one cat....

I'm the same way - I use my Rainbow for REAL cleaning and my other vacuums for run through's really quickly....

This says it neutralizes bag odors (I'm guessing not just covering them up) I dunno, I'll see. Anytime I have ever put anything into my vacuum bag, I always end up smelling the smell of whatever I put in the bag, along with the stale bag smell. I tried essential oil.....I smelled oranges and stale bag mixed together. UGH.

Did you know you can use activated charcoal to whiten your teeth and it works! I use it. Youtube it.

 

[suckolux]

Agree on the scent plus bag odor coming through in the past! I have tried the downy unstoppables, wow strong, not many!

 

[ralph123]

fabric softener pellets work fine for me. Aerus Lux also sells packets of lemon scented "gravel". The tip for using the Gain Fabric softener pellets came from Tom Gasko, and it works well for me. Although Lux type C bags are relatively cheap, so I'd toss the bag if it starts to smell bad.

 

[mark40511]

Fab Softener pellets?

I've never tried this, but wouldn't this be mixing the musty bag smell with fab softener smell? Unless the fab softener pellets are antibacterial or something? Like I said, when I put essential oil on a cotton ball I can smell the stale bag smelled MIXED with the essential oil smell...I guess I'm imagining the same would be true with fab softener sheets or pellets. I dunno.

You're right, the lux c bags are cheap and I have so many of them, but I still end up throwing them away when they have a lot of life left in them still...

 

[sebo_fan]

The only thing that puts me off with scented things is knowing that it will go through filters that have charcoal layers and can ruin them. I don't put scented stuff through my Miele canister vacs for example.

But with the SEBO's, it isn't a problem since most of the charcoal is away from the bag dependent on the airflow design. My Vax VCU02 for example has scented powder in the disposable bag (Hoover Signature upright to those in the U.S) but the scent only emits some of the time, which says a lot for the dust bag on board.

 

[fantomlightning]

Might wanna try....

Fresh Wave Pearls, we have these at work. They get put in the bench vacs to keep the smells at bay from all the horrid dirt we pull from other machines. We also have customers that swear by them and that haven't had luck with anything else

http://www.freshwaveworks.com/store/pc/Vacuum-Pearls-7p53.htm

 

[mark40511]

Fresh Wave Pearls

I'm not sure, but I think (based on reading) that the Oreck tabs, Kirby Odorific, and the Fresh Wave, all have the same non toxic ingredient that prevents bacteria growth in the bag that CAUSES the stale smell. If the Oreck Tabs don't work, I'll definitely try this.....but I'm pretty sure they are very similar to each other.

 

[daknx1994]

Ditto on Fresh Wave and fabric softener pellets. I sell Fresh Wave at work as well and also use it on my bench vac's. My customers swear by this stuff. I use fabric softener pellets at home and they work really well. I use them in my Kirby, Oreck, and Sanitaire (all of which use Hepa bags), and they do help get rid of the odors instead of just masking them. I do have two dogs and a cat and parents who smoke and the pellets help neutralize these odors. Let us know what works for you.

 

[tolivac]

I have used Fresh Wave for really smelly vacuums after replacing bags.Leave the Fresh Wave in the bag.After a while the orig "funk" has gone away.Can be used in bagless,too.-least dump bag machines.

 

[spiraclean]

The Oreck tabs are rose scented, whereas the Kirby ones are lemon/lime, other than that they are very similar. Not too overpowering, however if you like a stronger scent, breaking the tab up inside the wrapper before tipping it into the bag will do the trick.

The best vacuum deodorisers I've ever used were the little green pellets Vorwerk used to sell for their cleaners. Long gone now, and unfortunately I've never managed to find anything similar since.

 

[mark40511]

Got them today

They smell nice. It reminds me of a cleaning agent or something I smelled at a Hotel once....

I changed the bag and dropped the tab into the new bag...It's definitely NOT overpowering and I could care less about the scent as long as it kills the stale bag smell...

 

[mark40511]

These seem to work

grated it's only been a few days, but I have smelled no hint of a stale bag yet when vacuuming. I can't really describe what these smell like though..I'm so glad they are non toxic