SMELLS BEGONE: open the window on odor, don't paint over it

An odor absorber is not the same thing as an air freshener. A freshener adds fragrance to the air until it out-shouts the smell you are fighting; an absorber removes the odor-causing molecules so there is nothing left to shout over. SMELLS BEGONE gels are built on plant-derived compounds suspended in a solid gel. As the gel slowly evaporates, it binds odor molecules from the surrounding air, which is why a jar visibly shrinks over the weeks it works and why the room smells cleaner rather than simply more scented.

Coverage depends on size. Our 15 oz odor absorbing gel and pet odor absorber treat roughly 450 square feet for up to 90 days; the 12 oz original jar covers a similar room in a smaller footprint. The 1-gallon large-space gel is made for basements, garages, workshops, campers and commercial rooms of up to 750 square feet and keeps absorbing for up to 120 days. The newer 14 oz gel crystals use beaded gel for more surface area, so they start quickly in offices, cars and boats.

Sprays handle what a jar cannot reach. The 4 oz bathroom and toilet spray uses essential oils that sit on the water surface to trap odor before it rises; the 16 oz home and linen spray works its deodorizer into fabric; and the fragrance-free odor eliminator spray goes after smoke, trash and pet smells without adding perfume. Used together — a gel for steady background work and a spray for spot treatment — they cover nearly every room in a home, vehicle or workplace.

Every SMELLS BEGONE product is made in the USA. Scents range from Fresh Cotton and Calming Rain to Lavender Vanilla, Energizing Citrus, Hawaiian Mist and Apple Cinnamon, and the core gels, gallons and sprays are also offered fragrance-free for scent-sensitive homes, nurseries and workplaces with no-fragrance policies.