Ambi Pur eliminates odours at the Taste of Joburg

Pieter Hommez

Bathroom smells (toilet and nappy), cooking odours (particularly fish) and garbage proved to be the most common and some of the toughest odours to remove. Interestingly, cigarette, pets and musty smells also ranked highly on the survey.

Based on these insights, Ambi Pur set out to demonstrate how its range not only masks but truly eliminates some of South Africa's worst household odours leaving behind a fresh, subtle fragrance and effortlessly turning homes from #SmellytoSmiley.

The experience of inviting guests into your home (or simply creating a pleasant atmosphere for your family) only to be thwarted by unpleasant, lingering household odours is a challenge for many people. To recreate this environment and put its products to the test Ambi Pur introduced these bad odours simultaneously - and then removed them seamlessly - from a specially constructed Glass House, situated at the popular foodie festival, Taste of Joburg.

The event, which took place on 23 September 2015, kicked off with celebrity chef Benny Masekwameng, who was invited to create one of his delicious dishes within the Glass House kitchen. The house took on all the natural odours anyone whipping up a dinner party would experience from the cooking smells to the smells emanating from the garbage bin in the corner.

Array of pungent smells

Guests were invited into the Glass House to watch Chef Benny in action and also get a whiff of the array of pungent smells. Once the cooking was done, Pieter Hommez, Ambi Pur's Head of Research and Development South Africa, stepped in and sprayed the Glass House with Ambi Pur, allowing the odour-eliminating technology contained within the Ambi Pur range to take effect.

Pieter Hommez, Chef Benny and Leanne Manas.

To test out the efficacy of the range, Hommez called upon Chef Benny to join him on stage. While blindfolded he was asked to guess what was in a covered container using only his sense of smell. After relating a few pleasant smells his blindfold was removed to reveal a container with two raw fish, which had been sprayed with Ambi Pur to remove the offending odour completely.

"I had to look twice at the fish that was in front of me when I took off my blindfold, as the smell didn't relate to what was in front of me. I had pictured something completely different in the box - something that smelt of citrus, flowers and summer fruits," said Chef Benny.

Special guest Leanne Manas was also asked to share her opinion following Chef Benny's feedback. "The fragrance and aroma was subtle and not overpowering at all. What a completely wonderful and different way of demonstrating a products efficiency. For Chef Benny's sake, I was particularly relieved that Ambi Pur worked so well, after seeing what he had been sniffing so eagerly!"

Ordinary household situation

"The Glass House experiment was designed to mimic an ordinary household situation. You've cooked a delicious meal; however the lingering cooking smells and everyday household odours contribute to a less than pleasant environment and often discourage people from cooking delicious dishes that contain strong aromatic ingredients. With Ambi Pur, we wanted our audience to experience for themselves the difference that could be created within the home, not just adding another odour to the mix, or masking the odour for a short period, but rather eliminating the odour completely - leaving behind a sense of freshness. This was particularly important as 98% of survey respondents commented that a fresh smelling home is an indication of a home that is well taken care of," said Hommez.

Being able to experience the Glass House before and after the experiment was of key importance for visitors to be able to determine at first-hand the benefits of Ambi Pur, not only in the bathroom, but throughout the home.

According to Chef Benny, who spent a great deal of time in the Glass House whipping up some of his tasty dishes: "Restaurants spend a lot of money incorporating certain materials and fabrics that don't retain the odours left behind by the food they cook on a daily basis. It's great to know that there is a product available for everyday consumers to buy, that works this well at a fraction of the price. You can now cook your favourite and most pungent dishes at home and it won't be left smelling like a restaurant when your guests arrive.''