Ever see those commercials advertising the “As Seen On TV” products and wonder if they really work? Every month I choose one to test out, hopefully saving you money if it’s a dud. This month, as I was scanning the aisle, trying to decide which product to buy, this sentence caught my eye, “Eliminate Odors for up to 2 years!” This “promise” was on the box of forever fragrant fresh STICKS, which cost $9.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond. (I used a 20% off coupon so it cost me less.)
WHAT IS IT?
The forever fragrant fresh sticks comes with a vase and “sticks” that promises to neutralize odors caused by smokers, pets, cooking, musty rooms and more. The sticks are primarily derived from plant sources and wood pulp.
HOW IT WORKS…
“Forever Fragrant is a natural polymer that is a breathable material. It emits the scent while taking in the malodors in order to continuously deodorize. The inherent breathability of this scented plastic allows it to continually perform up to two years.” Each stick acts like a high-tech sponge to absorb bad smells.
Now as with any review, some people will agree and some won’t. I went online to read other reviews to see what others thought and it was pretty much evenly divided…people either loved it or hated it. I’ve been testing mine out for 3 weeks now and for me, it seems to be working. I’m a smoker but I don’t smoke in the house. I decided to test the STICKS out by putting it in a bathroom and smoking in the bathroom. Each time I went in there, I couldn’t smell the smoke.(But now that I’ve tested the smoke, I’m not smoking in there anymore.) I bought the cool linen breeze fragrance scented one and while the scent isn’t very strong, it has a pleasant, not in your face smell. One recurring reason I read from the reviews that people didn’t like was that it didn’t smell strong enough. The directions do say, “Over time, as the scent matures, Forever Fragrant Fresh Sticks adapts to its surroundings, and may become less obvious. You may also become accustomed to the scent, just like wearing perfume. By closing the door of the room, you will further confine the fragrance and amplify the scent when you return.”
I also placed one next to our cat boxes and three weeks later, it’s still working. The promise of the STICKS is not to mask the odors but rather neutralize them with a subtle fragrance. This is non-toxic and shouldn’t be placed in direct sunlight, which will fade the color of the STICKS. It comes in two scents, the cool linen breeze which is blue or golden vanilla which is yellow.
It will be interesting to see exactly how long this works. The promise of up to 2 years of eliminating odors seems hard to believe, but even if it only works for 6 months, it will still have cost less than some of the candles or room deodorizers we use. This also has the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.
Would I recommend it? Yes.
And as always, if you’ve tried this product, we’d love to hear how it worked for you.