Room Sprays: What are they and how to use them

Have you ever sat there and asked yourself what a room spray is? In this fact-filled, totally sensible article, we'll explore room sprays in great depth, leaving you with the knowledge of what they are, how to use them, and perhaps even how to get the best out of them. Let's go!

Room Sprays: What are they and how to use them

I'm sorry, but that's genuinely the only photo I have of our room sprays. Probably not what you want to see, is it?

What are room sprays?

Ok, I guess we'll start with the basics.

Simply put, room sprays are products designed to freshen up the air and create a pleasant scent in a room. They come in a spray bottle and contain a mixture of fragrance oils, water, and sometimes alcohol - Ours contain 70% alcohol which kills 99.9% of viruses and bacteria that can cause odours.

When pumped into the air, the fragrance molecules are dispersed, masking unpleasant odours and leaving a pleasant scent. It's important to use room sprays in a well-ventilated area and avoid spraying them directly on surfaces to prevent damage or staining - unless that surface is fabric.

What's the point of a room spray?

Room sprays are ideal if you want to add a quick blast of fragrance to a room. They're basically an alternative to something like wax melts or candles for those that don't want to use a flame.

As for us, they're something we typically use once we've cleaned a room just to freshen it up a little more once we're done. I say "we" but I probably mean my wife. Not that I don't clean, I do. Like I do the dishes sometimes - she prefers to do them as I'm slower - and I do the washing, and put stuff away. But she likes to clean. She's one of those "oh yeah, give me that scrub baby I'm gonna get DEEP into this skirting board!"

So I always know if she's cleaned as I'll just sniff and go "ah, there's snow fairy" or whatever one she's used. We usually go with Snow Fairy or Starry Night if you're wondering.

Is a room spray better than a reed diffuser?

Room sprays and reed diffusers essentially give you the same result - a fragranced room - but they go about it with different methods.

Reed diffusers are more constant. The fragrance never really leaves the room as the reeds are continuously giving out some sort of fragrance - as long as you remember to flip the reeds and they're in a high traffic area.

Meanwhile, the scent from a room spray will only ever be there if you spray it.

Reed diffusers are ideal if you can't be arsed to do anything and just want to leave it in a room - like the bathroom. Whilst room sprays are great if you like variety when it comes to scents and want to be able to mix it up. It's a little harder to mix up the scents with lots of different reed diffusers.

How long do room sprays last in a room?

I guess this might vary depending on which room spray you use and the company you buy from. But you should get a good few hours from a couple of blasts. We tend to give two good pumps in the room and we'll notice the smell later on in the day.

You might want to pump it three times, two times, or have a wild night and blast out nine pumps in a row. It's all down to you and your personal preference.

Where should you spray room sprays?

I guess this comes down to personal preference and what room you want fragranced. Generally speaking, they're more likely to be used in places with fabric. So living rooms, bedrooms, or places where people might gather.

But you can pump it out anywhere you want. Some people might want to have a pump on their bed, or their bathroom, or perhaps even in their car if they're feeling up for it.

Heck, you can even take your room spray with you and pump it on the go! There's nothing stopping you having a pump on the bus if you really want to get wild.

People might give you weird looks though.

Are they worth the price?

This totally depends on what your idea of "worth" is I guess. And how much you're paying for them.

We charge £4.99 per bottle and I personally think that's a pretty affordable way to fragrance your room. We certainly beat Harrods on price.

I'm not 100% sure how many pumps you'll get for £4.99 but maybe I should have a day where I pump it as many times as I can and come back with the results.

Can room sprays be used as perfume?

I mean if you really wanted to use a room spray as a perfume you probably could. They are technically room & fabric sprays, so there's nothing stopping you buying Alien and spraying it on your CLOTHES before putting them on and saving yourself some money against buying expensive perfume.

But, there is alcohol in room sprays which can irritate your skin if sprayed directly onto your body.

How well does it work compared to actual perfume? Probably not as well. Perfume probably uses a higher concentration of fragrance so it's more likely to last longer and not irritate your skin on top too.

Technically I have to sit here and say that I wouldn't recommend it as a perfume because you're not using it for what it was intended for - which is adding fragrance to your home - but you're an adult. You can use the bottle as a butt plug and become a human Febreze dispenser if you really want.

What scent is the best?

This one is totally down to personal preference as everyone is different when it comes to scent. We should know, we do a lot of random stuff and not everything is for everyone. But generally speaking, you probably want to go for scents that you like.

Or you can do what many people do and simply go for "fresh" smells. Even more so if you plan to use a room spray as a "finishing touch" once you've cleaned a room.

But again, this is a personal preference and it's up to you.

And that's all you need to know!

If you have any other questions surrounding room sprays then feel free to ask and I'll happily add them to the article. But that's the basics on room sprays!