Tarot Deck

How to get rid of incense smells quickly?

I have a friend whose roommate constantly burns incense, which permeates the air and annoys her. Although she's asked her roommate repeatedly to stop burning the incense, the roommate refuses. Seeking help from a higher authority will most likely amount to nothing, so now she'd like to find some ways to eliminate the odor. Incense itself is pungent and concentrated, so normal air fresheners and opening the windows have been proven unsuccessful. Any help on how to reduce or eliminate the incense smells would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Public Comments

1. I debated posting this. Not because it is rude or improper but because it is the holiday and I am drinking. There is a way, to take care of some of it. Vanilla Extract will kill the odor. But it will stain anything light colored. It would be feasible to soak a rag in vanilla extract and leave it out, but not on something that it would stain. V.E. is what you clean marine fish coolers with, because it permeates the material and reacts with the odors. I use it and it works like magic. But it can stain. So consider that. Most people are not offended by the smell of V.E., as opposed to puking over excessive incense odor. Don't blame me if you stain something, I told you not to use it where it will stain. She needs to get out of there.
2. You could be subtle (not) and set up a pedestal fan outside her room just blowing air straight back to her. Your friend could also try using essential oils that clear the air such as lemon, eucalyptus, may chang, lemon myrtle or lemongrass. These can either be diffused in an oil burner or diffuser or you could just let drops fall onto the carpet (those particular oils other than the lemongrass don't stain. Well they never have for me.). Another great way to clear the air is to buy an empty spray bottle, fill it with white vinegar and you can add a teaspoon of vanilla extract (make sure it's an alcohol extract, not glycerine) or up to 10 drops of any of the oils suggested above. Shake it up and spray as a room freshener. The combination of the vinegar and the essences should pull the incense particles out of the air pretty well. Oh and remember to open the windows and doors up wide for as long as you can. The other thing your friend could do is tell her room mate that the incense is affecting her asthma/allergies and maybe give her a little bottle of a nice essential oil blend and a cheap oil burner and say that essential oils don't affect her allergies. Maybe her room mate just wants fragrant air and would switch to essential oils happily. Often people come around if they're offered an alternative. Oils I would suggest for incense-lovers would be patchouli, frankincense, nag champa, sandalwood, cedarwood, jasmine, neroli, lavender, ho wood/leaf (instead of rosewood as the rosewood tree must be killed for the essential oil), sweet orange. Of course there are many others and this list is just off the top of my head. I hope some of these suggestions help!