The other day, I bought trash bags. I am always careful to check that the bags I'm getting are unscented. I find scented trash bags to be disgusting. If trash is going to smell, it will smell, and the scent of lavender or whatever in the trash bags is not going to help that.
All is well.
I also needed big garbage bags for the dump. I get the biggest ones of these I can find, and the strongest. I detest small bags or big bags that rip whenever I try to pull them out of the big trash can in the shop. Walmart sells big contractor bags, and that is what I got.
I brought them home, took one out to put it in the can and . . . what is that smell? Are these contractor bags SCENTED?
"May contain a light scent" indeed.
I cannot imagine why my "extra-TOUGH" contractor bags "made for professional cleanup jobs" are scented. It's not a nice scent, either. They smell like a porta potty. Maybe that's what contractors expect in their trash bags?
I don't know, but it's gross and I am displeased.
Thankfully, these bags are only ever outside, so I'm not confronted with their stench in my house, but still. I think that was unnecessary.
The scents are never nice - it just makes the stench from the garbage worse. Why do they bother? I buy unscented whenever possible in all things.
ReplyDeleteWhat bugs me is Target stores facial tissue next to fabric softeners, so my Kleenex will pick up the scent if I buy them there.
The transfer of scent is one of my pet peeves. Anytime any of us go anywhere overnight, even to a hotel or something that doesn't overtly smell like detergent, our clothes smell like fragrance when we get home. And do not get me started on the poisoning of actual food--flour, apples, crackers--with fragrance. Ugh.
Delete"Why would you need scent?" I ask my husband.
ReplyDelete"Dead bodies," he says. "For the fastidious recreational murder."
OK then .... — Karen.
I mean, I guess that's as good an explanation as any.
DeleteI'm with you. Artificially scented trash is worse than the trash itself.
ReplyDeleteI am constantly amazed by people who don't even notice fragrances. I am on the opposite end of the spectrum. I have a nose like a bloodhound -- both a blessing and a curse -- and the laundry products aisle of Walmart is a truly miserable place. There is an interesting article from a few months ago on bloomberg.com regarding household product scents (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-09-05/why-does-your-dish-soap-smell-different-blame-us-mania-for-newness if you're interested -- I am uncertain if you can see this without a subscription, though I don't subscribe so I think a person can read a few articles without subscribing). It's interesting and well written, as one would expect from Bloomberg, and the basic gist is that it's not our imaginations: Scented household product are far more prevalent now and also the scents are far more powerful now than they were even just a few years ago. Yay.
ReplyDelete-- Karen.'s sister
I hate anything scented and don't buy anything that smells if I can help it.
ReplyDeleteI bought a big box of Swifter refills a few weeks ago. Started noticing a strange smell in my pantry and realized it was them. The box is now in a gallon zip lock on my screened porch so I just go out there and get one when needed!
ReplyDeleteI am so with you!
ReplyDeleteCould the smell be caused by the recycling process? Perhaps scenting of household products is even more prevalent in the US than it is here in Germany, but we recently bought a mat to protect our truck during renovations, and the recycled plastic gave off a very odd, distinctive smell. I learned that this smell is caused by the recycling process.