SMELLY? - NOT ME (Ambi-Pur)

Member Name: indigojade

Product:	Ambi-Pur
Date:	01/04/01 (975 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: see text

Disadvantages: see text

Ambi Pur room fragrancers are similar in design to the glade plug -ins, in that they are plugged into a socket in a room and release a fragrance into the air.

To those who have never used either I will try and explain their appearance, with particular reference to Ambi Pur, my preferred room fragracer at the moment - hence the op!

The Ambi Pur unit is approximately 4 inches in height and 1.5 inches in width and depth, thus making it stick out from the plug socket further than the glade plug - ins which are approximately 2 inches in height and 1 inch in depth. This should not cause any problems with furniture as there needs to be open space around the unit to allow the scent to diffuse through the room, having said that I do have one behind my chair in a very limited space, and the scent is still noticeable. Do be careful where you place them though, the Ambi Pur unit outside my bathroom door does cause a few barked shins from time to time, usually Saturday nights after a few!!

The Ambi Pur unit has a vent in the top to allow the fragrance to escape and be ‘wafted’ through the room. The fragrance comes from a removable clear glass bottle containing liquid, with a wick in it. The fragrance is released by an element inside the unit being warmed up by the electric current thus releasing the scent into the surrounding air. Very similar in principle to an oil burner, without the danger of having lighted candles around the home.

The intensity of the fragrance can be controlled by a dial situated near the top of the unit, 1 being the lowest intensity and 5/max being the highest intensity. I prefer this method of fragrance control as in a small room if the unit is set on 5 the scent can be over powering. There are only 2 settings with the glade plug - ins, which I found very limiting as in a large room even on the highest setting the fragrance was very weak, whereas with Ambi Pur the number 3 setting is perfect for a gentle
fragrance in a large room.

The Ambi Pur unit comes complete with one refill and retails at anywhere between £5 and £7, pretty steep if you want one in each room. Many supermarkets have them on special offer from time to time, I bought the majority of mine on 2 for 1 offers! The refills can cost anywhere between £2 - £3, look out for them at Sunday markets especially as they tend to be around £1. Glade plug ins are around £3 to £4 for the unit and one cartridge and £1 - £2 for the refills, much cheaper but I found I had to replace them more often as the scent was so weak. So in the grand scheme of things the Ambi Pur works out cheaper for me! The claim is the refill with last 60 days, but I find with mine set at 2 or 3 they last up to 120+ days.

The glade plug in refills are a lot easier to replace, as the scent comes in gel form contained in a plastic cartridge which is just slipped into the space in the top of the unit, no mess no fuss. The glass bottle that comes as the refill for Ambi Pur is a little more messy, if your careless - like me. To change the bottle, pull the empty existing one out of the unit (having first removed the unit from the plug socket). Remove the new bottle from the packet, unscrew the lid and insert into the unit - sounds easy enough! It sounds it I know, but you have to make sure you guide the wick into the appropriate space for it within the unit, this can be done by looking down through the vent in the top. I have ruined many a wick by shoving the bottle in too hard and bending the wick!

Another plus on the side of Ambi Pur, is that you can see when the fragrance is running low, whereas with the glade plugins it is difficult to judge as the gel is colourless. When it is completely spent the gel forms crystals and breaks up. It is
harder to see this as the refill is contained completely within the unit, necessitating removal to see if it needs changing.

A word of warning to anyone that uses Ambi
Pur, regardless of the fragrance, do NOT ever place the unit on a surface you value. I was hoovering the other day, took the unit out and placed it on a varnished coffee table as I needed the socket. I managed to knock the unit over with the hoover cable and spilled some on the contents onto the table. Needless to say the coffee table now has a large damaged patch where the liquid had not only stripped away the varnish, but also the stain! No such trouble with glade though!

I tend to favour the ‘after tobacco’ fragrance, although this appears to be getting harder to get hold of in my local supermarkets. I find that many of the more floral fragrances remind me of pub toilets or are a very sickly scent that becomes over
powering. The after tobacco scent does neutralise that nasty, ashtray smell in all rooms, and leaves a pleasant fragrance. I couldn’t begin to describe the fragrance as my writing skills are not that good, plus I have a cold at the moment!

Ambi Pur comes in 5 different fragrances, after tobacco, pet odour neutraliser, floral, the names of the others escape me at the moment, but I will add them when I remember them. Glade do have a wider variety of fragrances, but as stated before I find then a little wishwashy on scent.

The ratings below are for Ambi Pur air fresheners.

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