Thanks to Ambi Pur here is your chance to win one of 5 x Ambi Pur packs valued at $49.84 each including:
It is official! Odours are a source of conflict in 78% of Australian homes, with 45% saying that arguments are caused on average at least once a month!
The nationwide survey was conducted by global air care brand, Ambi Pur, the official odour eliminator in this year's Big Brother House. Odours that cause the most arguments in Aussie households include, breaking wind (34%), smelly garbage (30%) and bathroom smells (25%).
To help clear the air on this pressing problem, Ambi Pur has recruited ex-Big Brother housemate Ben Zabel (otherwise known as Ben from Brisbane) to share his two -scents' worth.
'After weeks in the Big Brother house with all the housemates I was amazed at how quickly bad odours could transform the mood. Between Tim's flatulence, the boys – Caleb, Matt, Ed and Drew – stinking out the bathroom and Mr Clooney using the house as a giant toilet, I would have died in there without Ambi Pur. It was the secret to my peace-making skills. Just eliminate the odour and everyone calms down with a breath of fresh scent," Ben revealed.
Supporting Ben's claims, as many as 95% of those surveyed by Ambi Pur said they were bothered by bad smells in the home, including 39% that find smells very uncomfortable and 11% that are so badly affected that it makes them angry. Participants of the survey were cited as feeling irritated by bad smells deeming them both offensive (25%) and hard to avoid (24%).
Leading Psychologist Jacqui Manning supports the rationale behind these findings. 'Odours have an intense effect on our mood because of the structure of our brain, and how close our olfactory nerve is to the emotion processing part of our brain. This means we are quick to react to odour, both in a positive and a negative way. If you are surrounded by bad odour, it may feel like you can't escape, triggering your -fight or flight' response, which may heighten any tension or anger you're feeling. Further to this, odours have a powerful ability to remind us of previous experiences, so if you're remembering something awful that happened, you're going to feel worse and be more likely to lash out at those around you," said Jacqui.
According to the survey, the most common way to resolve an odour issue in the home is for someone to take it upon themselves to fix the problem and thereby avoid conflict (50%). The next most common course of action is to do nothing (27%). In shared households, it is more common for odour problems to prompt the introduction of a cleaning roster (30%) or a house meeting (12%). 'During my time in the Big Brother house some of the biggest arguments we had were over odours. Arguments about housemate's casual personal hygiene habits, dirty dishes and smelly bathrooms happened pretty much every day," stated Ben.
Ambi Pur is once again helping the Big Brother Housemates breathe happy this season by eliminating odours and freshening the air. Throughout the series Ben will be acting as the Ambi Adjudicator, providing a regular commentary on the Big Brother website as he tries to #cleartheair by discussing the highs and lows of all the arguments and action in the Big Brother house.
