Worst Odors Ever Bracket Competition

The Odors

Every good bracket needs contenders. Our worst odor bracket was no different. We started out with 16 of the worst odors we could think of and randomly assigned each odor a competitor:

• Smoke Odor vs Fish Odor
• Diaper Pail Odor vs. Mold Odor
• Basement Odor vs Garage Odor
• Wet Dog Odor vs. Litter box Odor
• Bathroom Odor vs. Motel Odor
• Nursing Home Odor vs. Dead Animal Odor
• Sewer Odor vs. Portable Toilet Odor
• Locker Room Odor vs Daycare Odor

Round 1

Smoke Odor vs Fish Odor

Smoke: Smoke Odor will permeate every porous object in a room. Curtains, carpet and furniture absorb smoke odor like a sponge. Whether the smell comes from cigarettes, cigars, or a pipe, the smell of smoke is not only offensive, but very difficult to remove.

Fish: Fish odor can be stomach turning. You know if someone cooked fish because the smell lasts for days. While fish can be tasty, it can be quite pungent. The odor is one of the most offensive, but is actually a bit easier to remove than smoke.

We surveyed 100 people and asked which odor was worse:

Smoke Odor 72% | Fish Odor 28%

SMOKE ODOR ADVANCES TO ROUND 2

Diaper Pail Odor vs. Mold Odor

Diaper Pail: Baby’s are cute. But they are stinky. And they produce more and more stinky as the day goes on. They are like a machine. The stink just keeps coming. Most of the stink ends up in a diaper, and most of the diapers end up in a diaper pail. Hence, diaper pail odor. Some say the most offensive odor of all.

Mold: Mold is hazardous to your health, your home, and your nose. It’s tough to get rid of, it’s stubborn, and it smells pretty rank. Mold can be found anywhere throughout the house. And when you find it, it is not a good thing.

We surveyed 100 people and asked which odor was worse:

Diaper Pail Odor 63% | Mold Odor 37%

DIAPER PAIL ODOR ADVANCES TO ROUND 2

Basement Odor vs Garage Odor

Basement: Basement odor is tricky. Not every basement smells bad, but for those that do, they stink. Basements are the perfect breeding ground for mold and mildew, which causes a musty smell. Basements are usually located underground and as a result builds up moisture. That coupled with a lack of circulations creates a smell that could be categorized as the worst smell in the house.

Garage: The garage. Is it a room in your house? Or is it a room outside of your house? The garage was originally designed as a room to house your cars but has become one that houses so much more; tools, refrigerators, paint, gasoline, grills and garbage cans. This is also a room without proper ventilation, so the smells can add up.

We surveyed 100 people and asked which odor was worse:

Garage Odor 54% | Basement Odor 46%

BASEMENT ODOR ADVANCES TO ROUND 2

Wet Dog Odor vs. Litter box Odor

Wet Dog: A dog is man’s best friend. Almost any activity can be made better if you get to spend the time with your four-legged companion. One of the more fun things to do is to go swimming with your dog. Until it’s over. Then the odor begins. Wet dog smell is one of the harshest aromas you will ever smell.

Litter Box: While cats are more independent, they need as much if not more care in trying to maintain an odor free environment. Indoor cats need a litter box, and no matter how hard you try, a litter box is going to smell. And it’s going to smell bad. You can scoop the litter, change the litter, but inevitably, it’s going to need scooping and changing again. Hence, the litter box smell.

We surveyed 100 people and asked which odor was worse:

Litter Box Odor 60% | Wet Dog Odor 40%

LITTER BOX ODOR ADVANCES TO ROUND 2

Bathroom Odor vs. Motel Odor

Bathroom: Do not go in there! Bathroom odor is a plague that every household, office and rest stop is plagued with. Poop and farts are never a pleasant smell and the bathroom is the place where this happens. With small contained spaces and moisture from the tub and shower, the bathroom is usually the smelliest room in the house.

Motel: Staying in a Motel is never usually a pleasant experience. Who stayed there before you? Who cleaned the place? What went on in this room over the past couple of months. We’ve all seen the black light test in a No Tell Motel. The place is chock full of germs. And with these germs come odors. Motel Odors.

We surveyed 100 people and asked which odor was worse:

Bathroom Odor 71% | Motel Odor 29%

BATHROOM ODOR ADVANCES TO ROUND 2

Nursing Home Odor vs. Dead Animal Odor

Nursing Home: My oh my. Getting old is never fun. Nursing homes, with the sick, the elderly, urine, feces vomit, cleaning solutions, mold, mildew, food, and fungus produces some pretty nasty odors. This makes visiting the nursing home challenging. It makes working there even more challenging

Dead Animals: Dead Animals aren’t much fun. And they smell bad. Fortunately, this isn’t an everyday occurrence that one has to smell often. While several studies have ranked this odor as the worst there is, many are unfamiliar with it’s pungency.

We surveyed 100 people and asked which odor was worse:

Nursing Home Odor 83% | Dead Animal Odor 17%

NURSING HOME ODOR ADVANCES TO ROUND 2

Sewer Odor vs. Portable Toilet Odor

Sewer: Sewer odors are not only foul smelling, they can also be hazardous to your health. When the waste in your pipes begins to decay, the results are not good. Sewer odor ensues and there can be gases that follow. Ammonia, methane gas and sulfate not only lead to unbearable smells, it can also lead to headaches, memory loss and even death.

Portable Toilet: Speaking of death. Most people would rather die than use a portable toilet. The smell inside these units is the absolute worst. With heavy usage, lack of circulation, and disregard to next the user, the odor of a portable toilet can be traumatic

We surveyed 100 people and asked which odor was worse:

Portable Toilet Odor 51% | Sewer Odor 49%

PORTABLE TOILET ODOR ADVANCES TO ROUND 2

Locker Room Odor vs Daycare Odor

Locker Room: Physical fitness and exercise are essential to the well being of every man women and child. The harder you work, the better the results. The better the results, the sweatier and smellier you become. Get a bunch of these smelly folks into a locker room, and locker room odor ensues. The smell is enough to but you back on the couch, watching TV.

Daycare: Babies are cute. Babies are smelly. Get enough of them in a room at the same time and they become super smelly. Therefore, a daycare is a tough place to be for those of us who have a sensitivity to smell. Germs, accidents, diapers and snacks and lunch result in one crazy smell.

We surveyed 100 people and asked which odor was worse:

Locker Room Odor 74% | Daycare Odor 26%

LOCKER ROOM ODOR ADVANCES TO ROUND 2

Round 2

Smoke Odor vs Diaper Pail Odor

Smoke: After destroying fish odor in our survey, smoke odor is onto Round 2. Smoke odor is so offensive is banned in most public places. Smoke sticks to everything, including to you. Your hair, skin and breath are often victims of this stubborn odor.

Diaper Pail: Diaper pail odor had no problem knocking out mold odor in the first round and hopes to make a stink in round 2. Diapers are smelly. And when you throw a bunch into one container look out. The stink of one diaper is bad enough. But leave it in a pail for several hours and stack up several new dirty diapers on top and it’s one smell place to be.

We surveyed 100 people and asked which odor was worse:

Smoke Odor 55% | Diaper Pail Odor 45%

SMOKE ODOR ADVANCES TO ROUND 3

Litter Box Odor vs. Basement Odor

Litter Box: It looks like our 100-person group we survey are more dog people than cat people as litter box odor upset wet dog smell in round 1. While that may be true, you cannot deny how badly the aroma of cat waste is. No matter how fast acting and odor controlling a litter can be, a litter box will always stink.

Basement: After beating garage odor in the first round, basement odor is getting pretty confident. And why shouldn’t it be? Most basements stink. Most people avoid going underground with the dampness, mildew and generally mustiness. Nobody wants to smell a basement.

We surveyed 100 people and asked which odor was worse:

Litter Box Odor 74% | Basement Odor 26%

LITTER BOX ODOR ADVANCES TO ROUND 3

Bathroom Odor vs. Nursing Home Odor

Bathroom: After cruising by Motel Odor, Bathroom Odor finds itself in round 2 vs a very worthy opponent. With input from sinks, showers, drains, sewer, toilet, and sometimes hampers or litter boxes bathroom odor is very tough to beat.

Nursing Home: Nursing Home Odor can be different each and every day, but it is consistently a very bad odor. I mean you have to be pretty bad to be able to destroy dead animal odor in round one. But in fairness, not many people in our survey probably knew what a dead animal smelled like.

We surveyed 100 people and asked which odor was worse:

Nursing Home Odor 81% | Bathroom Odor 19%

NURSING HOME ODOR ADVANCES TO ROUND 3

Portable Toilet Odor vs. Locker Room Odor

Portable Toilet: Portable Toilet Odor barely squeaked by Sewer Odor in the first round. Most surveyed struggled with an answer as to which was worse. Portable Toilet Odor is bad for obvious reasons, but one factor that often overlooked, is the mysterious blue gel like liquid that seems to be everywhere. It’s actually used to control odor, but it isn’t very successful.

Locker Room: Locker Room Odor. Sweaty bodies, sweaty clothes, showers, toilets, cologne; mix these together and you have a smell that sticks in the brain. Locker room odor has already defeated daycare odor in round one. Many in that survey winced when thinking of the smell of the locker room

We surveyed 100 people and asked which odor was worse:

Portable Toilet Odor 84% | Locker Room Odor 16%

PORTABLE TOILET ODOR ADVANCES TO ROUND 3

Round 3 – The Final Four

Smoke Odor vs Litter Box Odor

Litter Box: This is going to be a tough call. Litter Box Odor has peaks and valleys. It can smell very bad after the cat has just used the box or right when the litter needs changing. After scooping, changing and dissipating the pungent odor can subside a bit.

Smoke: Smoke Odor is consistent. Smoke sticks to the room, so no matter how much you clean, spray or “air out” the area, the smell is still there. And, with smokers dwindling in numbers, less and less of us have built up a tolerance to the odor.

We surveyed 100 people and asked which odor was worse:

Smoke Odor 54% | Litter Box Odor 46%

SMOKE ODOR ADVANCES TO THE FINALS

Portable Toilet Odor vs. Nursing Home Odor

Nursing Home: The common ground between these two odors is volume. Both the nursing home odor and the portable toilet odor is magnified by the sheer amount of traffic. On a typical nursing home wing, there can be as many as 200 patients. This amount of people who experience a variety of smells all mixed together can be overwhelming.

Portable Toilet: A portable toilet is often used for high traffic events. When you are at a concert or festival and see the sheer amount of people waiting to use the facility, the potential odor can be staggering.

We surveyed 100 people and asked which odor was worse:

Nursing Home Odor 55% | Portable Toilet Odor 45%

NURSING HOME ODOR ADVANCES TO THE FINALS

Round 4 – The Finals

Smoke Odor vs. Nursing Home Odor

It comes down to this. Only two odors are still standing. Stubborn, long lasting Smoke Odor vs. the mystery of what odor you will get visiting a nursing home. Most of those in our 100-person survey, were not smokers, and most have visited a nursing home on occasion.

While both of these odors a very different, both in aroma and in potency, neither can be fixed with strong perfumed type of air fresheners. In fact, ere in each case the odor is made exponentially worse.

We surveyed 100 people and asked which odor was worse:

Nursing Home Odor 58% | Smoke Odor 42%

NURSING HOME ODOR IS THE CHAMPION