You shouldn’t always follow your nose

This advertising content was produced in collaboration between Vox Creative and our sponsor, without involvement from Vox Media editorial staff.

Billions of particles, including viruses, bacteria, and microorganisms, float through the air in your home. Adding a human to the mix can release up to 37 million bacteria into the air every hour. Your nose can detect some of these odors, like mold growing on food in trash, but it can’t smell most illness-causing bacteria and viruses. That includes norovirus, staphylococcus and the Covid-19 virus.

“Viruses lack significant metabolic activity, so they don’t actively produce chemicals that might trigger an odor,” explains immunologist and microbiologist Dr. Andrea Love. When our natural defenses fall short, tools like soap, sanitizers, and air filters can help protect us from potentially harmful pathogens in the air. Dr. Love says tools like air sanitizers can limit the spread of pathogens in your environment because “they reduce the chances of airborne viruses or bacteria interacting with you, reproducing, and potentially causing illness.”

Lysol Air Sanitizer is one product that’s been proven to do that. Its EPA-approved formula contains active molecules that, when sprayed, eliminate 99.9% of bacteria and viruses* in the air, including those that cause the flu, pneumonia, and the Covid-19 viruses**. Considering Americans spend the majority of their lives indoors, adopting proactive measures like using sanitizing spray can decrease the risk of exposure to potentially harmful microorganisms in the air.

Learn more about how your own scent detector protects you and ways to deal when it sniffs short in the video above.

*Use as directed

**Kills 99.9% of viruses (tested on MS2 surrogate for enveloped airborne viruses such as Influenza viruses, Coronaviruses, and Pneumoviruses) in the air, in 12 minutes.