time, restaurants operate continuously throughout the day, while spas, gyms and leisure facilities contend with constant moisture and high levels of organic contamination. Housekeeping teams are often expected to deliver exceptional standards in as little as 20-30 minutes per room, leaving little opportunity to tackle contamination that exists beyond the visible surface.


The result is a familiar cycle: clean, disinfect, fragrance... only for the odour to gradually return before the next cleaning schedule begins. Rather than addressing the source, many businesses find themselves repeatedly treating the symptom.


Yet guests don’t separate fragrance from cleanliness. A space either feels clean, or it doesn’t. That’s reflected in online reviews, too. Guests rarely leave five-star reviews because a room smelled pleasantly of citrus or fresh linen, but they’ll quickly mention a musty bedroom, lingering bathroom odours or stale corridors if something doesn’t feel right. In hospitality, first impressions quickly become online reviews, repeat bookings and ultimately, brand reputation.


You wouldn’t sweep dirt under the rug


Guest expectations have evolved. Increasingly, people are looking for spaces which feel naturally fresh rather than heavily fragranced. This reflects a wider shift across hospitality and leisure, where wellness, indoor air quality (IAQ) and healthier indoor environments are becoming just as important as design, comfort and service.


For some guests, particularly those with asthma, allergies or fragrance sensitivities, heavily scented environments can be uncomfortable or even trigger adverse reactions. For others, an intensely fragranced room prompts a different question altogether: “What’s the fragrance trying to hide?”


Housekeeping teams wouldn’t sweep visible dirt under a rug and describe the room as clean. The dirt may be out of sight, but hasn’t disappeared. Yet when it comes to odours, the industry often accepts a similar principle, masking symptoms rather than addressing the source. The fragrance may temporarily dominate the space, but if the odour’s cause remains, it will inevitably return.


For hospitality and leisure businesses, genuine freshness doesn’t come from stronger fragrances. It comes from creating environments which are genuinely clean, support healthier IAQ and allow any signature scent to complement the guest experience, rather than compensate for it.


The science behind persistent odours


The challenge isn’t that traditional cleaning products don’t work. They do exactly what they’re designed to do: remove visible soiling, disinfect surfaces and leave areas looking clean.


The difficulty is many odour-causing contaminants don’t remain on the surface. Organic residues become embedded within grout, carpets, upholstery, drains and other porous materials, where routine cleaning can struggle to reach them. As these deposits break down, they release the compounds responsible for the odours.


Not all odours originate in the same way. Washrooms are dominated by proteins and uric acid, commercial kitchens


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by fats, oils and food residues, while guest rooms, carpets and upholstery accumulate body oils, skin cells and moisture over time. Warm, damp environments like spas, changing rooms and showers encourage microbial growth, while drains and waste areas generate sulphur compounds responsible for the familiar ‘drain’ smell.


Understanding where an odour originates is the first step towards eliminating it, because different contaminants require different biological approaches. If the source isn’t identified, the solution is often limited to masking the smell rather than removing the cause.


Working with biology, not against it


Biotechnology is the use of naturally occurring biological processes to solve practical problems. In professional cleaning, this means harnessing carefully selected beneficial microorganisms and the enzymes they produce to remove the organic contamination responsible for persistent odours.


While the idea of using bacteria in cleaning may initially seem surprising, biotechnology doesn’t rely on any bacteria. It uses carefully selected, non-pathogenic bacterial strains which have been extensively researched for their ability to produce specific enzymes. Different strains produce different enzymes, and these break down different types of organic matter. Some target fats and oils found in commercial kitchens, while others are better suited to proteins, uric acid or starches commonly found in washrooms, guest rooms and leisure facilities.


That research is critical because persistent odours aren’t all created in the same way. Matching the right biological strains to the right contamination allows the odour’s source to be broken down rather than covered up.


Unlike traditional cleaning, which removes contamination from the surface during the cleaning process, biological cleaning continues working after the cleaner’s moved on. Carefully selected microorganisms work deep within microscopic pores, fibres, grout lines and drains where organic contamination can remain after routine cleaning. By producing enzymes which break these deposits down into smaller molecules before consuming them as a food source, biotechnology removes odours at their source before they have the opportunity to return.


The result isn’t simply a room that smells fresher immediately after cleaning. By continuing to break down organic deposits between cleaning cycles, biological cleaning can provide ongoing cleaning and odour control for up to 72 hours, reducing reliance on repeated fragrance application while supporting healthier IAQ through lower VOCs.


Hospitality has spent years perfecting the science of fragrance. Perhaps the next evolution is understanding the science of odour. The most memorable guest experiences aren’t created by masking what’s beneath the surface: they’re created by ensuring there’s nothing unpleasant there when the fragrance fades.


www.biologicalpreparations.com/biohygiene TOMORROW'S CLEANING | 45


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