How "Smell" Influences Our Perception of Clean

If you ask five different people, "What does clean mean to you?" You will receive five very different answers. One thing that all five people will most likely agree to when asked - "Do you consider something clean if it looks clean but has an odor?" Most people would agree that having an odor will change their idea of something being clean even if it looks and feels spectacular. Why is that? - I have an answer, or a theory per say.

When we are sick,or have an injury - our body gives us the indication something is wrong by way of pain - the pain let's our brain know - something isn't right - even if we can't see it. Odors are commonly caused by several factors, but they all have only a couple things in common - bacteria or fungi. We can't see the growth and evolution of microscopic bacteria, fungi or viruses. Normally, our first indication that something is spoiled in our refrigerator is smell. The bi product of all the bacteria as it reproduces, and spreads causes odor that indicates "you may have a problem here." You may smell the odor before you even start to see the mold on the onion you found in the very back of the refrigerator. Bad Hygiene is associated with odor for the same reason - the bi product of your sweat coming in contact with bacteria on your skin. End result - musty body odor. What does body odor, moldy onion and pet odor have in common? The answer would be bacteria.

It is true, we do need a little bacterium. Good bacteria, especially in the gut, keeps us healthy and aids in good digestion. Also, even a little exposure to bad bacteria helps us keep our immune system strong by recognizing foreign invaders. Most of our adult life, especially with all the new viruses and bacteria roaming around, we have been taught, "use anti-bacterial soap", "anti-bacterial cleaners" "anti-biotics" - truth is - our body recognizes bad smells with a negative connotation naturally - as our minds' way of saying "we need to fix this or clean this. "

Sense of smell is also the most powerful sense when associating smell with nostalgia. Pleasant smells may trigger a memory from in the past quicker than sight or touch. Pleasant smells normally have one thing in common as well, no bacteria living and dying to create an odor.

In conclusion, my theory is that the sense of smell does play a big role in our perception of clean. Bad odors being associated with bacteria, fungi and viruses have our mind trained to believe we need to clean it - even if it appears clean - just because of the bad odor. Whereas clean is associated with the absence of bacteria, fungi or viral in our mind.