Foul Odors Negatively Impact Schools and Colleges According to New Poll

Schools can easily become a stinky place if the source of bad odors aren’t properly addressed. A new poll from Oxy-Gen Powered, an odor eliminating solutions company, shows those foul odors can negatively impact educational environments.

According to the survey, conducted online by The Harris Poll, a majority of survey-takers (93%) say a foul odor would negatively impact their perception of an organization. When it comes to schools and colleges in particular, 55% of the survey-takers say a foul odor would negatively impact their perception of the educational institution.

“No building occupant or visitor wants to be greeted with an unpleasant smell in a lobby, restroom or anywhere else in a facility,” Andy Piucci, Vice President of Sales – North America at Oxy-Gen Powered, said in a statement. “This research highlights the risk organizations take when they fail to properly eliminate indoor odors caused by urine, feces, kitchens, mold, mildew, pets and more.”

The survey also polled how foul odors impact people’s perception of hotels, retail stores, entertainment venues, office buildings, and gym/fitness centers.

Once people encounter bad odors, many change their mind about the facility and take steps to avoid it in the future. More than half of those polled (56%) say after experiencing a foul odor in a facility they would assume the facility is not clean. More than half would look for an alternative facility. Half would spend less time in the facility, 46% would tell friends, family or colleagues about it and about 34% said they would never return to the facility again.

The survey was conducted from January 9-13, 2020 and polled 2,013 U.S. adults ages 18 and older.

You can find more information about Oxy-Gen Powered and their line of odor eliminating solutions at www.oxygenpowered.com.

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Preparing for the Next Era of Healthcare Education, Innovation

    Across the country, public universities and community colleges are accelerating investments in healthcare education facilities as part of a broader strategy to address workforce shortages, modernize outdated infrastructure, and expand clinical training capacity. These projects, which are often located at the center of campus health and science districts, are no longer limited to traditional classrooms.

  • Spaces4Learning Trends & Predictions for Educational Facilities in 2026: Part I

    We asked, you answered, and the results are in! Last year, we put out a call for submissions to collect our readership’s opinion on trends and predictions for K–12 and higher education facilities in 2026.

  • Houston-Area High School Breaks Ground on 117,000SF Multi-Use Facility

    North Shore Senior High School, part of Galena Park ISD in Houston, Texas, recently broke ground on a new multi-use facility for student extracurriculars, according to a news release. The North Shore Multi-Use Facility will include dedicated practice and training space for the school’s athletics and fine arts programs.

  • Photo credit: Elkus Manfredi Architects

    University of Virginia Selects Design-Build Team for New Residential Complex

    The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., recently announced that it has selected a design-build team for a new upper-class residential development on campus, according to a news release. Capstone Development Partners—in partnership with Elkus Manfredi Architects and the Hoar Construction/Hourigan construction team—will move forward with the three-building, 310,000-square-foot housing facility.