I can try to escape New York’s enticing wafts of urine and garbage by hiding out in my apartment. Alas, unwelcome aromas from neighbors, vents, and the like still infiltrate my space. Plus, I, like any human, am responsible for the majority of my apartment’s bad smells — whether it’s dirty dishes, sweaty gym clothes, or the charred ramen that I forgot about on the stove once and nearly burnt my belongings to a crisp with. Thankfully for me and my potent lucky girl syndrome, a little $12 olfactory system-saver called the Bad Air Sponge exists.

Now, this mysterious tub of sponge won’t remind you that boiling water evaporates quite quickly, but it will help soak up unwanted smells in the home. I received a 2-pound container of my own a few weeks ago, and you’d think I lived in an isolated room in the mountains ever since I popped it open. My nostrils have been sipping on consistently clean, odor-free air despite daily egg scrambling, my neighbor’s weekly fish fries, and the most impressive of all: a few puffs of a pre-roll here and there. I detail it all, below in my Bad Air Sponge review.

The Bad Air Sponge, $11.90

How does the Bad Air Sponge work?

This tub of, per the creator Mateson Chemical’s site, “semi-solid gel containing activated charcoal, humectants and reagents,” usurps stench and leaves pleasant fresh laundry-like scents lingering about. For mild to moderate odors simply open the container like I did. However, the directions mention that one should completely remove the slab of gel from the tub to fight more intense, pungent aromas.

It’s hard to eliminate cat smell even with diligent litter care and cleaning, but this thing seems to maybe be doing just that?

How long does the Bad Air Sponge last?

The container claims that the Bad Air Sponge should last for a “minimum of 75 days.” While Beyoncé, Future, and Jay-Z took the tops of their Maybachs, I took the top off my Bad Air Sponge exactly a month ago; it is (albeit a tad shriveled) still as fragrant as ever. And not only does it continue to douse my bathroom in its quaint aroma, but the product also eliminates a majority of any unwanted odor as promised — which is quite unlike the common candle.

There was a weird smell in our house closet for several years and I’ve tried EVERYTHING to get rid of it. This finally did the job!

The verdict

Ever since I unscrewed the lid on the Bad Air Sponge my bathroom has smelled so fresh and so clean no matter what happens in it (I will not go into detail). And its scented molecules even sneak into my living room when I leave the door open. Remember the aforementioned “occasional puffs from a pre-roll?” Well, when the time is right, I plop it on my coffee table in my living room and the smell is banished within a few hours. The aromatic candles, room sprays, and even odor-eliminating candles I own just don’t compare.

That being said, the biggest and possibly only con is…the appearance. The blue blob inside is, to be frank, unsightly and the tub is comical but overall unappealing. So, while I do suggest adding it to your Amazon cart, I also warn of this predicament for my interior design-obsessed folk. But, because of its wide 400-square-feet throw the solution is clear: Place it somewhere high, behind the toilet, or simply out of sight. Wherever you put it, you’re bound to experience its magic, deodorizing ways.

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