this post was submitted on 28 May 2024
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Ant smell (mander.xyz)
submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] dejected_warp_core 46 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (6 children)

I'm one of these people. I can smell an apartment roach infestation from the front door, every time.

And yes, restaurants always get the "sniff check" before we sit down. No-go odors are:

  • bleach
  • pine-sol (amonia)
  • heavy perfume (think "Glade plugin-in")
  • insects (roaches, etc)
  • pet odor (wet dog, litterbox)
  • sewage (usually a dry floor drain but that's still not okay)
  • dingy carpet (think: "old movie theater")

The first two are obvious attempts at covering up something worse with "clean" smells, and/or the staff has no idea what "clean" actually means. And they obviously don't care what olfaction means to someone trying to enjoy a meal, which says heaps about what they think food service actually is. Everything else just speaks to the "I don't care what you smell" part, or there's something very wrong with how the kitchen is run. /rant

An example of a top-shelf dining odor experience? I once went to a Japanese restaurant at opening time. The only smell in the dining room was that of the specific kind of imported cedar in the cutting boards. This is traditionally cleaned with boiling hot water, and nothing else. This released a gentle woody and pine-y scent that just filled the space and invited the senses. I came hungry, but I sat down ravenous. The meal to follow was something I will never forget.

Edit: some clarification since this got some traction. I know that bleach and ammonia are s-tier disinfectants and absolutely necessary for food prep, health standards, and the rest. I use this stuff at home. My issue is with establishments that utterly fail at ventilating these odor and spoil the dining experience with strong chemical odors. Looking deeper I find very strong cleaning odors (long after opening hours) suspicious since it's very easy to splash stuff around, giving the impression of cleanliness, but not actually clean anything. Strong chemical smells also make it impossible to detect sewage, rot, mold, soil, and other things that would easily flag a restaurant. I'd rather not take the chance.

[–] John_McMurray 30 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

Yeah no dude, I keep a ten percent mixture of bleach n water around to sanitize surfaces I use for food prep. This is standard practice. The dishes get soaked in a weak bleach mixture after washing. 3 sinks, wash, bleach, rinse. And there's pinesol in the mop bucket.

[–] GroundedGator 10 points 5 months ago (4 children)

There is a difference between standard bleach and pinesol usage and using it as a way to conceal other smells or problems. Or even worse, not knowing how to use those chemicals to clean. You know how to use a weak bleach solution for cooking surfaces, does your bartender? I've seen front of house employees over use cleaning chemicals because isn't it better to use stronger chemicals to clean. My favorite was the hostess who didn't want to clean the bathroom so she would just fill the soap and and paper products and fill a spray bottle with Lysol that she would spray around to give the smell of a clean bathroom.

It's unlikely anyone will notice the smell of properly used cleaning products.

[–] AgentOrangesicle 3 points 5 months ago

Yeah, I can see a place smelling like a public swimming pool being off-putting. 10% bleach is really common across the food industry, though. Making bread, jerky, kombucha, and various grains, each facility had the same bleach concentration for cleaning (among other cleaning and sanitizing solutions).

[–] dejected_warp_core 3 points 5 months ago

My favorite was the hostess who didn’t want to clean the bathroom so she would just fill the soap and and paper products and fill a spray bottle with Lysol that she would spray around to give the smell of a clean bathroom.

This is exactly the kind of BS I'm talking about. I once knew some pool lifeguards that had to rotate through bathroom cleaning duty. I overheard that their MO was to just get everything wet with a hose, splash pinesol on the floor, and call it a day.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

and fill a spray bottle with Lysol that she would spray around to give the smell of a clean bathroom

Depending upon the formula of Lysol, that's actually worse than not doing anything.
We've got a brand called Lyzol and that seems to be the same formula as Lysol, before it got regulated in the US. If this were to be sprayed, I'd consider the area poisoned.

Lyzol

This contains some chemical that lingers even if you wash the floor with water afterwards and slowly produces volatile compounds, and stays for > a week. This gives me (and a few other people on quora) a headache. Again, from reports on quora, the smelly substance also tends to jump onto one's hand, on touching the surface, making it disastrous for cooking.
Nowadays, I use Dettol disinfectant liquid, which stops smelling after about 1/2 hour of wind.

[–] John_McMurray 0 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I am my bartender. Also the janitor and cook. Yes, a ten percent bleach mixture does give an odor, it fades within minutes. I was just chopping raw chicken, sure, boiling water is an option, but awkward. Quick wipe down, spritz solution everywhere, wipe again 5 minutes later, better for all involved.

[–] Pilferjinx 2 points 5 months ago

This is basically evey kitchen I've worked in. The pine sol can be substituted or more commonly mixed with other detergents.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 5 months ago

In some areas (depends on local health dept.) restaurant kitchens are required to have weak bleach solutions around for sanitizing food prep surfaces.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (2 children)

The first two are obvious attempts at covering up something worse with "clean" smells, and/or the staff has no idea what "clean" actually means.

Or they're the cleanest places you've never eaten in.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

Yeah this entire thread is filled with people who think they have superpowers but failing basic logic.

[–] dejected_warp_core 1 points 5 months ago

That's entirely possible. The problem is that with chlorine or ammonia vapors savaging your nasal cavity, you'll never really know.

I've tried to push through in these situations and it's never good.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Bro, bleach is literally how you are supposed to sanitize restaurant surfaces. This thread is wild.

[–] dejected_warp_core 1 points 5 months ago

Agreed! But "smells like cleanser" does not mean "is clean". It jams up my radar (sense of smell) so it's tough to figure out if anything else is up. I'd rather detect no off odors or cleansers at all to be sure.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

Well put.

Just wanted to point out when an odor is pleasant it’s an aroma.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

heavy perfume ...

“I don’t care what you smell”

This is one reason I stopped eating lunch with other people. Some people use so much of Deodorant (oh the irony in the name) that the volatile compounds get adsorbed onto the surface of fluids in the mouth and then get tasted and also go into the stomach. All I'd say is - They taste bad.

I don't think those chemicals are supposed to be edible.