The Effectiveness of Bergamot Deodorizing Spray in Male’s Public Toilets at Petrol Stations

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study with one-group pretest-posttest design aimed to 1) compare the level of odor before and after using the product of bergamot deodorizing spray 2) study the persistence of bergamot odor after spraying for 20, 40 and 60 minutes and 3) evaluate the satisfaction of volunteers on the bergamot deodorizing spray. Ninety subjects in this study were selected by simple random sampling from workers who worked at petrol stations and people who used male’s public toilets. The research instruments consisted of 1) general information questionnaire 2) field survey data record form 3) smell persistence questionnaire and 4) satisfaction assessment form. The instruments had index of item-objective congruence (IOC) between 0.67 to 1.00 and the Cronbach alpha coefficient reliability of 0.884. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics in terms of frequency distribution, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Friedman's ANOVA Test and Wilcoxon signed rank test.

          The results revealed that the undesirable odor before and after spraying the product was not statistically significant (p-value > 0.05). Moreover, the persistence of bergamot after 20, 40 and 60 minutes presented statistically significant difference (p-value < 0.001). Lastly, the overall satisfaction on bergamot spray was at the highest level (M= 4.80, SD = 0.54).

          This suggested that the bergamot deodorizing spray was pleasant but not sufficient to get rid of on undesirable odor in public toilets. Therefore, the bergamot deodorizing spray should be developed with more concentrated volatile oil.