When visitors walk into a busy hotel, a bustling office building or even an action-packed casino, they shouldn’t be greeted by odors. The scent of smoke, food and mold can be off-putting and can immediately affect the visitor’s overall image of the facility.

Some deodorizing products can be pumped through commercial HVAC systems to help mask and absorb these. These products are operated by a hand-held fogger or an air-driven sprayer, and makes their way through the entire HVAC system.

According to Danny Barringer, CEO of Casino Air, which provides casinos with air filtration systems to eliminate smoking odors in casinos, using enzymes to eliminate the odors is more important than masking them.

“We eliminate the smoke and carcinogens on the casino floor, so there’s no need to segregate gamblers. In the process we get rid of all the tobacco odors and any residual odors that have saturated carpets, furniture, and finished surfaces,” he says. “The most important thing we do is to virtually eliminate employee exposure to the long term effects of breathing high levels of second hand tobacco products.”

An HVAC deodorizing system is designed to keep air fresh and smelling clean, by mixing in perfumes with the cleaning chemicals. While typical air duct cleaning services might focus on dirt, dust, pollen or pet dander, HVAC system sanitizing and deodorizing services target odors and may even limit risks to visitors’ health.

Keith Loria is a freelance writer based in Oakton, Va.