In the October 5, 2011 issue of the Rock Hill Herald there is an article by Don Worthington entitled "a smell that sells" which amounts to an interview with Stephen Cooley, a fairly famous (he has a TV show) area realtor. The premise is that Mr. Cooley has contracted with a custom candle manufacturer who has "created a candle that cleanses the air without leaving a tell-tale aroma."
Maybe.
No doubt, there are some homes that could stand some air cleansing. But as a PhD chemist, I can assure you that burning a candle may MASK odors, but it can't remove anything. You're setting something on fire in your house - that just doesn't REMOVE odor.
It may well be pleasant, and it may well help sell homes. No argument there. And there has always been a big fuzzy area where marketing-speak and science co-exist, albeit often somewhat uncomfortably. As a science guy, I have to say that the word "cleanses" implies the removal of something. Firing up a candle doesn't remove anything from a home. Let's give the process the benefit of the doubt and say it leaves the house more pleasant than it began, and not worry too much about the 'how' part.
I'm of the opinion that some really wonderful photography is more likely to help sell a home than custom candles. In tough times, let's use all the available arrows in our quivers - or, if you don't care for the Native American metaphor, IMHO u need both.
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