Tips for using N-O-DOR II

N-O-DOR II Insert

Carbon does not destroy odors, it holds them. Carbon has a big but limited capacity and when filled it can adsorb no more. It reaches an equilibrium where it is releasing odor as fast as it is adsorbing. When it has reached this point of fullness it will release odor if warmed or moistened because some odors will be replaced by water and the total capacity actually decreases as heat increases. Think of an odor-laden suit as a heaping full bucket of Ping-Pong balls. More balls will just fall off, adding water will float more out and boiling the water, shaking it violently, or blasting it with air will blow out more balls. If you want to adsorb more odors you must be sure you have lots of extra room in the carbon.

To maximize the capacity of the carbon suit you must keep it clean and sealed up where odors can not reach it until you are ready to wear it. Going back to the bucket and Ping-Pong ball analogy, you want to empty the bucket and put it into a box so that no more balls can fall into it. To clean and empty your carbon suit, wash it in Sport-Wash®, dry it, and heat it. Sport-Wash® is superior because it functions by surfactency, it attaches to organic molecules on one end while attached to water on the other. This allows it to grab the odor molecule on one end and pull it from the carbon as the water carries it away. More importantly, it leaves no trace of its own organic compounds behind. Instead it rinses completely leaving nothing to occupy odor-holding sites in the carbon. To keep it empty, store your carbon suite in an odorless barrier bag with N-O-DOR II® powder, a more powerful adsorber which scavenges odor from the bag and even draws down the odors remaining in the carbon suit until it is ready to use. Reseal it into the bag after each use until you have reached 8-24 hours of use before washing it again.

Heating is an important step in the process and can be done several ways.
The odor molecules are adsorbed by becoming caught in the crevices and fissures of the carbon . Heat adds energy (velocity) to the odor molecules so that they are harder to capture and more likely to jiggle free and escape. This is why the capacity to hold them decreases as the temperature increases.

A very high heat (400°– 700° F) will rapidly dislodge and vaporize molecules whose boiling point is below the purging temperature. Unfortunately the high temperature will rapidly destroy the whole garment so this is out of the question.

Home clothes dryers reach 160° – 200° F. Most fabrics can handle this heat and will sustain only slight damage in two hours of tumbling. If your hunting schedule allows it, a low heat will restore capacity in a few days with absolutely no damage.

The capacity of an absorber like carbon to hold organic odors is affected by several factors that determine the equilibrium point where the rate at which molecules are captured equals the rate at which molecules are being released.

The capacity of carbon to hold odor decreases as temperature rises. The capacity to hold odor increases as the concentration of odor increases but falls off badly at low concentrations and also falls off as humidity increases. If you have a purged suit, low temperature, low humidity, and lots of odor (you didn’t shower with Sport-Wash Hair & Body Soap® or wash your clothes in Sport-Wash® residue-free detergent) the carbon suit will do a remarkable job absorbing an unbelievable amount of odor.

Unfortunately, as conditions change, the carbon suit can become very ineffective. These shortcomings can be overcome by supplementing the carbon suit with N-O-DOR II® powder, which contains Abscents®.

In all cases Abscents® excels carbon as conditions change from ideal towards real world hunting conditions.

Abscents® has a positive affinity for organic odors. It takes more energy and therefore more heat to free the odor molecules from the Abscents® crystals. When carbon reaches its equilibrium capacity for a given temperature and cannot hold any more odors, Absents® will continue to work.

Abscents® remains effective at much lower concentrations. Because carbon has only a passive hold on odor, the molecules simply drift in and back out when the external concentration is very low. This is not much of an issue if you smell really bad, but if you’re doing everything right and have very little odor, the carbon won’t help much at all. Abscents®, however, will not release odors just because their concentration is low. It can scavenge odors out of a purged suit in a sealed bag, actually increasing the available capacity. This is an excellent way to maintain the suit between washings or heating.

Increasing humidity (perspiration) reduces the capacity of carbon because it can adsorb water, which uses up capacity. Abscents® suffers far less reduction of capacity by humidity because it is more hydrophobic and therefore does not waste as much capacity absorbing water vapor.

N-O-DOR II® with Abscents® has proven itself in hunter’s boots for several years and is the perfect product for maximizing the effectiveness of carbon suits. N-O-DOR II® powder does not have to be purged because it easily washes out of the suit with Sport-Wash®. It’s best to apply N-O-DOR II® powder right after heating, either as you put the suit on, or as you put it into a sealed bag.

It’s little wonder that carbon suites have become so popular, they work! Using, washing (in Sport-Wash®), heating, and storing them correctly is a solid start on total odor control. The next step is to add N-O-DOR II® powder in your boots, storage bag, and underclothes. Use N-O-DOR Odor Oxidizer on soles and exterior of boots, camo and every thing you handle.

 You will see more animals when you eliminate the odor and vision clues they use to detect us.