Customer Reviews

TCP 00361 - 28923F2 - 23 Watt Fresh2Ti Compact Fluorescent Odor Elliminating Light Bulb

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These bulbs really do work. I first read of these bulbs a couple of years ago, and I was rather skeptical. I wondered if they worked at all, whether or not they'd last, and why they weren't being sold everywhere. Since then, I've found out answers to all three questions.

Yes they do work, and they work quite effectively. They need to be in an open fixture (nothing sealed by glass or plastic), and they absorb all odors (good and bad), so don't buy these if you're big into aroma therapy or fancy candles. They cover up cat box odor, guinea pig cages, and the worst bathroom smells, all in minutes. They only work while they're on, I suppose that's obvious, but just in case...

After well over a year they're still taking care of odors, and some of the bulbs have been on for over 12 hours a day, every day. I've had a couple cease to light, but no worse than the average life of compact florescent bulbs (I've found that one or two out of a dozen will die prematurely, while the rest tend to last 3 years or so, we're on track for that kind of performance). The manufacturer claims they'll take care of smells up to 3 years, and it seems to be true.

I've found out why they aren't sold everywhere--the folks who make these bulbs seem to have no business sense. I bought bulbs directly from them in the past, and it really seems from my interactions with them that they're not quite aware of how well these could sell if they were marketed better and sold more places (and at a better price owing to volume production). In short they seem to have a great product but God-awful marketing and sales people.


In short, I LOVE these bulbs, as they keep me and my nine pets from having a home that smells like I have nine pets. They save energy like all compact florescent bulbs, and they do a great job on odors as well. They do cost about twice as much as other compact florescent bulbs, but given the energy and replacement savings they all have over traditional incandescent bulbs, they're practically free in the long run (vs incandescent bulbs).

Yup, it works. I keep one in the closet with my cat's litter box. I gave another to a friend who has some "sugargliders" -- they produce a smell similar to ferrets; she just turns on the light in their cage room when they go out for their daily play.

I also had a problem with nightly, airbourne mold in my apartment, which cause my eyes to tear up and my throat to swell. This lightbulb made nights livable while I waited on the landlord to find the source of the problem.

When another company came out with titanium-coated CFL bulbs a few years ago, I got one for our small bathroom and found that it really did make a difference in air quality, especially in winter when our central air is not managing the humidity in our home. However the cost was far too high to justify replacing more bulbs in the house with this technology.

I was pleased to see that TCP had come out with an alternative in the Fresh2ti bulbs. Apparently they started out making a wider selection of wattages and color ranges, including a nice 42-watt circline bulb type, but currently only offer 14w (60w incandescent equivalent) and 23w bulbs (100w eq.) in the warm 27k range, which is meant to most closely resemble incandescent light. I understand this strategy as I imagine they lost money in offering the much wider selection, but hope they will once again expand the selection to at least include a full-spectrum bulb color (or a cooler daylight option) and a few more wattages. A three-way bulb would allow convenient replacement in more rooms of the house, and a 150-watt equivalent would have been a better choice for my basement, for two examples. Also, full-spectrum options would be better for kitchens as it is unbeatable for task lighting, in my opinion. I don't much care for the muddy fleshtones of the 27k bulbs but these have been good so far, and they have instant-on, which is a plus. The bulbs may get slightly brighter as they stay on, but they start off nice and bright.

I put two of the 23w in our large, musty basement and after leaving the lights on for a few hours could really tell the difference. Until a higher watt model comes out I will need to work in an extra bulb to cover the large area more effectively, but I am pleased. Also, compared to the other model of titanium bulb in our bathroom, the bases are smaller and less noticeable. This means the 14w model might fit under the shades of some ceiling fans, which is a good setup as air circulation over the bulb surface is what helps this concept work.

I also put a 14w in the bedroom and found that it noticeably boosted the effectiveness of the air cleaner in that room.

In order to get the best results with these bulbs, you need to leave them on for a while, though the more bulbs covering an area means less time to treat the area. This goes against the habit most of us have gotten into of conscientiously turning off lights when you leave the room, which brings us to the most obvious candidate for these bulbs: the bathroom. These bulbs are very effective at combating the horrid things that can go on in a bathroom when the door is closed (and they do work best with a closed door. Besides, what are you, an animal?). But sometimes it is necessary to leave the light on for at least a few minutes after the bathroom visit, and that means either staying in the bathroom longer than needed or leaving the room with the light still on. So, it's necessary to rearrange one's thinking a little. First, like all CFLs, the bulbs require a fraction of the energy of incandescent bulbs, making them much less wasteful generally. Second, it is a waste to leave most bulbs on when you leave the room because they have one purpose, to provide light for people in the room, and that does not apply to these bulbs, which continue to perform a hidden function even when nobody is there to use their light.

Have been considering setting up these bulbs with a motion-sensing socket for bathrooms and litterbox areas, to reduce "training and compliance" concerns.

The promise of titanuim dioxide in lighting and building products has been a long time coming, and I am still trying to find TIO2-coated paints and tiles to use in my home. But now TCP has brought the lighting possibilities into an affordable product, and these are truly worthwhile if they stand up as long as most CFLs do. Broadening the selection and perhaps reducing the mercury content will make them a highly desirable product, and I hope they continue to be available for a long time.

After reading about this product (somewhere in a news paper) I ordered it via Amazon and I am very satisfied with it. It does eliminate odours - in my case the somewhat musty/damp smell in the basement/crawlspace (where it is wet); and it provides very good lighting too, I had a regular light bulb (40 W) before and this fluorescent bulb is much brighter (I keep the light on all the time since it seems to attract the spiders around the light, making it easier to vacuum them up !).
I have bought four bulbs and intalled a second one in another area but there it gets only used (turned on) occasionally.
(the main reason for ordering 4 bulbs was simply because the shipping - into Canada - costs more than the product ...)

I have two in a seldom used musky bedroom.
They are very good as lights ( I got the 100W version ) but I am disappointed in their ability to clean the air.
It took the two lights about 1 day and 1 night to clean the air in the room but they did in fact clean the air.
If you need to light a room all the time and keep it free of odors a couple of these lights may do the job, but if you are looking for something to clean up odors fairly quickly or remove strong odors such as cooking ( I tried them in a kitchen also) they will not do that in my experience.
I expected them to make the room smell like sunshine in a few hours so maybe I expected too much.
I don't think I will buy more of this bulb ($ costly!) but I will buy more of the manufacturer's regular spiral bulbs.