Other than weapons, alcohol, and illegal substances, there is one hazardous item that is prohibited from the residential halls at ISU — candles. Although many students may be tempted to use the forbidden room freshener, residential hall staff encourages students to use wickless methods to fight the stink.

Several students are so accustomed to living a particular way prior to college that they fail to realize cleanliness in the residence halls is not only beneficial to themselves but also to their roommates. According to Katie Pratt, south campus assistant residence hall coordinator, it is necessary for students to be aware that they are now sharing one room.

“Students should understand that they have to do their part in keeping the room fresh for both of [the roommates’] experiences. A lot of students have parents that do their laundry for them at home, so sometimes dirty laundry can pile up and then it smells. Also, a lot of people may go running so their running shoes may smell. Definitely, laundry and trash can be the top two reasons [behind room odor],” Pratt said.

In addition to good personal hygiene, there are many ways that students can eliminate odor in dorm rooms. Pratt added that perhaps residents should add Febreze to the move-in checklist.

“Students [should take] their trash to the trash chutes. Taking a shower daily can help out a little bit, but I think Febreze is a good investment for students. Obviously we don’t want candles in the residential halls because we don’t want fires. Febreze is a good medium of being able to keep it fresh and it’s also accessible because you just spray and put it back on your shelf,” Pratt explained.

If an odor issue occurs between roommates, it is important to inform a residential assistant (RA) or a residential hall staff member. Meagan Stokes, junior special education major, has served as an RA for three semesters and explained that students should consider discussing the conflict between each other before taking further action.

“I would definitely encourage the uncomfortable roommate to talk to their own roommate first before I intervene. I believe that roommate conflicts should initially be dealt with without any outside factors because they are the two that are dealing with the problem. If it doesn’t help, I would talk to both roommates so I don’t seem to have a bias on either side. Then I would find some solutions for them,” Stokes said.

Not surprisingly, the Colby Hall RA mentioned that the majority of odor complaints concern the bathrooms.  According to Stokes, not only do “ladies forget to be ladies,” but slightly intoxicated residents frequently leave behind sickening bodily fluids.

Whether it’s “Thirsty Thursday” or a typical school day, Stokes said that keeping the dorm rooms clean is essential as it creates a fresh, sanitary environment.

“I’m really a neat freak. I think that students should throw away any trash that they accumulate. I take mine out every week, and every day I spray Febreze so that my room can smell fresh at all times,” Stokes said.

“A lot of times when you eat in your room, it may start smelling like the dining center food. Also, many people don’t wash their clothes as frequently as they should so that odor can accumulate. There are a lot of little things that only takes a few seconds to do that you can do to keep your room smelling nice,” Stokes added.