A stronger odor than old dehydrated fish. Also more pleasant.

Nathan Peterson recently gifted me a bottle of tea-tree oil, a potent anti-fungal. I opened the bottle and was confronted with a strong odor not unlike furniture polish. I immediately closed the bottle, then prepared for bed.

The next morning my room still smelled like tea-tree oil. I hadn’t even removed anything from the bottle. How can the molecules of the oil be volatile enough to smell so strongly and yet inert enough to remain potent in the air for eight hours after a single exposure?

I hope the oil proves effective in combating fungus, but even if it does not I’m still indebted to Nathan for giving me the food for thought that the lingering of this odor has provided.