Textile upholstery may emit more or less perceptible odor after a period of time. This is the odor of the upholstery material itself and disappears or at least significantly diminishes a few weeks after the new product is installed. Similarly, bearings, upholstery and large coated materials can be felt after a urea.

Odor tests carried out in authorized laboratories are performed as a complementary test for the analyzes carried out with the help of technological devices since the number of components that may cause odor is too high.

The odor tests are based on the SNV 195 651 standard developed by the Swiss Standardization Association (SNV). These tests are carried out to analyze odor development in a closed system, taking into account the temperature, humidity and time parameters, both at the time of delivery and after storage of the test samples.

Odor intensity is evaluated independently by at least six trained persons. The following scale is used for the assessment of density:

• 1 = Odorless
• 2 = Weak odor
• 3 = Average odor
• 4 = Strong odor
• 5 = Very strong odor

Intermediate grades in the form of 2-3 are also used for evaluation.

Odor tests may be performed on other products other than those listed above. These tests are carried out in a closed system as soon as the test sample is received or after storage, if necessary, before increasing the temperature of the tank.

No odor test is applied to the odor substances used to remove or smell oily, greasy or dyestuffs arising from the production processes of textile products.

Laboratories have to have an infrastructure suitable for the latest technology and a trained and experienced staff in order to obtain high quality, fast and reliable results.