If unsavory smells are on your spring cleaning to-conquer list, here’s a unique Japanese odor eater you won’t find at your local drugstore: The Chikuno Cube.

 

Similar to the Hakutan products that I featured in December, the Chikuno Cube is a 2-inch box filled with super absorbent, ultra fine bamboo charcoal and clay minerals, that are, well, hungry for stink. Sure, cracking a window is the most earth-friendly, cost-efficient way to battle household odors, but as a chem-free air purifier, the tiny Chikuno Cube has got it going on.

 

The Chikuno Cube’s inoffensive, award-winning design features a micro honeycomb surface that’s equivalent in size to four football fields. The cube lasts about a year. It's been on my radar for a while (NOTCOT praised it last month) but it’s now available at the achingly au courant Charles & Marie for $28. And when C&M feature it, it’s gotta be good.

 

You can buy 24 16-ounce boxes of Arm & Hammer baking soda plus a Fabreeze candle and maybe a couple of indoor plants for $28. And the Chikuno Cube isn’t the best for sprawling spaces — stick one in the fridge, the loo, near the litter box, a closet, etc. But in terms of aesthetics and natural deodorizing power (it also absorbs household toxins like formaldehyde and toluene), the Chikuno Cube is most certainly splurge-worthy.