Do odors ever completely disappear or are we making the world slightly but permanently smellier each day?

Question

Do smells/odors ever truly disappear or do they just dissipate to the point that eventually we cannot smell the original odor and each one is permanently adding however miniscule an amount to an overall smell on the planet?

In: 5

Answer 1

* The molecules that create smells will break down over time, so eventually they won’t smell the same anymore. How long this takes varies from molecule to molecule.
* You don’t smell *things*, you smell *changes* in things. If you are constantly surrounded by a smell then you eventually stop smelling it (because nothing’s changing).