Do the Shake 'N' Vac and put the freshness back
Do the Shake 'N' Vac and put the freshness back
When your carpet smells fresh, your room does to-o-o
Every time you vacuum, remember what to do
Do the Shake 'N' Vac and put the freshness back!
TV Commercial Circa 1982, © Glade Ltd.
"Shake and Vac" is a household cleaning product marketed by Glade in the UK. It claims to "Put the Freshness Back"; this means odour reduction with a perfume.
It is a fragrant white powder sold in a 400g cylindrical tube with a cap that can be removed to reveal perforations. The powder can be shaken liberally all over the floor and then removed after a short wait with a vacuum cleaner. When used in sufficient quantity it can make a pungent carpet less smelly.
The powder is a polyborate substrate capable of absorbing many times it's own volume of water; combined with a non-water based fragrance which can overpower strong lingering smells. The cleaning effect comes from the substrate drying-out moist odorous particles, and therefore reducing their adhesion to the carpet, allowing them to be more easily removed by a vacuum cleaner.
Customers might be tricked into thinking the product is effective; Since Shake & Vac is highly visible when applied to the floor - a white powder usually stands out very well against an old carpet. The mere fact that a carpet has been covered all over with Shake & Vac means that it will have to be vacuumed more thoroughly than a regular cleaning in order to remove all of the powder, almost any absorbent white powder could achieve the same effect.