SMELLBOOK REFERENCE · SB-0043
Rubber
Permanent ID: smellbook: · updated 2026-10-06, revision 3
Character EDITORIAL
Rubber smells dense, dark and warm, with a slightly sweet, industrial note and a heavy, clinging texture.
Words: rubbery, dark, warm, industrial. Families: Temperature and texture, Animal, material and lived-in.
Met in: Garage, Sports hall.
Evidence
Scientific evidence
- Odorants released during rubber processing (CLM-RUBBER-001). Nor H. Kamarulzaman, Nhat Le-Minh, Ruth M. Fisher & Richard M. Stuetz, Quantification of VOCs and the development of odour wheels for rubber processing, Science of The Total Environment, 2019.
Molecules named in these claims: acetic acid, butanoic acid, hexanoic acid, pentanoic acid, propanoic acid, indole, p-cresol, phenol, trimethylamine. A molecule listed here is named in a VERIFIED claim about this smell. It is not presented as the cause of the smell; each claim says what its source supports.
Cite
SmellBook. (2026). Rubber (revision 3, 2026-10-06). SmellBook Public Atlas. smellbook:smell:rubber. https://smellbook.com/smells/rubber
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