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Fresheners …are they helping indoor air quality
or polluting it?
Why do you care?
- There are four ways in which chemical or natural air fresheners
work: 1
- Using a nerve-deadening chemical that interferes with
our sense of smell.
- Coating nasal passage with an oily film.
- Masking an offensive odor by overlaying another scent.
- Deactivating the odor.
- Air fresheners are made up of a number of chemicals (some
have hundreds). Of particular concern are phthalates (hormone
disrupters), butane gas (neurotoxin) and formaldehyde (carcinogen
and sensitizer). For more information see Household
Chemicals to Avoid.
- Most air freshening products contain fragrances - see the
negative
effects on our bodies and the environment.
- Air fresheners are volatile organic compounds (VOCs), chemicals
that contain carbon and hydrogen.2 When
combined, the toxicity of hundreds of VOCs may "add up"
to create health hazards.
- Minimal government regulations do not require all ingredients
to be listed on the label.
The Know How
- To truly freshen your home, look at some common sense solutions
like opening a window or using a natural sachets. Here are
a few more solutions.
- Look for alternative products - The
Less Toxic Guide lists several less-toxic alternatives.
- Avoid aerosol air fresheners. The spray releases tiny particles
in the air when inhaled irritating lung tissue.3
Know and Tell
- Tamey is not a huge air fresheners user, she had tried the
plug-in type several years ago and found the scent too strong.
She prefers to open windows (yes even in our northern climate)
and uses baking soda in the fridge. She did stumble across
a linen/room spray that she does like for a very unexpected
reason. See her product
review.
- Patti enjoys pleasant scents, like natural vanilla and June
lilacs, is repelled from stinky ones, like wet dogs and hockey
bags and is quite astute at smelling “trouble”.
Synthetic fragrances just don’t sit well with her nose
or her body – headaches and fogginess are a common reaction
for her. Most of her coping strategies for the stinky smells
are common sense – fresh air, cleaning up (sorta) and
using candles and natural sachets to freshen things up.
- Visit our Blog
to read about how U.S. Environmental Groups have launched
a petition to Better Regulate Air Fresheners.
1 Environmental Health Association
of Nova Scotis, Guide ro Less Toxic Products
2 Health Canada, Volatile Organic Compounds, July 17, 2007
3 David Steinman & Samuel S. Epstein, M.D. The
Safe Shoppers Bible
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