| Do you use air fresheners? Do you think it | | | | a vapor respirator "if the vapor concentration is |
| actually freshens your air? Well, from watching | | | | high due to heat." They readily admit that |
| television commercials, you would think that they | | | | "breathing high concentrations of vapor in excess |
| are made out of flowers and do freshen your air | | | | of the permitted exposure level may cause |
| -- as if you had placed fresh cut flowers all around | | | | headache, nervousness, dizziness, tremors, |
| your house. However, most air fresheners | | | | fatigue, and nausea." There is no suggestion of |
| actually have the opposite effect and make your | | | | the allowed exposure level, and no idea of how |
| home's indoor air more polluted! | | | | someone can avoid exceeding it. The conclusion |
| Our homes today already typically have very | | | | after reading this study is that "air fresheners", |
| poor air quality due to many chemicals that are | | | | including solid sticks, oil-based and other plug-ins |
| now found in our cleaning products, home building | | | | and sprays should NOT be used to cover up |
| materials like paints, carpets and cabinets, and | | | | smells in your home, your school or your office. |
| home furnishings like mattresses, couches and | | | | They are clearly just adding to the chemicals you |
| more. In fact, even if your air is typically polluted | | | | have to breathe in and are causing adverse health |
| outside where you live, it's a good bet that the air | | | | reactions in many people. |
| inside your home is more polluted than it is | | | | Even if you don't have chemical sensitivities or |
| outside. So do you really want to make your | | | | asthma, you will be doing yourself and your family |
| indoor air quality even worse with so-called air | | | | a favor to not use air fresheners. Many people |
| fresheners?? | | | | have remarked how when they stopped using air |
| Study Showed Mice Died From Exposure to Air | | | | fresheners and fragrances in their homes, perhaps |
| Fresheners | | | | for the sake of someone else, various health |
| Chemically sensitive people and people with | | | | problems got better, like headaches, fatigue, |
| asthma have long complained of bad health | | | | insomnia and more. |
| effects from breathing air fresheners. But now a | | | | NOTE: There is also some evidence that |
| study has actually looked at the health effects of | | | | fragrances, including those from air fresheners |
| air fresheners. Even with exposures of just one | | | | and laundry detergents, have an "addictive" quality. |
| hour, at levels to which many people are actually | | | | This may be why some people love the scents |
| exposed in their own homes, increased lung | | | | that are emitted from them. This does not |
| irritation as well as asthma-type symptoms and | | | | change the toxicity of the chemicals used to |
| behavioral changes were seen. Some of the mice | | | | make these scents, however, and it is really |
| even died when they had to breathe in the air | | | | advisable that you stop using all synthetic |
| freshener fumes. | | | | fragrances. |
| As another part of their study, the researchers | | | | Instead of using an air freshener, try just keeping |
| added an air freshener to a freshly painted room, | | | | your house clean and opening the windows often |
| to see if it would actually make the air quality | | | | to get in some fresh air. If you still want to add |
| better, as many people assume. Instead, | | | | some type of scent to your home, investigate |
| respiratory and behavioral symptoms increased, | | | | using natural pot-pourri with natural organic |
| which only makes sense when you realize that | | | | essential oils instead of the synthetic, |
| the air fresheners emit volatile organic compounds | | | | petro-chemical based fragrances. |
| (VOCs), like most paints do. | | | | Copyright 2008 Karen Pijuan. This article may be |
| Air Fresheners Do NOT Freshen Your Air and Can | | | | copied only in its entirety and only if all links, |
| Be Dangerous | | | | including those in the resource box or the |
| In the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), the | | | | about-the-author section, remain intact. |
| manufacturer actually recommends that you use | | | | |