Beware of Toxic Air Fresheners
Posted By Dr. Ben Kim on Oct 21, 2007
If you use synthetic air fresheners in your car and/or living space, you should know that you are increasing your risk of developing a variety of health problems. Headaches, earaches, depression, an irregular heart beat, and diarrhea in babies are just a few of many health challenges that have been linked with regular use of synthetic air fresheners.
A report that was released in September of 2007 by the Natural Resources Defense Council found that 12 of 14 brands of common household air fresheners contained phthalates. Phthalates are chemicals that are used to prolong the length of time that scented products maintain their fragrance. Regular exposure to phthalates can increase your risk of experiencing endocrine, reproductive, and developmental problems. Amazingly, some of the brands that tested positive for phthalates did not include phthalates on their lists of ingredients; some of these brands were even labeled as being "all-natural" and "unscented."
In response to this study, the National Resources Defense Council produced the following list that indicates the presence or absence of phthalates in common air fresheners:
Highest levels of phthalates:
- Walgreens Air Freshener Spray (removed from shelves)
- Walgreens Scented Bouquet Air Fresheners (removed from shelves)
- Walgreens Solid Air Fresheners (removed from shelves)
- Ozium Glycolized Air Sanitizer
Medium levels of phthalates:
- Air Wick Scented Oil
- Febreze NOTICEables Scented Oil
- Glade Air Infusions
- Glade PlugIn Scented Oil
- Oust Air Sanitizer Spray
Low levels or no phthalates detected:
- Citrus Magic
- Febreze Air Effects Air Refresher
- Lysol Brand II Disinfectant
- Oust Fan Liquid Refills
- Renuzit Subtle Effects
Please note that having no phthalates does not make synthetic air fresheners safe to use in your car or home. The vast majority of synthetic air fresheners emit significant amounts of terpene, a volatile organic compound that can react with naturally occurring ozone to create formaldehyde. Ozone, a form of oxygen, exists at some level both indoors and outdoors, so formaldehyde formation is practically inevitable wherever synthetic air fresheners are used. Indoor environments which may have elevated levels of ozone include those where photocopiers and ozone-generating air purifiers are used.
Why should you be concerned about being exposed to formaldehyde? Formaldehyde is classified as a human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
With strong links to phthalates and formaldehyde, it's not surprising that a study that was recently published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine indicates that regular use of sprays can increase your risk of developing asthma by 30 to 50 percent. This study was performed by the European Community Respiratory Health Survey, and collected data from 3,500 people in 10 European countries.
Clearly, your health is best served by saying no to synthetic air fresheners and any other synthetic products that are designed to emit a prolonged artificial scent.
Here are some simple and natural ways of keeping your car and living space smelling fresh without the use of chemical-laden air fresheners:
- Open your windows - even just a crack during cold weather - for at least 30 minutes a day. Weather permitting, it's best to keep your windows open all the time, assuming that you don't live in a heavily polluted area.
- Sprinkle baking soda on carpets before you vacuum.
- Keep a box of baking soda open in the room.
- Keep natural (preferably organic) potpourri in a bowl out in the open, or put into little sachets to keep around the house.
- Maintain a friendly gathering of indoor plants in your living and work spaces.
- Take the garbage and compost out every day.
Please share this article with friends and family members who use synthetic air fresheners in their cars, homes, and work places. And if you have any other ideas on how to keep these areas smelling fresh without using synthetic chemicals, please consider adding them to the comments section below. Thank you.
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Dr. Ben Kim Says:
fresh air
simmer clove and cinnamon in small pot on stove , for a healty natural scent in your home
freshen air..
An open bowl of vinegar will absorb odors.
Room Fresheners
How about putting a few drops of pure essential oil in a spritz bottle and using that to refresh a room?
Air freshners
Simmer dried citrus peel (orange, grapefruit, tangerine, lemon and or lime) or you can crush the fresh citrus peel in your insinkerator (food waste disposer).
air fresheners
Another idea is to use 100% pure essential oils, (not those with synthetic oils added). You can put a few drops in an atomizer with water, and mist it throughout your house. You can also add a drop or two to your potpourri.
air freshner
I take 1 part white vinegar and 4 parts water and put in a spray bottle (fine mist setting). It works great for me. You could always add a couple drops of essential oil in there too but I just use it as is.
try a couple of drops of
try a couple of drops of Lavender oil or Tea Tree oil on a light bulb, bulb must be on of course. It will smoke slightly as it burns away.
I Just Wanted To Tell You
I'm so glad you've written this. Marketing is so good at getting people to buy a product without giving the consumer the full story of how the product can affect their health. One of the things I do besides open a window is diffuse essential oils. Diffusing just a few minutes makes a big difference inside my home. Once you enjoy the aromas of essential oils, those aerosol cans and scented candles smell fake to me. I diffuse therapeutic grade essential oils, to be sure about what I'm inhaling- there are lesser quality essential oils out there, the bottle may have a few drops of quality oil, but adulterated with lesser and/or synthetic oil as well. Thanks for article. K
I found this webpage while
I found this webpage while searching for something else and wanted to tell you how much I appreciate the information being disseminated here. I
I would like to add the comment that while essential oils may be natural and/or organic, they can be problematic for people with environmental illness like Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS)or respiratory illnesses such as asthma or COPD. I personally suffer greatly with MCS and am very adversely affected by anything like this natural or otherwise. There is a person who works in my building that uses essential oils at times and they are very potent and strong and affect the whole building for quite a while and cause me great distress at times causing me to have to leave. A person can choose to use these things in their own home, but as a person who suffers greatly from this, I appeal to people to consider carefully what kinds of things they use like this if there is a possiblity that someone could be affected in a negative way by them. Thank You.
Barbara, I'm glad you brought
Barbara, I'm glad you brought this issue up.
I personally know a number of people who are allergic to lavender. It causes sinus inflammation and sneezing.
Just because a substance is "natural" does not mean it is hypoallergenic.
That said, there's some evidence that if you EAT something, you probably won't develop a contact or respiratory allergy to it. (On that note, let me mention that in France, lavender is used as a cooking spice.)
I have multiple respiratory allergies (and years of sinusitis have made me very sensitive), but I am looking into using citrus oils. I eat plenty of citrus fruit and have used orange oil and lemon juice as cleaner and the smell has never bothered me. (Certainly can't say that of chlorine bleach--or of the majority of "air fresheners" on the market.)
Btw, something to consider: most "air fresheners" are just powerful scents. This whole page has a lot of useful tips for eliminating odors. (I would add baking soda and for really strong odors, charcoal.) Another thing to consider would be commercially available odor eliminators such as XO. XO is available without fragrance. It's supposed to work by glomming onto odor-causing chemicals in the air, causing them to fall to the floor where they can be vacuumed up.
Another alternative is a appliance. Air purifiers work by sucking air through a capacitor which is supposed to trap ionized particles, or by sucking air through a filter, which will capture particles in the air down to a certain size. Dust is full of allergens.