Hidden Hazards of Air Fresheners

How toxic are your air fresheners? Do you think they actually freshen your air? Well, from watching television commercials, you would think that they are made out of flowers and do freshen your air -- as if you had placed fresh cut flowers all round your house. However, most air fresheners actually have the opposite effect and make your home's indoor air more polluted!

Our homes today already typically have very poor air quality due to many chemicals that are now found in our cleaning products, home building materials like paints, carpets and cabinets, and home furnishings like mattresses, couches and more. In fact, your home may be more polluted than it is outside. So do you really want to make your indoor air quality even worse with so-called air fresheners??

They can release air-polluting chemicals that can actually make you sick. When people use air
fresheners, the phthalates are released into the air where they may be inhaled or may land on the
skin and be absorbed. Once these chemicals enter the bloodstream, they can alter hormone levels and cause other health problems. The important thing to remember is you don't want to cover up odors with chemicals and perfumes. Get rid of them - the green way.

Did you know?

• Air fresheners almost never “freshen” the air. They just mask odors, either with synthetic fragrance or by interfering with your ability to smell by coating your nasal passages with an undetectable oily film or releasing a nerve-deadening agent. In rare cases, they will actually break down the offensive odor.  Did you know that people who use a lot of toxic hair products have less of a sense of smell? It kills your ability to smell by way of a nerve-deadening chemical. 
• Known toxic chemicals that can be found in air fresheners include camphor, phenol, ethanol, formaldehyde, benzene, volatile organic compounds, and artificial fragrances can cause symptoms like headaches, rashes, dizziness, migraines, asthma attacks, mental confusion, coughing and more. Some of the substances in air fresheners are linked to cancer or hormone disruption.
• A study published on July 10, 2010, in Environmental Health found that women who used more household cleaning products, including air fresheners and mold removers, had a 2x higher risk of breast cancer.
• Many aerosol air fresheners contain toxic phthalates, which have been linked to birth defects and reproductive harm.  Other conditions include cancer, neurological damage, developmental disorders, headache, anaphylaxis, respiratory distress, dizziness, lung irritation, fatigue, confusion, and nausea irritated eyes, nose, throat.
   

Some alternatives:

- Baking soda
- White vinegar
- Soy candles
- Open the windows
- Essential oils
- Spices
- Non-toxic alternatives

Check out this blog about diffusing Young Living Essential Oils (YLEO):
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=8935040036972650148&postID=7148728032391504798

Sources:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/27/2663509/do-your-part-top-7-alternatives.html
http://dagmarbleasdale.com/2011/04/protect-your-children-from-toxic-air-fresheners/
http://www.mcs-america.org/airfresh.pdf
http://www.nrdc.org/health/home/airfresheners/fairfresheners.pdf
http://www.ecoviva.com/html/air_freshener_toxic_emissions.html
http://www.enn.com/green_building/article/23394
http://www.healing-from-home-remedies.com/toxic-air-fresheners.html

For more information:  www.oilsforhealthyliving.net