The new hype for air fresheners in our modern world is motion-activated technology, which is handy to have, but how safe is it to use air fresheners of whichever kind in your home repeatedly?
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While fragrance substances have been used since thousands of years, the first modern air freshener wasn’t invented until the twentieth century, specifically in 1948.
The surging popularity of air fresheners
Sales of air fresheners worldwide is of billions of dollars, of millions in the United States if we also include car air fresheners, which represent an important product in the car aftermarket and in the air fresheners market.
When the first modern air freshener was introduced in 1948, it didn’t take long before sales grew tremendously. Already in the 1990s people were buying fragrance compounds worth of several hundred million dollars.
And they’re just as prevalent these days, now the market producing an array of air freshening devices and just as many scents.
It appeals to many people to have their living spaces smell like anything they want, but that may come at the cost of health.
Exposure to modern air fresheners
On and off exposure to fragrance compounds isn’t that dangerous, however, inhaling and swallowing vapors from scented solutions repeatedly could lead to undesirable health effects.
These compounds as well affect the environment.
Producers in the 1970s shifted to different formulations because the substances used in air fresheners at the time had a negative impact on the ozone layer.
When concerns over aerosols, which were the first home air fresheners invented, grew producers reformulated their products with more appealing names.
Most air fresheners contained active chemicals that either masked odor or actually neutralized it. Today air fresheners contain a variety of fragrances, which are synthetic compounds and/or essential oils, which are oils obtained from plants, so natural substances.
The reason why constant exposure to air fresheners is detrimental to health is that they also release a type of chemical called VOC (volatile organic compound) that at room temperature turns into gas.
So it’s not only the actual chemicals in air fresheners that can lead to health problems, it’s also this secondary pollutant.
Some of the issues that can occur with repeated exposure include irritation and redness on the skin, redness and irritation in the eye, coughing, choking, and headaches.
Irritation of the mouth can occur when swallowing liquid air freshener, and burns when products contain flammable chemicals.
The most toxic air fresheners
Air freshener products with no chemicals listed on the label are the most dangerous as they may have never been tested and could contain some of the most dangerous substances.
Note that some products can contain up to 100 chemicals and most of these would be synthetic.
It is best to avoid air fresheners altogether and freshen the air with simply opening the window.
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But if you were to use them choose phathalate-free scents from reputable manufacturers that are transparent with the ingredients they use.