Air Fresheners: The Things They Don't Put on the Label

Air fresheners get rid of all the unpleasant odors and smells around your home. They capture and enhance the sweet smells of fresh flowers. They're wonderful and perfectly harmless...right?

Actually, no, air fresheners have been tested and found to be considerably harmful to your respiratory system. It has been found that inhaling the chemicals in them could boost your likelihood of obtaining asthma by 71 percent. Also a chemical compound, 4-dichlorobenzene, which is ordinarily found in air fresheners, has been shown to disrupt the normal function of the lungs. Phthalates and phthalate acids are used to make plastics more pliable, and are present in air fresheners as well. They can affect infants in many ways. It may cause cancer, or initiate irregularities in unborn babies. Phthalates can also cause diarrhea and earaches in infants and small children.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) conducted a study of everyday air fresheners, their results were:

"The study assessed scented sprays, gels, and plug-in air fresheners. Independent lab testing confirmed the presence of phthalates, or hormone-disrupting chemicals that may pose a particular health risk to babies and young children, in 12 of the 14 products-including those marked 'all natural.' None of the products had these chemicals listed on their labels." ^[1]

This means that not only aerosol air freshening sprays are bad for you. Aerosol sprays, gels, and plug-ins, they can all harm you, besides detrimentally harming your children. I for one have been using Air Wick products in my home, and have decided to stop in response to this new information. Besides, true-all-natural air fresheners such as lavender, gladiolus, and honeysuckle plants decorate your home as well as freshen it.

So try alternatives to buying products that put out chemicals that could harm you and your family. There are other air fresheners that are more natural and decorative. Such as:

1. Of course, opening windows a good source of air circulation, and fresh flowers.

2. Vanilla Soaked Cotton Ball.

Simply dab a cotton ball in small amount of vanilla, or drench it, (depending on how intense you want the smell), then put it in a small dish and let the aroma of vanilla fill your home!

3. Citrus Clove Cluster

Get any citrus fruit that you specifically like the smell of. (I used lemons) Then get a bottle of cloves. (You don't need McCormick brand which is rather expensive) And then push in the cloves, just like push pins, all over your fruit. Place it in any one of your rooms, and the smells of citrus oil and cloves will create a strong scent as the fruit dries.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air freshener