The original natural family living magazine, founded in 1976. Reader-supported
and trusted by thinking people around the world who want positive alternatives
to high cost, high consumption lifestyles for themselves and their families.
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
from Natural Life magazine,
September/October 2008 Q: We have recently moved into an older house that used to have pets and has some musty smells in the basement. We’ve made fixing the leaky basement a priority and planning to pull up the carpets and refinish the wood floors, but can only afford a few renovations at a time. So, for now, there are some smells we’d like to get rid of. Can you recommend a safe air freshener? A: First of all, air fresheners (also known as room sprays, plug-in deodorizers, odor neutralizers, air sanitizers, or aromatherapy candles) don’t get rid of smells; they just mask them, either with perfume or by interfering with your ability to smell by coating your nasal passages with an oil film or releasing a nerve deadening agent.
Known toxic chemicals that can be found in air fresheners include formaldehyde, camphor, ethanol, phenol, petroleum-based artificial fragrances (which contain their own mix of toxins) and benzyl alcohol. These chemicals can cause symptoms like headaches, rashes, dizziness, migraines, asthma attacks, mental confusion, coughing and more. Some of the substances in air fresheners are also known carcinogens and others are hormone disruptors. Severity and triggers as well as symptoms vary from person to person. But when used in a confined area like a house, the intense amount of toxins in a small area can be especially problematic. Children are particularly susceptible to harm from chemicals in indoor air. Asthma is a major problem related to air fresheners and perfumed cleaning products. In a 2007 European study, researchers found that using air fresheners as little as once a week can raise the risk of... To read the rest of this article, subscribe to Natural Life's digital edition, which includes access to this and other back issues. Wendy Priesnitz is Natural Life’s editor. She has also worked as a writer and researcher for government-sponsored indoor air quality reports and authored nine books. Read her blog. |
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
