Are air fresheners bad for the environment?

[otohara]

I like having air fresheners around the house, but the other day it occurred to me that I don't know what exactly they're puffing into my living room. Am I despoiling the planet by freshening my air?

Air fresheners seem to occupy a special place, along with Hummers and offshore drilling, in the environmentalist's doghouse. Maybe it's the synthetic smell or the phony alpine meadow on the packaging. But the Lantern suspects people have never gotten over the chlorofluorocarbon crisis of the 1970s and '80s.

Americans fell for the flowery goodness of canned aerosol air fresheners in 1956, when the S.C. Johnson Co. first released Glade. (It was a big year for aerosols. The company rolled out Raid insecticide around the same time.) The magic ingredients in the aerosols were chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs. These propellants are nontoxic, unlikely to explode, and don't react with other ingredients. Then two chemists published a paper in 1974 showing that CFCs could break up ozone molecules, which protect us from ultraviolet light. In 1985, scientists confirmed the breakdown of ozone in the stratosphere, and over the next seven years most countries agreed to phase the chemical out. (Check out the Green Lantern's full update on the ozone layer.)

While manufacturers quickly developed CFC-free aerosols, the public soured on spray cans. Companies have since developed alternative ways to perfume your living room, most of which rely on some form of automated delivery system. The most common use heat to evaporate the fragrance or fans to disperse it.

http://www.slate.com/id/2266478/

[stevebreeze]

1. I have no idea what is in them but between air fresheners and candles

My sinuses go into total melt down.I am not one of those people with sensitivity to smells either. I can walk into a smoke filled bar, nothing bothers me at all. In fact after 30 years of construction I can't smell much of anything. However something about the chemical nature of air fresheners and some candles, just drives my sinuses nuts.

[otohara]

2. Migraine Trigger For Me

I wrote a letter to my docs office after walking in during Christmas season and being knocked over by the smell and walked out with a migraine. They no longer use them...victory.

[Warpy]

4. Same here, I have to be pretty careful

and that soapy smelling stuff that Glade and others put out set me off, too.

I do have some incredibly potent incense that I use for cat box deodorant in the winter, stuff that's single scent and that I can manage to tolerate, although infrequently.

That really seems to be the key, the single scent. I can tolerate natural flower fragrances. Start combining them and putting in preservatives and other crap, and forget it.

[Kat45]

3. I think they can be harmful to birds.

Birds have sensitive respiratory systems and there are a number of things that can harm or even kill them. Some scented candles, air fresheners, Teflon (if it burns), aerosols (like hair spray)--lots of concerns for those of us who have birds. I err on the side of caution and don't use any of that stuff.

[KT2000]

8. Not just birds but you too:

posted this down thread but you would be interested- from Wiki about Air Fresheners:

In 2008, Anne Steinemann of the University of Washington published a study of top-selling air fresheners and laundry products.<8> She found that all products tested gave off chemicals regulated as toxic or hazardous under federal laws, including carcinogens with no safe exposure level, but none of these chemicals were listed on any of the product labels or Material Safety Data Sheets. Chemicals included acetone, the active ingredient in paint thinner and nail-polish remover; chloromethane, a neurotoxicant and respiratory toxicant; and acetaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, both carcinogens. A plug-in air freshener contained more than 20 different volatile organic compounds, with more than one-third classified as toxic or hazardous under federal laws. Even air fresheners called "organic," "green," or with "essential oils" emitted hazardous chemicals, including carcinogens.

In 2009, Stanley M. Caress of the University of West Georgia and Anne C. Steinemann of the University of Washington published results from two national epidemiological studies of health effects from exposure to air fresheners. They found that nearly 20 percent of the general population and 34 percent of asthmatics report headaches, breathing difficulties, or other health problems when exposed to air fresheners or deodorizers.<9>

[kenny blankenship]

5. Absolutely. Unless you remember to plant replacements for them

Old growth forests do not just replace themselves. Or else you could go on the internet and purchase carbon offsets from a reputable broker.

[Zoeisright]

6. Air fresheners aren't safe:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/05/earlyshow/main3336657.shtml

I'd never have one in my house.

[KT2000]

7. Bad for you too

You can google around for her study but Anne Steinemann of the U of WA did a study - here is a blurb from Wiki about air fresheners and her study:

In 2008, Anne Steinemann of the University of Washington published a study of top-selling air fresheners and laundry products.<8> She found that all products tested gave off chemicals regulated as toxic or hazardous under federal laws, including carcinogens with no safe exposure level, but none of these chemicals were listed on any of the product labels or Material Safety Data Sheets. Chemicals included acetone, the active ingredient in paint thinner and nail-polish remover; chloromethane, a neurotoxicant and respiratory toxicant; and acetaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, both carcinogens. A plug-in air freshener contained more than 20 different volatile organic compounds, with more than one-third classified as toxic or hazardous under federal laws. Even air fresheners called "organic," "green," or with "essential oils" emitted hazardous chemicals, including carcinogens.

In 2009, Stanley M. Caress of the University of West Georgia and Anne C. Steinemann of the University of Washington published results from two national epidemiological studies of health effects from exposure to air fresheners. They found that nearly 20 percent of the general population and 34 percent of asthmatics report headaches, breathing difficulties, or other health problems when exposed to air fresheners or deodorizers.<9>

[catgirl]

9. Synthetic fragrances are toxic

They cause all kinds of health problems in people. I think they smell bad too.

[Divernan]

10. 2 options: a clean house and/or an air purifier

I am equally fed up with the national obsession with air fresheners. The offices that use them are simply trying to disguise the unpleasant effects of a poor ventilation system. Air fresheners have also grown increasingly popular in private residences. The most sensible way to achieve a nice smelling home is simply to keep it clean. Buy an air purifier if you must, but please spare yourself, your family and your guests from enduring nauseating & dangerous bursts of artificial fragrances.

[Hannah Bell]

11. "simply to keep it clean" - exactly, i knew someone who left dog & cat poo lying all over the house

& imagined they were fooling people with the scented candles.

baking pies & bread & the like are better than air fresheners. air is already fresh. it's other stuff that's not fresh.

[Warpy]

12. Yeah, I found quite a few piles when I moved in here

along with soaked carpeting that I removed and tossed. Feh. Painting the walls and refinishing the floors took care of the stink.

The one thing that no scent in the world will cover up is cigarette smoke.

Don't even bother to try.

[OnionPatch]

13. You could use essential oils instead

and they have little warmers that you can buy that will warm the oil and emit the scent. Someone else mentioned baking a pie, but if you're having company or whatever, and don't have the time or energy to bake a pie, just boil some water on the stove with some cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice in it for about twenty minutes. I do that often. You can also use lemon or whatever natural, non-toxic substance you like. Yeah, it's not as easy as the chemical stuff, but who wants to breath in a bunch of toxic chemicals all day?