Breathe Easy at Home: Inhale Healthy Air

As you get ready for Thanksgiving, you’ll probably think about how your house smells before company arrives.  Whether restoring a bathroom to a fresher scent or adding the aroma of cinnamon and spice to the air, you want to inhale good-smelling air without poisoning yourself and your family.

In exploring this issue, Enviro Girl learned some startling facts.  According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the four basic ingredients in air fresheners are formaldehyde, petroleum distillates, p-dichlorobenzene and aerosol propellants.  These “volatile organic compounds” (VOCs) have both long and short-term health impacts and the same chemicals in air fresheners are found in paints, paint strippers, automotive products and varnish.  Imagine using varnish or paint thinner to clear the air!  Why on earth would these chemicals be marketed in a can as “air fresheners?”  They’re known to cause cancer in animals and humans, cause dizziness, headaches and memory impairment.  Air fresheners are highly flammable and irritating to the eyes, skin and throat.  Solid fresheners usually cause death if eaten by people or pets.   In researching these products, Enviro Girl found several warnings for pregnant women to stay away from both solid and aerosol air fresheners of any brand—they’re all equally dangerous whether made by Walgreens or Glade.  Even the “unscented” and “all-natural” versions tested by the NRDC contained phthalates that cause birth defects and hormonal abnormalities.  Spraying fragrance into the air seems like risky business.

Of course, you could burn a candle to make the air smell nice.  But before you strike a match, you should beware of candle hazards, too.  Scented candles produce volatile, semi-volatile and particulate emissions.  All candles are made from wax, and the most common candle waxes are paraffin and gel, both petroleum products.  Soot from candles gets into the air, stains walls and ceilings and can settle into lungs.  Lead and benzene are released into the air when scented candles get burned.  In fact, article showed that the combustion products of scented candles are similar to diesel fuel.   Between the soot, fine particles and particulate matter, candles can cause respiratory and cardiovascular problems.

There is no such thing as a “soot free” candle, but if you’re going to burn candles, choose soy or beeswax to minimize the chemical emissions.  Pure beeswax candles emit the least pollution.  In candles, you get what you pay for.  The cheaper the candle, the more toxic it is, and labels that say “natural” mean nothing.  Your best bet is to burn hard, natural wax candles with braided fabric wicks.  Since no labeling standards apply to candle manufacturers, your best bet is to buy your candles from a trusted source, not from a drugstore.  Local artisan candle makers are preferable since you can hold them more accountable for the products they use in their candles.

So how do you make a house smell good? The best way to clear the air is by keeping the environment clean and well-ventilated by opening a window.  If you want to add other odors, use diffuser sets using pure essential oils, burn beeswax or soy candles made with pure essential oils or simmer spices and fruit on your stovetop.  If you’re going to someone’s house this Thanksgiving and you’re concerned about their penchant for Glade, give them a soy candle and advise them about what you’ve learned in this post today.