02/13/2018 / By Frances Bloomfield
Who doesn’t want to live in a home that looks and smells wonderful? That’s why we tend to spruce up our living spaces with air fresheners and fabric cleaners. But these products could actually be doing us more harm than good. So much so that the amount of common air pollutants within homes are five times higher than that of the outside — industrialized areas included.
This is because air fresheners and fabric cleaners tend to contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These ingredients, which can be found in paints, flooring, and cleaning products too, do an excellent job of eliminating or masking odors. Unfortunately, VOCs can cause immense damage to your health, especially in an enclosed space where they have no room to escape.
Breathing in VOC-contaminated indoor air can then make you more prone to developing health issues such as asthma, chronic fatigue, sinus infections, and even cancer. And if you have allergies, then air fresheners can actually worsen them since the fragrances can trigger symptoms and aggravate them further. (Related: Most furniture is full of toxins which pollute your indoor air; here are 5 ways to eliminate the poison.)
So which VOCs should you be looking out for? The ones listed below are considered to be the worst offenders:
Really though, if you want to freshen up your home, there are better ways to go about it. Place some essential oil in a spritzer or diffuser. Keep an open box of baking soda in the room to absorb any unpleasant smells. You could even simplify it by opening up a window and letting the bad odors out. All of these are better then bringing out air fresheners that will harm your health in the long run.
Discover the different chemicals that pose a danger to your health by going to Chemicals.news today.
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Tagged Under: air fresheners, allergies, asthma, chemicals, dangerous chemicals, environment, home safety, indoor air, toxins, VOC, VOCs
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