Maybe you won’t admit it, but air fresheners are very necessary products for most households. Especially for those with pets and children! Things get a little smelly and messy every once in a while, Air fresheners are here to help pick up the slack for dads, moms, college students and other adults.
There’s just one big problem with most air fresheners on the market. They contain too much chemicals that could seriously harm our health.
Use Baking Soda and Essential Oils to Make DIY Homemade Air Freshener
Many of these products contain phthalates. They are hazardous chemicals known to cause birth defects, hormonal abnormalities and reproductive problems. Manufacturers use phthalates in many common consumer products, including nail polish, children’s toys, perfumes and air fresheners. When we use these air-fresheners containing these chemicals, they in fact set free or release phthalates into the air. We inhale or absorb them through our skin.
Once these harmful chemicals enter our bloodstream, they can modify our hormone levels and cause several health issues. In an indoor environment, phthalate exposure has also been associated with asthma and allergic symptoms. When the Natural Resources Defense Council made a test on 14 common air fresheners – none of which listed phthalates on the ingredient list – they found that 12 out of 14 or 86% of them contain these very harmful chemicals.
These included:
- Air Wick Scented Oil
- Citrus Magic
- Febreze NOTICEables Scented Oil
- Glade Air Infusions
- Glade Plugin Scented Oil
- Lysol Brand II Disinfectant
- Oust Air Sanitizer Spray
- Oust Fan Liquid Refills
- Walgreens Solid Air Freshener
- Ozium Glycol-ized Air Sanitizer
- Walgreens Air Freshener Spray
- Walgreens Scented Bouquet Air Freshener
Air fresheners containing the highest level of phthalates were Ozium Glycol-ized Air Sanitizer, and all 3 air fresheners from the Walgreens brand.
What About Candles?
If you think now switching to candles, don’t go so fast. Paraffin is the most common compound of most candles. It is a petroleum waste product that has to be chemically bleached before it “becomes” wax. When we burn paraffin, wax creates highly toxic toluene and benzene. Both substances are carcinogens.
In case you have a candle that is more natural, the wick should be checked. Many candles have wicks that appear to have heavy metals such as lead. Within couple of hours of burning significant amount of heavy airborne metals will be created. Artificial dyes and scents can also be the source of additional chemicals.
Natural Solutions and Alternatives
Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean you have to give up that little extra help that air fresheners and candles can give you at home, in the car or at work. Beeswax candle is great natural solution or alternative for a scented candle. You can also make your own natural candles at home!
The great news is that making your own homemade air freshener is even cheaper and easy to do!
Natural Homemade Air Freshener
Here’s what you need:
- A mason jar with a lid
- An empty candle container
- A hammer
- A fork
- A screwdriver
- Essential oils
- Baking soda
See the tutorial in the following video. It will show you how to make 2 different versions of your own homemade air fresheners.
