You see so many advertisements on television for air fresheners of one kind or another.  There’s the plug-in type (whoever invented that was obviously not thinking about energy saving) that lets off an artificial smell into the room, the battery operated sort that lets off puffs of aroma at set intervals, the one that hangs off the rear-view mirror of your car and then there’s the traditional aerosol air freshener, also known as toilet spray.  There seem to be an endless supply of these “smell improvers” on the market, including some that say that they eradicate the odour rather than mask it.  Sound good?  If you said yes to that question, you couldn’t be more wrong.  Because air fresheners are not good for your health.

Researchers at Brunel University found that the daily use of air fresheners could be linked with a significant rise in the incidence of maternal depression.  And it doesn’t stop there.  They also found an increase in headaches in women who were frequent users of both aerosols and air fresheners.  And in children, researchers found increases in diarrhoea and vomiting.

Enough to make you think twice about buying air freshener again?  Then have a look at these other options to chemically “clean” air.

1. Open the window - the most natural way to get rid of unpleasant odours.

2. Use oranges, lemons or fresh herbs to pleasantly fragrance a room.

3. Use essential oils in an oil diffuser.

4. Mix a few drops of your favourite essential oil with water in a spray bottle, then shake and spray into the room.

5.  Try Eco Mist natural air freshener in a pump spray bottle.  It comes in Zangy Citrus, Relaxing Lavender and Exotic Summer Fruits.

[via The Independent]

Photo credit: Paull Young