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AIBU?

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Original poster

to not understand why people spend money to pollute their homes with pointless chemicals?

563 replies

tomorrowisanotherdate · 30/03/2024 19:26

scent boosters, to go in laundry, air fresheners that squirt puffs of pollutants at you - the tv is full of adverts for these things, so presumably someone is buying them. I just don't get it though. Loading your family's home atmosphere with a load of unnecessary and unpleasant air pollutants, and paying for the privilege? Why?

OP posts:
Packetofcrispsplease · 01/04/2024 09:30

Brendaloves · 31/03/2024 23:57

Oh darlings, some of you sound like you would enjoy a girls holiday with that Greta Thunberg girl 🥱

In all my years I’m yet to spot anyone walking past my house and having an anaphylactic shock over my satin and moon lilly plug ins. Nor have I seen any one gasping for breath on the laundry isle or from brushing past me in Starbucks when they get a waft of Chanel no5.

Its snow flake culture, next we will be being asking that we don't plant flowers as they cause hay fever or that Waitrose shouldn't stock alcohol as it might temp a recovering alcoholic back to the bottle, or cream cakes as someone might spoil their diet and become a diabetic.

Bottom line is we all have a right to make our own choices, educate but don’t be militant.

If they were so toxic and dangerous we wouldn’t be able to buy them, but no doubt someone has an answer for this too - maybe the government want us to all meet an untimely demise to recoup the county’s debt.

A slight whiff of Chanel no 5 as you walk past me is fine .
Drenched in it ..I’d be wheezy and have itchy eyes and a headache .
i had one friend stay with me for 2 weeks and every single time , just before we got in my car , she sprayed Dior perfume liberally 😩

Quatty · 01/04/2024 09:30

pILs house is covered in cleansers and pump ins and perfumed whatevers. When we stay we’re all sneezing and bunged up. They’ve got a germ phobia too and think we’re mingers because we don’t shower or bathe every day.
although, fair play to them, the house smells edible!

Quatty · 01/04/2024 09:27

We’ve been conditioned through marketing to believe that any natural smells from our houses or our bodies are bad and need to be masked with fake ‘fresh’ scents.

Tiredalwaystired · 01/04/2024 09:23

inappropriateraspberry · 31/03/2024 20:35

If your home is clean, no artificial scents are needed. They are masking but not actually doing anything. Better to find the source of the smells and do something about them.

Good idea. Do you have room in your house for a couple of spare teenagers?

Thst will resolve my problem and therefore I will no longer need air fresheners. Thank you for your support in this matter. Mumsnet is the best!

Packetofcrispsplease · 01/04/2024 09:15

Ponderingwindow · 30/03/2024 20:08

ive had extensive allergy testing to figure out exactly which ingredients among that toxic stew was causing my allergic reactions. My home has been purged of all my allergens and that honestly leaves very few safe products to buy.

You can smell the difference as soon as you step foot into my house. Our windows are closed and we have whole home filtration that was installed at great expense. Even just going from outdoors to inside my home, you can smell the removal of artificial scent that permeates the outside air these days.

people have become nose-blind to it. They don’t realize how bad it has gotten. Everyone who buys these heavily scented products is culpable in the air pollution.

there are more and more of us being diagnosed with artificial fragrance allergies these days. That should scare people, but no one seems to care.

Wow that’d be amazing 🤩 I’d love that .
i have one air purifier in my bedroom

Packetofcrispsplease · 01/04/2024 09:09

I don’t use plug ins , fabric conditioner or scent boosters because
I have asthma and allergies , those things are a trigger .
I can just about tolerate them in someone else’s large airy home with windows open and heating low or off .
For pet smells I use an enzymatic cleaner , for laundry I use detergent with low / no scent plus sometimes Dettol laundry add in and dry outdoors where possible to get that fresh smell .
My downstairs loo does have one diffuser in that with a smell of citrus 🍊 but I keep that door to the hall closed .I’m very aware that anyone visiting my house and using the loo won’t want usual toilet smells

EatCrow · 01/04/2024 08:02

fieldsofbutterflies · 01/04/2024 07:58

I never said you shouldn’t use them?

I was just saying that your reasoning is no different to the reasoning behind using scented candles or air fresheners.

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I don’t agree with you but believe it will be absolutely pointless debating why with you. And I’m perfectly happy with that.

fieldsofbutterflies · 01/04/2024 07:58

EatCrow · 01/04/2024 07:54

Well, I don’t know what to say to that. I’m not forcing anyone to use essential oils and they suit me so I’ll continue to use them. Hth.

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I never said you shouldn’t use them?

I was just saying that your reasoning is no different to the reasoning behind using scented candles or air fresheners.

EatCrow · 01/04/2024 07:54

fieldsofbutterflies · 01/04/2024 07:52

The people using air fresheners or scented candles will say exactly the same - that they’ve been using them for years with no issues.

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Well, I don’t know what to say to that. I’m not forcing anyone to use essential oils and they suit me so I’ll continue to use them. Hth.

fieldsofbutterflies · 01/04/2024 07:53

ZsaZsaTheCat · 01/04/2024 07:49

But these modern air fresheners come in big chunks of hard plastic-where the hell do you think that goes when you toss it in the bin. And all the chemicals in your modern laundry liquids-in the water system, they damage aquatic life. Educate yourself 🙄

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Are you always so patronising, or do you save it for Mondays?

fieldsofbutterflies · 01/04/2024 07:52

EatCrow · 01/04/2024 07:50

Are they? I’ve also been using essential oils in my bath and on my pillow for years, no side effects here.

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The people using air fresheners or scented candles will say exactly the same - that they’ve been using them for years with no issues.

EatCrow · 01/04/2024 07:50

fieldsofbutterflies · 01/04/2024 07:48

But surely essential oils are full of nasties too? Why are they deemed better than wax melts or other things?

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Are they? I’ve also been using essential oils in my bath and on my pillow for years, no side effects here.

ZsaZsaTheCat · 01/04/2024 07:49

fieldsofbutterflies · 31/03/2024 18:26

But none of this is new, it's just the technology is different now.

Even going back to medieval times (and probably longer), people would hold bags of dried herbs in front of their noses to disguise bad smells, and some were even thought to be a remedy against catching plague.

Perfume has existed for centuries too, and was popular with the wealthy in Elizabethan times, especially with the importation of new, previously unheard of spices and scents. Make-up was often made by crushing animals or using toxins like lead.

My childhood (eighties) was full of things like potpourri and other "smellies" around the house.

My point is, people have always used "pointless chemicals" to make them and their homes smell "nice", it's just what's considered "nice" changes from one generation to the next, and as technology becomes more advanced, these things have just become more affordable and easier to obtain.

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But these modern air fresheners come in big chunks of hard plastic-where the hell do you think that goes when you toss it in the bin. And all the chemicals in your modern laundry liquids-in the water system, they damage aquatic life. Educate yourself 🙄

fieldsofbutterflies · 01/04/2024 07:48

EatCrow · 01/04/2024 07:39

Essential oils for me. I love rosemary and lavender.

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But surely essential oils are full of nasties too? Why are they deemed better than wax melts or other things?

BubziOwl · 01/04/2024 07:41

Each to their own.

My opinion is they smell cheap and nasty.

EatCrow · 01/04/2024 07:39

bossybloss · 30/03/2024 19:28

What would you recommend? I do t use scent boosters etc but am interested in the alternative.

Essential oils for me. I love rosemary and lavender.

fieldsofbutterflies · 01/04/2024 07:31

Given that 1 in 2 people now get cancer there must be something in what people are saying.

But is that new? Or is it just that people are living longer and we know more about the human body and what people die of?

fieldsofbutterflies · 01/04/2024 07:29

Wednesdaysotherchild · 01/04/2024 01:08

They clearly love the smell of cancerous endocrine-disruptors…

YANBU

Mmm, they're my favourite Grin

fieldsofbutterflies · 01/04/2024 07:28

GymBergerac · 01/04/2024 06:45

Some people use them because they like the smell of these products, and don't mind spending their own money on things that bring them pleasure. Other people don't like them, and wouldn't spend money on them. Neither are right or wrong, it's a matter of personal preference and free will. We're all different.

You'd think this would be common sense Confused

fieldsofbutterflies · 01/04/2024 07:26

Surely then you clean what is causing the smell

It's impossible to keep pets clean and fragrance free all the time.
It's also impossible to cook without the odours lingering and sticking to your soft furnishings and floors.

Opening windows can help but if, like us, you live 100m from a field full of cows, it often makes things a lot worse Grin

ASighMadeOfStone · 01/04/2024 07:21

Wednesdaysotherchild · 01/04/2024 01:13

I am specifically referring to phthalates, which so many people seem to be unaware of: https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/23/phthalates-everyday-products-toxics-guide

https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/cheatsheet-phthalates

Are you the poster that constantly posts about endocrine disrupters whilst clearly having no idea what you're talking about? And then goes "but phthalates!!!" if anyone questions you?

Zanatdy · 01/04/2024 07:07

KeinLiebeslied54321 · 01/04/2024 05:11

Clearly opening windows helps keep places fresh, but sometimes more is needed to clean stubborn/persistent odours!

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Surely then you clean what is causing the smell? I don’t use those plug in fragrances as my dad had a lung disease and after seeing how they made him react I realised they aren’t great for you and I’d rather let some fresh air in. These fragrances only mask the mask or mix it in so it’s even worse (in my opinion)

GymBergerac · 01/04/2024 06:45

Some people use them because they like the smell of these products, and don't mind spending their own money on things that bring them pleasure. Other people don't like them, and wouldn't spend money on them. Neither are right or wrong, it's a matter of personal preference and free will. We're all different.

KeinLiebeslied54321 · 01/04/2024 05:11

Zanatdy · 01/04/2024 05:06

Open the window?

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Clearly opening windows helps keep places fresh, but sometimes more is needed to clean stubborn/persistent odours!

Zanatdy · 01/04/2024 05:06

bossybloss · 30/03/2024 19:28

What would you recommend? I do t use scent boosters etc but am interested in the alternative.

Open the window?