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

[tomorrowisanotherdate]

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?

Some people are really to try to suck the joy out of everything...

People use various scents because they like the smell and it makes them feel good.

Live and let live.

I use essential oils but I also have the basic air freshener stuff for the bathroom and near the cat litters. I use candles too.

I care about the environment but I also don't overthink everything and allow myself some pleasures in life.

I haven't seen so much smuggery, faux bemusement and defensiveness since the last time we discussed the frequency of washing towels.

Towels, bedding, air freshener...all deeply contentious issues.

I mostly agree, we don't use too much extra just washing powder, vanish if needed. No candles, reed defusers, plug ins etc but do use aerosol sprays in the bathroom because I'd rather it smell like that than shit.

If anyone is looking a for a new reed diffuser the range has a lovely new one in! Smells divine! IMO of course. 😉

Yeah and I've been subjected to folk who ethically choose not to use deodorant or scented washing powders etc, one word - musty! They just smell dirty and unwashed! I'd rather smell nice things than smell mucky person/clothing, thank you!

I just love it when the thread isn't going the way someone wanted and the drip feed "I am a scientist" pops in?! You see it all the time on MN! Like people on a thread on the internet are going to believe that, just because they've said they are! 🙄
(I'm a brain surgeon by the way and thankfully haven't met Brain Cox! 🤣)

There seems to be a crossover here, the original post was that the poster couldn't understand why people bought into these things, with them being environmentally unfriendly and was questioning why people would spend their money on them, just to pollute the atmosphere.

Half the comments are from people who are either sensitive to or allergic to, scents! Which I completely understand of course. But that's hardly the point of the thread.

My windows are open all year round and on vent in winter, my back door is open 90% of the time, I occasionally spritz a bit of nice air freshener, perfume or Febreze. I use deodorant, Hibiscrub in the shower and whatever shampoo I like at the time. I buy all natural cleaning sprays, as I have a cat, I burn natural incense cones and sticks.
And I do like my washing to be scented.
But apparently I'm not living my life in such a way others would like me to! Well, tough, absolutely nobody is perfect and I like nice scents! It should be each to their own, just do your own thing, so long as it makes you happy and you feel happy with your own actions. That's what life should be about surely?
I do more than my bit for the environment and I am happy with that.
Oh and by the way, if anyone is considering it, don't waste your money on deodorant rocks! They cost an absolute bomb and you still stink of BO, however much you protest that you don't! 🤢

I don't personally like air puffer things or laundry smell enhancers or whatever. I don't use fabric conditioner.

But I do like a wax melt. My house is fairly spotless and fresh all the time but I like the smell of coconuts and the sea. It's like wearing perfume. You don't use it instead of washing.

And to answer your question, because they want to.

Also, scent has been a thing since forever. When I was young it was joss sticks, pot pourri and spent cones.

Despite my scepticism this thread has opened my eyes.

This morning I boiled up a pan of peel and scrapings, reduced it down to its essence and bottled it. Just a few drops of it is enough to fragrance my home very effectively.

Unfortunately it smells uncannily like the local rubbish dump. But I think everyone will come to like it - after all it’s 100% natural. And the environmental and health benefits are immense.

The rest of the family have unexpectedly gone round to a friend’s house. I bet they’re spreading the word about my breakthrough eco-initiative.

@MoonWoman69 I actually am/was** a scientist, though I no longer work in research - I have a PhD and everything, from a pretty decent University, and part of my Undergraduate involved studying chemistry to a fairly high level, so I make no apology for getting slightly irked when people use words out of context. I realise I have no way of proving this without outing myself, but nevertheless it IS true. Happy Sunday.

** scientists never really stop being scientists, even if they no longer work in research....it's hard to train it out of us!

I think my biggest bug bear is that they're not particularly effective either- you can usually still smell wet dog/pets etc under the air freshener, and even if there's no underlying bad smell it doesn't smell fresh it does just smell chemically. Plus it's terrible for your pets' health.

I've never got along with fabric softener, it coats clothes and towels in an unpleasant way. Laundry gel doesn't work as well as laundry powder. Ditto with shower gel - more expensive longterm for worse effect.

Nothing beats airing out your (properly dusted and cleaned) house and line drying your laundry (assuming you don't live near slurry!). I think one issue is people don't really know how to clean any more - most people just spritz random spray on a surface and give it a wipe hoping for the best (or worse, use those disposable wipes)

I spend a fortune on these hahaha, I never used to- my mum used to overdo it and glade puffers made me feel sick but over time in my own home I realised how clean it makes everything smell and fell in love with them lol I also overdo scent boosters and fabric softener and my.clothes always smell lovelllllly.

😂

I remember being told not to use bleach on urine- google says

"Bleach is great at disinfecting, but not so great on eliminating odors. You'll be left with a clean, but still smelly problem. Urine already has a high ammonia content, so adding more ammonia is only going to exacerbate your problem. And whatever you do, NEVER combine bleach and ammonia"

I use fabric conditioner, but because I can't bear the feel of anything that's rough or scratchy, and we have very hard water, which makes clothes feel scratchy if you don't use conditioner. Some of them smell vile though, and I always buy whatever's cheapest, so can sometimes be found standing in the laundry aisle of a supermarket sniffing fabric conditioner bottles to see which smell's least overpowering or offensive.

A lot of strong scents make me feel a bit nauseous, especially stuff that purports to be lemon-scented, but smells nothing like an actual lemon, or vanilla scented, also nothing like the real thing. And I can't bear plug-ins or reed diffusers.

The only time I use anything like that is when I cook bacon. I light a candle then, and open the back door and window nearest the cooker, otherwise I find the smell of bacon really lingers. Otherwise, the house just smells of fresh laundry, unless it's been dry enough to hang washing outside, wax spray polish, the window cleaning spray, and whatever I clean the kitchen and bathroom floor with (currently Method wild rhubarb). I use a very weak dilution of general liquid cleaner for most things, anti-bac spray for the kitchen worktops and Flash in the bathroom. None of them have a lingering smell.

I like the smell so I use them 🤷‍♀️

The internet is terrible for the environment too, but you are using it to post about air fresheners.

People like what they like. You don't have to use scents in your home if you don't like it but It's a bit silly to claim you don't understand why people might like their house to smell (what most people think is) pleasent.

What is it that is giving you trouble? The existence of scientists? Or the existence of people who have met Brian Cox? 😂

And why would the fact that soft furnishing cause pollution mean that it doesn't matter if scented room fresheners do too?

And please explain exactly where I have linked to a "natural" blog? I don't even know what that is supposed to mean.

I've met Brian Cox. I was hoping his extremely superior intelligence and scientific knowledge would rub off on me just by meeting him, but sadly it didn't.

Very very nice guy, though.

But, but, but...meeting him is one of the credentials for being able to say you're a scientist! Did he smell nice?

If you are not sure what a toxin is, it is a poison, normally from a living cell, and normally that triggers the immune system

Some perfume smells like urine on me!

Rive Gauche, Daisy and a fair few others smell like tomcat's piss on me after a few minutes.

PP didn't say she didn't know what a toxin is, she said it's annoying when people use the term out of context.

Who is using it out of context?

It's commonly used out of context by companies wishing to greenwash and/or scaremonger.

Lots of posters on this thread.