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?

Lavender is a migraine trigger and major allergen.

Essential oils aren't automatically safer or better than commercial fragrances. It's all "chemicals"

I don't use any of it because it all smells extremely strong to me!

Brian Cox is a physicist not a chemist so air fresheners might not be his area of expertise.

The frothing on this thread reminds me of the anti-vax days.

I am not a fan of artificial smells but I use them gladly to mask the smell of teenage boy.

Christ alive girl...much bigger things going on in the UK than scent boosters..give your head a frigging wobble

But he also plays a mean keyboard. He’s a widely talented man. I have every faith that Brian Cox will have interesting things to say about many subjects, including air fresheners.

I reckon he'll know whether they have them in spaceships.

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.

Of course! He’ll definitely have a view on whether space aliens use Intergalactic Glade Plug-Ins or essential oils from the planet Stink-Alpha-2.

I don't understand why ppl like so many toxic yucky artificial scents. I find most of them harsh and unpleasant. They stress liver and kidneys and increase the risk of cancer.

When ppl want a safe and pleasant smell, use essential oils - real, not burner oils. A little goes a very long way.

Plug ins would be more practical in zero gravity, I'd have thought.

But it is hurting people, that's the point!

Read the thread back - lots of people talking about allergies, asthma and infertility linked to these things. Not to mention the huge damage done to the environment. So it's not each to their own when every single river in the UK is polluted with this stuff.

I have seen no answer on this thread other than 'because it smells nice' or 'because we can'. The selfishness is unbelievable.

There really is! Like in the news this week it was said that there is now no river in the whole UK that is free from sewage leaked from household drains. Which means, other than raw human waste, our rivers are also filled with the remains of scent boosters and other artificial crap that we rinse down our drains. This affects wildlife, as well as a million other things. I'd think that was a much bigger problem!

Not keen on some perfumes females wear. Just cos they like it we don't all want to smell it so much.

I hate those freshener puffer things that scare you when they go off and blast it in your eye or hair. OTT.

Except that fabric softener and perfume does hurt people. When you walk around wearing scent, you trigger asthma attacks and allergic reactions for other people. If you have a tumble drier, the exhaust can be spewing scent into the air when someone is trying to just take a walk or be outside and suddenly they are sick.

shops with aisles and aisles of highly scented products mean some of us can’t even go to certain brick and mortar stores anymore because just stepping foot inside can cause an anaphylactic reaction.

buying and using these products is not a benign act.

There are so many healthy ways to scent your home. Keeping it clean with eco friendly products is one. Opening windows every day is another one. The smell of reed diffusers or any chemical other diffusers give me a headache and make me sneeze. That can't be healthy and probably contributes to the ever rising cancer rates we're seeing nowadays. If you look at the ingredients and instructions, it's almost as if you're dealing with nuclear waste.

I don't get it either. I don't want to breathe in chemical smells either.

Because they want to.

@wotsistmum90 disposable nappies are a much bigger problem than scent boosters so if you've used them I don't really see how you're in a position to shoot others down. Meat and dairy also terrible for planet earth and the 'mega farms' are polluting the water.

So no I don't feel guilty about scent boosters and nothing can change that for me. I am a vegan, no flying, don't often drive & use cloth nappies and refillable / second hand almost everything. My dh is a hcp and 'natural'does not get the smell of blood, poo and vomit out of his uniform I can assure you! I will do what I need to do.

@Piper1983 Wow! Really? That was confirmed by the specialist/consultant then was it?
@wotsistmum90 It must be absolutely awful for you to have to walk around, mingling with the general populous. How inconsiderate that other people should smell nice! And yet you say "the selfishness is unbelievable"?! Oh the irony!

That might be why my eyes were burning the other day! But the thing is you rinse it away and it is very effective at getting rid of the smell.

No, not really clearer. Why does old ladies wearing lavender make it disgusting?

At a friends house once the yankee candle smelt lovely when we visited until I had to go outside to stop coughing.

Allergies appear to be becoming more prevalent. More people need anti histamine medication than I remember years ago. Eczema seems commoner.

Something is going on

I don't think lavender has been an "old lady" thing for quite some time. If you think it is, you're probably not very young yourself. Hopefully the kids of today won't find scents "disgusting" just because you wear them.

Each to their own lovelies, it’s not hurting anyone.

The whole point is that it is hurting someone.

Says the scientist having trouble understanding that people like different things. Ha!

but what has liking got to do with it? It literally makes absolutely no sense to pay money to pollute your home further. Why would liking a smell change that fact?