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?

@tomorrowisanotherdate

Is it that you're having trouble with the fact that people don't see the issue in the same way you do?

What 'makes sense' to you isn't universal: your 'sense' isn't the same as others' 'sense', and it's not 'right', any more than theirs is. It seems like you don't want to accept that some people don't feel the same about this issue as you.

Why is that? Do you think people should feel the same as you about it?

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.

If they were so toxic and dangerous we wouldn’t be able to buy them

Like cigarettes and alcohol. We're definitely in safe hands.

The dramatics on this thread 😂

Like a pp said, it's the simplest explanation.

A lot have explained it's to cover pet smells, others have no proper ventilation or means to leave windows open.

A few like the smell as a finishing touch after cleaning.

Someone mentioned covering smells from an elderly relative to government them some dignity.

It's not dirty houses that have them, it's a broad demographic for different reasons.

People like alcohol, chocolate, caffeine, smoking, flying to holidays, Almond milk, processed food, Apple products, cheaply produced clothes etc.

They are all things that we know are bad for us, others or the environment but it doesn't stop people doing it.

Are you saying you don't do anything at all that would make others wonder why you do it?

That the world's population should have the same outlook on fresheners as you do?

They like the smell is the bottom line.

Why they choose to use it depends on each person.

Some don't care about the prospect of getting ill.

Some don't realise how bad they are.

Some choose to ignore how bad they are.

Some choose to take their chances, same as a smoker/drinker does.

Some don't care about the environment.

Some don't believe it's doing that much damage to the environment.

Some get comfort from the scents.

Some don't think too much about it and just like the smell.

Again, I know academia isn't a measure of intelligence but I can't believe you don't understand that people make different choices based on all sorts of reasons.

You mentioned being a scientist, does that mean all scientists in your field don't use the products you mention?

I know a food scientist who eats all sorts once in a while. Her reasoning being to have a little of what you fancy in moderation.

Why are there doctors with unhealthy life choices? Because they choose to smoke/drink or whatever.

All down to choice and you wouldn't choose something you don't like.

Given that 1 in 2 people now get cancer there must be something in what people are saying. I kind of get what you're saying too, but I hate the way that people label everything snowflake culture. It is so demeaning.

I often think that the government wouldn't allow us to eat UPF if it caused so much damage, but I can see that they will never seriously warn us against them because their friends (who run the companys that produce them) would lose too much profit if we took the advice seriously. This idea that the government wouldn't allow us to die is one of the reasons I have been in such denial about eating UPFs, but a lot of people around me are succumbing to heart disease, diabetes and other diet related illnesses and I have now decided to take heed. I don't really mind being called a snowflake either. And I know that I may develop those conditions anyway, but I want to make sure that I am not responsible for causing them/worsening them.

They clearly love the smell of cancerous endocrine-disruptors…

YANBU

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

@Wednesdaysotherchild

Have you noticed that sometimes people do things that aren't good for them? Like eating unhealthy foods, too much food, failing to exercise, drinking alcohol, taking drugs, smoking cigarettes, procrastinating with work, spending more money than they can afford, to name but a few. '

I don't know anybody who does everything right.

Do you?

You don’t see people because they are self isolating.

we stay home almost all the time. I have a wfh job. I get almost everything delivered. When I go out, as soon as I feel my throat closing or my lips swelling, I leave. If I am about to have a coughing fit, I try to move away from people, not just because I want to move away from what is causing the cough, but because I’m not an asshole and don’t want to scare people who might worry I am contagious. My allergies prevent me from living a normal life and from being a part of normal society. If I didn’t have a wfh job, I would be classified as disabled.

Im in a support group with other sufferers. All medically diagnosed through testing. Most aren’t as lucky as me. That I can earn a good income in my circumstances is incredibly rare. Given it is an expensive set of allergies, that makes it all the more punishing. the accommodations aren’t actually that difficult, but as you can see from threads like this, people aren’t remotely willing to even consider the possibility that they should make adjustments.

Nobody with any scientific knowledge would use that meaningless and scaremongering term.

The components are toxic enough to make recycling of carpeting very difficult, for various reasons. They contaminate the environment when put in landfills.

The age and stage of development of babies and children matters a lot when exposed to toxins in carpeting, paint, and furniture/ mattresses.

We take care not to expose babies or children to any toxins in toys, paints, crayons, clay, clothes, blankets - and rightly so. We've redesigned cots and blinds and playgrounds, and we make babies and children ride in safe car seats, wear a helmet when biking, skating, etc. But we've overlooked very obvious problem areas in homes.

A bit vague, if you have links to any actual research I'd happily read it (not for a couple of days though as up early due to travelling today!).

Open the window?

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

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.

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)

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?

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

You'd think this would be common sense

Mmm, they're my favourite

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?

Essential oils for me. I love rosemary and lavender.

Each to their own.

My opinion is they smell cheap and nasty.

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