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?

Have you tried a Glade Plug-In?

I appreciate that your garden will wilt and die and you’ll need a hazmat suit to put the washing out, but it might keep the moggies at bay.

People wanna breathe that shit in, fine. But why subject your kids to it, people should be doing everything they can to keep them as healthy as possible.

Wow. Even more judgement. So, if they don't have the same opinions as you, they must have been indoctrinated?

I mean, I don't really like scented things for the home myself, but your methods of analysis are amazing.

Thanks, a mocking response was really what I was looking for. 😓

Never heard of scent boosters till this thread! Off to google!

Well I don’t like them, but surely you can understand why others might like the smell.

Oh, right. It was just a chuckle.

If you do use lavender oil and it works please start a thread and spread the word.

In reply to a couple of comments by @iwafs:
Their comment that "i will repeat that smelling of BO or dog is better than the poison in laundry boosters. And make no mistake, it is poison. Anyone who voluntarily ingests it is foolish."
To ingest is to eat: I strongly suggest you don't eat scent boosters.
I am a certified cosmetic chemist and have worked in the perfume industry for 25yrs (that doesn't mean I'm an industry shill).

To another of your points: It's impossible to buy totally unscented soap, as all soap bases smell disgusting (fatty, of the base oil they're saponified from. The worst I ever smelled was a russian soap base made from fish oils - we had to work really hard to cover that base odour!)

The lavender, vanilla etc. essential oils that you buy in shops, markets etc, are diluted with the exact same chemicals you worry about in your 'synthetic' products. They are also major components in these synthetic products, as many natural oils are comparatively cheap: citrus oils in particular.

The strong smell of Lush is purely from natural fragrances, yet many find it less bearable than synthetics (I don't, but must admit it's strong).

Also, a PP mentioned allergy to fragrance mix: all the ingredients in this, are from natural essential oils (clove, cinnamon, etc) and the 26 common allergens that must be legally listed on the packs of cosmetics & household products are all naturally occurring in essential oils. So in many cases natural is more harmful than synthetic. (edited for typos)

Thank you. That is really fascinating.

I’ve long suspected that ‘natural’ essential oils were not some distillation or extract only of ‘fruit of the earth goodness’. I’m grateful for your expert insight.

They look like pastel coloured lentils and stick to things because they often don't dissolve properly. They're also far too scented.

Whether they’re harmful is by the by. The smell isn’t nice, it’s putrid.

I’ve bought stuff off Vinted and you can tell they’ve used these rank ‘scent boosters’ or whatever they’re called because you can smell it as soon as the ipost locker door swings open. None of that says ‘clean’. Clean shouldn’t really smell of anything.

If your laundry needs an extra dose of rancid floral slime, then you perhaps need to rethink your whole washing hygiene.

Neighbour cats like to sh*t in my garden. They also bring me bits of dead animals. Otherwise they don't bother me.

People still have coal fires where I live. Our house reeks of other people's fires all winter. I have to breathe it in when I'm out and about. I spend over an hour a day in my car, presumably breathing in petrol fumes all the way. A few aldi scented candles and some smelly sprinkles in my laundry isn't going to do much.

Essential Oils aren't amazing and healthy either

Thought we'd got passed the obsession with essential oils tbh

No its toxic if it gets on them they groom it off and ingest it

PLANT lavender and I believe curry plant? They will stay away from it also mulch with coconut shell good for your plants bad for the paws they won't dig in it

Quite a few coal fires here too. I'm convinced one neighbour is burning something other than coal or wood or even peat....the fumes smell very unusual.

Right, I just want to discourage them, I don't want to harm them.

I agree with you OP. I don’t use any air fresheners, fabric conditioner etc and it says on Zoflora that it’s toxic to wildlife. Why would anyone want to use that?!

I’m even wary of using essential oils because lavender used to set off my exH’s asthma.

I do wear perfume though.

I bet you're all the ones who were on the thread about salt saying it lasts you a million years as well!

no air freshener and no salt in salad dressing

sad times 😂

It makes me sad to see the cleaning trend of late. All those extra chemicals (and yes, chemicals is the right word) being washed down the drains. As we know, this year a record number of our drains ended up in our rivers and no river in the UK is without contamination. This means the chemicals, scents, oils, build ups are in our rivers and in our wildlife. Just because people want to smell nice?

I don't that they should be sold, and if you disagree with me on the basis that 'I want to smell nice and have a right' then we fundamentally disagree

I do like a nice scented candle but to be very clear - most of these products - cleaning & fragrances & cosmetics are toxic carcinogens that enter the body and there’s a lot of research to prove this. It’s not potential it IS fact.

‘Countdown’ by Shanna Swan is very informative on the damage chemicals are causing to our health. These chemicals are why we have a fertility crisis and many modern illnesses are on the rise. Well worth reading.

I'm allergic to these products.

Walking into my sister's home without giving her notice to air it out with all the candles she burns, air fresheners all over the place and the stink of scent boosters and whatnot can and has sent me to A&E with a severe asthma attack.

Both my nieces are asthmatic and also find it unpleasant to go back home.

There's a reason these products have warnings on them.

My sister moans constantly about the cost of living crisis but happily spends a fortune on unnecessary household items.

I also don't get why anyone needs MORE scent in their laundry. My niece uses Surf. Her clothes smell lovely and don't trigger our asthma.

ETA that most of these items are made in other countries from cheap ingredients then shipped halfway across the planet. Needless waste of the planet's resources but that's just MHO.

Except Jonathan Ross who doesn't bathe much (it's in an online interview at the moment so that's why I mention it). He reckons his wife doesn't bathe much either. It was disgusting to read. I hope he was making it up.

You mean all the chemicals in paint, carpeting, and furniture?

It is kind of necessary to have flooring and furniture in a home, and these aren't changed much. But unnecessary chemicals that you add to everything are being discussed here. Coating your furniture and carpets in air freshener, washing all your clothes in oily chemicals and washing it all down the drain to kill wildlife when you're finished is not really comparable to painting your walls every 10 years is it?