Air fresheners are the devil’s work

[cheeselolly]

This week a kind colleague offered me a lift to the station for a long distance journey home.

The car journey was only 10 minute but felt like torture.

They had a clip on air freshener on BOTH air vents. One blowing directly in my face on my
side of the car. The other on their side.

It Was cold out so windows were closed.

My lungs nearly collapsed from the chemical riddled, fake, toxin laden hot air blowing sickly overpowering perfume air freshener into my lungs.

YANBU - air fresheners are the work of the devil and should be banned

YABU - they are lovely

Also in the same category as fabric conditioners and those god awful scent booster things. Even after washing things bought on vinted you can still smell them - awful.

I bought some things on Ebay and couldn't have them in the house they stank so bad. I returned them because the clothes not only smell but they feel weird too, and it will not wash out.

Devil's work without a doubt. Completely unnecessary use of chemicals and plastics that (mostly women) have been conned into buying by the ad men. Always suspicious of people that use them to be honest. Don't they clean their house or wash themselves regularly?

YANBU, OP!

I am not asthmatic (but it's somewhere in the gene pool), but a lot of air fresheners get on my chest and make it feel horribly tight.

Fortunately, I work in farming, and air fresheners would have a field day trying to cover the smells associated with cows, sheep, diesel, and so on... and it would definitely be a 'WTF?' moment if someone had put an air freshener in a tractor!

There was someone on a recent thread who nearly collapsed at the “stench” of passers by wearing clothes that had been dried outside. I guess we are just an extremely sensitive society.

I am obviously in the minority. I like air fresh fresheners, scented toilet roll, and I just wish laundry detergents and fabric conditioners were more scented, they are far too subtle for me. I have tried so many and none leave much scent for long. I don’t like it though when someone seems to literally drown themselves in perfume and you can smell their perfume half an hour after they have left the room.

I quite like an air freshener in my car and I couldn't be arsed with a dramatic colleague pretending their lungs were 'collapsing' while I did them a favour so I voted YABU.

They make me feel physically sick

can I add another one? Febreeze!

Not only all the above absolutely stink, they also try to cover something, so you know the person/ house/ car is actually filthy . It's just grim.

I'm on the fence with this one - I'm asthmatic so I don't really like breathing in the ones that puff out mist - like the ones they often have in toilets. But as someone with a chronic sinus issue I can't smell the static ones. So on the fence. But I don't understand the hyperbole of collapsing lungs (have you had a collapsed lung, it's bloody painful and scary) when a colleague is doing you a favour and giving you a lift. If it's that much of an issue for you, organise your own transport.

We checked into a dreadful motel type place near Nice, and the room was bristling with plug ins. My mum switched them all off (she’s asthmatic), then after an hour or so the smell from the carpets drifted up to us. And combined with the drains from outside.

Artificial vanilla scent smells of funeral homes to me. Lovely.

And yet. I absolutely love most essential oils, douse my pillow with them to help me sleep, adore the smell of hippie shops/stalls, love heavily scented flowers and will plant a scent garden should I ever have a garden…. It’s just the artificial ones.

On a related note, I’d like to know why there are no heavily scented house plants?

I use one after I've gone for a poo. But I don't have them plugged into things all over my house.
The car ones I don't really notice much but I don't travel in cars except Ubers.

Sorry disagree. Love an air freshener! In fact I was thinking if I’ve given anyone a lift as I have febreeze clip ons on both my air vents in the car.
At home I have plug ins, use febreeze, use a spray air freshener, use fabric conditioner and scent booster balls.

Why? Can't you wash and clean like normal people?

Completely agree. What a drama queen. They'd be getting the bus in the future.

We stayed in an air b&b with those stinky reed diffuser stick things in every room and it was so overpowering we all had headaches and nausea. I had to hide them all in the outside recycling cupboard during our weeks stay. After which time the house smelled a bit damp but we opened the windows and it was preferable. I wouldn’t stay there again, even though it was nice, but because the smell was overpowering

I’ve just bought some Philips air purifiers. Amazing things! Very quiet, cheap to run and they keep the air fresh and free of dust and pollen without any horrible artificial chemical smells. Plus just open a window!

@IckyIckoh I do wash and clean. I just like the smell.

They are very unhealthy and cause respiratory problems and have been linked to cancer and neurological illness.

I'm reminded of the MN advice to use an air freshener for toilet smells - but then you have the smell and an artificial one on top - Not All Bathrooms Have Windows.

I do too. I don't bother using any though as I can't smell anything like that after a few seconds so it's pointless.

I hate air fresheners of any sort. I have never understood the need for them. My house doesn't smell. My car doesn't smell, so what is their use?

Even when I get my car cleaned, they will fit an air freshener to the mirror, which I end up taking off and giving it back to them.

I have MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity) as part of my chronic illness; air fresheners and the like can cause a flare-up of my symptoms, so I feel your pain!

I love the smell of walking into a posh hotel lobby, they smell divine, I particularly love the smell of The White Company and have some of their oils which I diffuse, personally I love a nice scent for the home and for myself, I think lots of people do otherwise there would be no perfume shops, it’s a hundred billion dollar industry worldwide, the scented candle industry is about ten billion.

Devil’s work - and they always make me wonder what someone is covering up.

They make me feel sick very quickly, I don’t mind reed diffusers so much, but really, what’s the point? Why do our houses have to smell of perfume? Keep the bathroom door closed and use the extractor fan, or light a match. I don’t like scented candles either.

When my mother had breast cancer her consultant told her to stop using any air fresheners. 😬

I'm allergic to them and they cause me very painful sinusitis and eye irritation. My workplace(s) used to be full of them and they wouldn't get rid of them so I had to leave. I couldn't work in any of those environments again, so had to quit my career entirely. I also suffered corneal damage due to the eye irritation.

They're full of benzene and formaldehyde and other respiratory irritants and can cause cancer.