HOME FRAGRANCES POLLUTING YOUR HEALTH

Home fragrances tend to produce a complex mix of chemicals and particulate matters that impact indoor air quality and resultantly, your health

During winter, many of us use fragrances to help create a cozy, festive feeling in our homes. From gingerbread, cinnamon, and pine-scented candles to frankincense and myrrh diffusers, it's becoming increasingly popular to use scents to evoke the Christmas spirit.

But are these products the best way to improve the quality of air in our homes—and how might they affect our health?

Products like scented candles, air fresheners, and incense sticks may mask unpleasant odors and improve the smell of indoor spaces—but they do not remove harmful indoor pollutants. In fact, our research shows that some home fragrance products may be detrimental to indoor air quality.

Two recent studies conducted by researchers at University College Cork and Maynooth University, Ireland, examined homes after energy retrofits and found that occupant activities like burning candles, smoking, and blocking wall vents can have a significant negative effect on indoor air quality. Use of scented candles or smoking, when combined with blocked wall vents and closed windows, worsens exposure to indoor air pollutants for householders. While using scented candles, for example, peak fine particle concentrations could increase to 15 times the limits prescribed by the World Health Organization. These levels took a while to return to normal levels in under-ventilated rooms.