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We are all familiar with how powerful a reaction scent can have on us, and with how pleasant a home that smells fragrant and inviting can be. Quite a few of us very likely enjoy using some form of home fragrance product on the market today to help us achieve the atmosphere we want, whether we light the occasional incense stick, burn candles for ambience as well as fragrance, or perfume the air with spray fresheners to help eliminate odors. However, how safe are these products really? Are we unknowingly harming the environment, our families, and ourselves when we light our favorite candle or freshen our bathrooms with our go-to spray product of choice?

The fact of the matter is many commonly used home fragrance products on the market today, including candles, air fresheners, incense, and even dryer sheets do indeed release potentially harmful chemicals into the air when we use them. They are known as volatile organic compounds (or VOCs), tiny molecules that evaporate into the air from the surface of these products. Recent studies conducted on several of these products showed resulting levels of 100 different VOCs considered high enough to possibly be harmful. Of these 100, 10 were classified as hazardous under federal law, and 3 of these 10 were identified as hazardous air pollutants that contribute to environmental harm.

Among the potentially harmful chemicals detected were acetone (a solvent commonly found in paint thinner and nail polish remover), methyl chloride (a compound linked to liver and nervous system damage), and acetaldehyde (a chemical suspected to cause cancer in humans with no exposure level that is low enough to be considered safe). Furthermore, none of the product packaging for these items lists any of these hazardous ingredients or alerts the buyer to any potential risk associated with use.

So what are we to do? We of course would still enjoy the use of fragrance products for our homes, yet we don't want to risk harming our families or sabotaging our own efforts to live greener, more environmentally-conscious lives. Luckily for us, there are healthy alternatives available on the market today that we can substitute for the potentially harmful products we've grown accustomed to. One solution comes to us in the form of all-natural essential oils that can be added to an oil diffuser to produce an effect just as pleasant as that of commercial air fresheners or incense. Some can even be worn as natural perfumes.

If you're one who prefers the additional warmth and ambience offered by candles, why not try candles made from soy or natural wax? They produce the same pleasant effect without any of the carcinogens or toxins that regular candles can give off, and they are longer lasting and biodegradable as well. Then there are naturally scented potpourris that can be added to a pretty, decorative dish or container to gently perfume a room or do double duty as an attractive gift for an environmentally-conscious friend.

Any or all of these solutions will allow you to maintain the beautifully-scented home that you've come to love while giving you the peace of mind that comes with knowing you aren't harming the environment, yourself, or your loved ones by doing so.

Learn more about this author, Shannon Hilson.
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