Smell is a potent wizard
that transports you across thousands of miles
and all the years you have lived.Helen Keller
I have a sensitive schnoz. I can’t take most perfumes, I’m very very picky about lotions, shampoos, detergents. I can tolerate citrus-scented things if they’re not overpowering, but I prefer fragrance-free everything.
I think that since I started actively avoiding fragranced products, I’ve only become more sensitive. Whenever we go to a show or a place with crowds or lines, I’m careful to pack some Advil in my bag, because all too often I wind up too close to someone who got a little too enthusiastic with the perfume or hairspray. I’ll wind up with a headache so bad I can’t see— an awesome situation to be in when you’ve taken the kids somewhere “fun” and have a long drive home.
I always assumed this was just me being me, but apparently my sensitivity might have a scientific explanation.
A recent study researched 25 popular air fresheners, laundry products, household cleaners and personal care products containing “fragrance”— a thoroughly unregulated term; the chemicals that make up a “fragrance” aren’t legally required to be disclosed— and found that:
- the 25 emitted 133 different volatile organic compounds (VOCs), averaging 17 VOCs per product;
- a quarter of those are classified as toxic or hazardous under federal laws,
- some are classified by the EPA as probable carcinogens, with no safe level of exposure, and
- each item tested gave off at least one of these chemicals.
And yes, some of the items tested were labelled green or all-natural.
A second study captured the fumes from dryer vents. When a load of clothing washed in an undisclosed scented laundry detergent (my money is on that headache in a jar, Gain) was put into a dryer with scented dryer sheets, the captured emissions contained 25 VOCs, including seven hazardous air pollutants. Two of those – acetaldehyde and benzene – are classified as carcinogens with no determined safe level of exposure.
The researchers estimate that in the Seattle area, where the study was conducted, acetaldehyde emissions from this brand of laundry detergent would be equivalent to 3 percent of the total acetaldehyde emissions coming from automobiles. Emissions from the top five brands, they estimate, would constitute about 6 percent of automobiles’ acetaldehyde emissions.
It’s not a killer all on its own, but it’s one more way we’re slowly poisoning our air, our water and our bodies, and it’s totally unnecessary.
Just switch to fragrance-free or unscented, or demand that companies disclose what constitutes “fragrance” in their products.
Add a little vinegar to your wash for softening (the smell dissipates upon drying), or try some of those dryer balls to keep fabrics cozy.
Make sure your dryer vents outside and not into your house, or even better, line dry.
I like Sun & Earth
Oh, I am WITH you! Perfume and laundry detergent on other people can really bother me. I think that my sniffer has gotten much more attuned to smell ever since we tried to cut back as much as possible on Fragrance. I can smell secret deodorant from a mile away… that can’t be very good for the body. Oh, and the commercials for febreze just about kill me! Encouraging people to cover up bad smells with sprays of chemical… especially in places like the diaper pail… in the babies nursery. yikes!
I have a sachet of pine needles from Maine that Kathryn gave me and if I could fill my house, laundry machine, drawers with that clean, natural smell it would be so much better than any of the harsh chemical laden fragrances on the market. Good post!
I never noticed how strong laundry detergent smells until I switched to unscented for our family. Now, I _always_ know if an article of used clothing I buy was recently laundered or if grandma ran my kids’ clothes through the wash before sending them home in their suitcase.
My neighbour is doing her laundry and the horrible artificial scent of fabric conditioner is wafting over our patio. So many medical facilities ban perfume use, yet make no mention of laundry products that linger in clothing.
The level of toxic fumes in our neighborhood is getting unbearable. Social engineering is responsible for this, combined with Wall Street and complete ignorance on the part of the public.
Wife and I have become so sensitized to toxic chemical scents that it is practically impossible to go to a movie-the fumes coming of people’s clothing are so noxious my throat immediately starts to close up. People are walking around in a cloud of chemical fragrances from laundry detergent, dryer sheets, fabric softener, deodorant,. Hair spray, soap, shampoo, perfume, after shave, lotions, creams, etc. etc. One interesting thing about this is the fact that people cannot even smell it on themselves-they are carrying around a toxic load that has desensitized them- the brain actually stops sending signals at a certain point of overload.
If you remove scented products from your life you will smell people coming ten feet away, and you will smell their cloud. It is toxic, annoying, damaging to all of our health, environmentally irresponsible, and quite simply put I nor any on the highest level.
Please, please consider living as much of a scent free life as possible. We don’t need these chemicals in our lives. Make a stand. The corporations will only pay attention if it affects their bottom line.
i vote for Gain as the worse offender…it is horrible and the personalities of the people who use is aptly suited…. they drive Yukon’s and are loud.
I agree with Gain smelling awful. But man are you ignorant!
I’m not one to cause problems. I’m a quite person and try to keep to myself. But if gain is responsible for that obnoxious smell I’m happy protest. Whatever it would take to get that smell banned. I’ve also noticed some real swell people purchasing and spilling out of there car mercaptan while sitting in traffic or at a red light. It used to give natural gas an odor but on its own in concentration it effects the nervous system. It will be a potent skunk smell that is sucked in your car air system.
Tell me about it!
Even a whiff of that strong scented detergent, gives me a blocked nose and a throbbing pain in the head for hours. (I always carry a paracetamol with me)
When I go perfume shopping, I pick men’s perfumes because for some really odd reason they don’t smell as strong as women’s perfumes (Who on earth told them that women have to be sweet smelling!) Here’s the weird part, a lot of people like the men’s perfume that I use.
I can feel your pain, completely. I found your blog while looking for mild-smelling alternatives here in India. I am not surprised with what I have found- nothing.
Moreover, very few people have written on this.
As of now, I think detergents for babies are usually mild. At least, that is what Google has been telling me. What’s your opinion on this? Have you tried switching to mild-smelling baby products? Do let me know!
Thank you all. I truely thought that I was alone. Friends give me beautiful hand me downs, that I cannot afford. Unfortunately, they wash them in Gain. I have soaked with vinegar and hung these items in the sun with no solution.
I finally quit accepting these toxic items.
As a hobbyist soap and candlemaker, I have to say less is definitely more when it comes to fragrance. Even since the original post here in 2011, laundry detergents have gotten even stronger smelling! Also, you can smell the ‘major’ brands (Tide/Gain) on people’s clothing, and it is not pleasant whatsoever. I don’t know what the manufacturers are thinking.
Oh, my Dog! I should have known better. I got a freebie at the Freeosk in WM. A tide pod. The worst mistake I’ve ever made in my life, was using it in my machine. Especially since I’ve used free & clear forever. Anyway…. The odor is killing me. I’ve since washed my sheets, separately, in baking soda, borax and white vinegar. Waiting for the results of the white vinegar wash. Don’t ever, ever use tide detergent!!!!!