The challenge with any article like this is that the correlated impact on health outcomes is always implied in the article but is rarely studied as part of the research cited. Just because a is bad and b has a property similar to a that doesn't imply b has the same harmful impacts as a. I really wish articles would limit big headlines like this unless the research cited was directly comparing mortality and health outcomes directly. If the study this article was based on came to the conclusion that 'average household aerosol use has a similar associated mortality risk as average city car pollution' then the title could have been warranted but instead we got a bit of click-bait. A slightly better title could have been 'Scented products cause unexpected levels of indoor air pollution'. I'd even argue 'Scented products cause concerning levels of indoor air pollution' is a reasonable title since it is worth our concern and further study.
I fully support research like this, because it's always good to get proper data about phenomena. However, I can't help feeling that the results are unsurprising: how could you smell the scented candles if they weren't producing nanoparticles? Surely the existence or abundance of these nanoparticles was never in question?
On average, we inhale 20 lbs of air per day. This is greater by weight than the food or water we consume in a day. We should be paying a lot more attention to air quality.
I don't have any scented products in my house. Ventilation is key, especially in common areas like the living room. You should open the window occasionally even in the dead of winter to help circulate the air.
Some other things I do are regular vacuuming and dusting; you might be surprised how effective this can be in freshening the air naturally. Dust can trap odors and make a room smell stale if not removed often.
It also helps to clean soft surfaces frequently, because fabric traps odors.
Abundant houseplants help naturally purify the air. Activated charcoal in discreet places absorbs odors without adding any scent.
Unscented products like vinegar or baking soda work well for carpet and upholstery (the vinegar smell dissipates quickly).
"A forest is a pristine environment..." Hmm, is that really so? The forest air is also full of pollen, fungal spores, viruses and bacteria, all kinds of volatile organic molecules and so on. The terpenes mentioned as problematic come from conifers after all.
I am having a hard time reconciling the claim in the post headline with common sense.
One frustrating aspect to the study is that it was hard to determine whether they are comparing like for like per unit time. They say the “operation of a gas stove” and “running a generator” — but for how long? It doesn’t seem like they tested each of these things under similar conditions in their lab but rather relied on other studies for that data. Figure 2(b) right does seem to measure this but they haven’t labeled the chart with clear labels and the description is a bit ambiguous.
After reading the study, I think the issue is that the claim it is making is slightly different than the one in the headline. They are measuring VOC and ~PM2.5 pollutants, but gas engines (and gas stoves presumably as well) produce other pollutants like CO, which is what kills you of you run a gas generator indoors.
I found her work years ago, when I had a suspicion of why I'd get headaches while folding laundry. A Web search turned up her papers, I stopped using dryer sheets and scented laundry detergent, and laundry-folding headaches stopped immediately.
Separately, it turned out a bunch of people and pets who had windows near the laundry room vents of my large condo building would get headaches and breathing problems from the exhaust. The complaints stopped down after most residents stopped using scented laundry products. Though IIUC, the dryer exhaust can still contain some nasties, just not as much as before.
Completely off topic to the actual article - but...
I really get irked a lot by seeing (overly obvious) ai generated images being used for stock photos. One of the reasons my wife and I still subscribe to a couple of newspapers is that the photography helps bring to life the story being told. Why where these photos taken and how do they impact the story. You don't get that same visceral emotional reaction with low quality cartoon images.
My air purifier was instantly showing red and running at max fan speed, it took me a while to realize that the incense i ignited is causing it to detect the extra particles in the air and spin up. Now the question is whether this is a limitation in air purifiers, their inability to distinguish inert and harmless particles from harmless ones, because all they do currently is just detect particles, not their nature.
When you get down to basics it is all about conservation of mass. Nearly all of the stuff in these products have to end somewhere. So if you have candle or air freshener and it "disappears" with use. It must go to air you breath and then well surfaces and so on.
Meaning that well whatever is in them might get inhaled. Or improperly burned...
> But have you thought about how you’re contributing to air pollution inside of where you live by using seemingly innocuous products like scented, non-combustible candles?
What is a non-combustible candle? Searching for "flame-free candle" just gives results for fake LED ones. The rest of the article talks about "scented wax melts" are they the same?
The biggest and more recent phenomena is the (at least in Sydney, Australia), the popularity of ambroxan(?) laced perfume. You can't walk into a lunchroom or walk down the street without being literally assaulted by the stuff.
I don't know what perfume makers are thinking, but this stuff makes my day unbearable at times.
I guess a chemical with super strength sillage works in the market...
I cannot wait for the day when people stop scenting their homes and offices with scented products. They smell like chemicals and cause migraines in some people. If you're doing this, please please stop.
I don't understand why you'd want anything in your house to release smells independently of delivering some essential function. I find it distracting at best, and headache-inducing at worst. Cosmetic products are particularly offensive. Let this study serve as a call to eliminate stinky products!
Scented products cause indoor air pollution on par with car exhaust
(newatlas.com)367 points by clumsysmurf 19 February 2025 | 192 comments
Comments
Some other things I do are regular vacuuming and dusting; you might be surprised how effective this can be in freshening the air naturally. Dust can trap odors and make a room smell stale if not removed often.
It also helps to clean soft surfaces frequently, because fabric traps odors.
Abundant houseplants help naturally purify the air. Activated charcoal in discreet places absorbs odors without adding any scent.
Unscented products like vinegar or baking soda work well for carpet and upholstery (the vinegar smell dissipates quickly).
One frustrating aspect to the study is that it was hard to determine whether they are comparing like for like per unit time. They say the “operation of a gas stove” and “running a generator” — but for how long? It doesn’t seem like they tested each of these things under similar conditions in their lab but rather relied on other studies for that data. Figure 2(b) right does seem to measure this but they haven’t labeled the chart with clear labels and the description is a bit ambiguous.
After reading the study, I think the issue is that the claim it is making is slightly different than the one in the headline. They are measuring VOC and ~PM2.5 pollutants, but gas engines (and gas stoves presumably as well) produce other pollutants like CO, which is what kills you of you run a gas generator indoors.
I found her work years ago, when I had a suspicion of why I'd get headaches while folding laundry. A Web search turned up her papers, I stopped using dryer sheets and scented laundry detergent, and laundry-folding headaches stopped immediately.
Separately, it turned out a bunch of people and pets who had windows near the laundry room vents of my large condo building would get headaches and breathing problems from the exhaust. The complaints stopped down after most residents stopped using scented laundry products. Though IIUC, the dryer exhaust can still contain some nasties, just not as much as before.
I really get irked a lot by seeing (overly obvious) ai generated images being used for stock photos. One of the reasons my wife and I still subscribe to a couple of newspapers is that the photography helps bring to life the story being told. Why where these photos taken and how do they impact the story. You don't get that same visceral emotional reaction with low quality cartoon images.
Meaning that well whatever is in them might get inhaled. Or improperly burned...
What is a non-combustible candle? Searching for "flame-free candle" just gives results for fake LED ones. The rest of the article talks about "scented wax melts" are they the same?
I don't know what perfume makers are thinking, but this stuff makes my day unbearable at times.
I guess a chemical with super strength sillage works in the market...
I once lit up one of those scented candles and the sensor fire up to over 1200 PPM.
It had a wooden wick. I think that was one of the reasons.
behind one door and up one floor.
two air handlers blowing with air purifiers of four.
Found two filters sooty and the cpap tasted like campfire booty.