Let’s be honest: as much as we love them, our kids can REALLY smell. You know ... the ripe shoes, the wadded-up laundry, and don’t even get us started on the dirty diaper pail.
This leads many-a-parent reaching for scented air fresheners to cover up those nasty smells. But are they actually safe? Keep reading for everything you need to know about kid-safe odor eliminators.
Are We Secretly Polluting Our Home’s Air?
As parents, we know the natural ways to keep our kids safe, from teaching them to look both ways when crossing the street to slathering them in copious amounts of sunscreen. But what about the products we use to freshen our homes?
According to an air quality report by the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans spend around 90% of their time indoors, where the air is often 2–5 times more polluted than the outdoor air.
Why is the air worse indoors? A big factor is synthetic-fragranced products, like spray odor eliminators.
Synthetic means the scent is made from chemicals mixed together to try and imitate a natural product. The truth is, your favorite "tropical blossom" scent doesn’t contain anything remotely resembling blossoms! In fact, the average fragrance product is concocted of 14 different chemicals, which don’t have to be disclosed on the product label because of trade-secret law.
Air freshener use is associated with elevated levels of Volatile Organic Compounds that are harmful to our health, including:
- Formaldehyde
- Acetaldehyde
- Benzene
- Toluene
- Ethyl Benzene
- Xylenes
Want to learn more? Read 5 reasons spray air fresheners are bad for you.
Got Asthma? You May Have an Even Harder Time With Scented Odor Eliminators
Kids, golden oldies, and those with respiratory problems have a much harder time handling polluted air, especially when asthma is a factor.
Consider this: a fragrance study revealed that 41% of adults with asthma experienced one or more adverse health effects when exposed to air fresheners and deodorizers. For non-asthmatics, the number was only 12.9%.
Why "Fake" Fragrances Really Stink for Asthmatics
Top 6 Symptoms (in order of prevalence)
Research shows that scented and sprayed cleaning products are linked to the highest risk of respiratory issues. Switching out toxic cleaners and heavily-scented products are a great way to protect your family.
The Number of Kids With Asthma Is Growing at a Startling Rate
Did you know that the number of kids with asthma increased by 75% between 1980 and 1994? For children under five, it increased 160%.
Today this chronic lung condition affects an estimated 6.1 million kids in the U.S. under age 18, according to the American Lung Association.
When kids have asthma, their lungs are extra sensitive to certain triggers, the most common being indoor and outdoor air pollutants; allergens such as pollen, mold, dust and dander; and cigarette smoke.
Kid-Safe Odor Eliminator You Can Feel Good About
No fragrance coverups, no byproducts, no harmful VOCs, and best of all, no more nasty smells!
Kids (and especially infants) are more sensitive to fragrances. To bring peace of mind into your home, ditch the toxic deodorizers and opt for a more natural solution, one that requires no elbow grease whatsoever on your part: Oxyfresh All-Purpose Deodorizer.
Just a few sprays of this non-toxic odor eliminator will send bad odors packin’ in just 60 seconds – yep, even the most potent odors wafting out of the bathroom!
What’s our secret to stopping odors?
Unlike products that MASK stinky odors with a cloud of overpowering fake fragrance, only Oxyfresh All-Purpose Deodorizer has the non-toxic purifying power of Oxygene® to oxidize stinky sulfur compounds on contact.
For those who still like a fresh scent instead of "plain fresh air," we lightly infused All-Purpose Deodorizer with uplifting natural spearmint and peppermint essential oil. (Don’t worry, though, if you want to go completely scent free, our Pet Deodorizer is the same exact formula but without the essential oil.)
Thousands of parents have tried it and loved it, and we know that you will too!
