If you happen to see a commercial for a traditional cleaner on television, you’ll notice that many of the products that are being sold have a pine tree scent, or smell like fresh lemons, or whatever else they think will help sell their product. But, what are you actually getting with these added fragrances in traditional cleaners? According to this article from Destination Green, what you may be getting is some potentially serious health problems.

The Fragrance Factor in Cleaning Chemicals

From a News Story Released in 2013

Many Green chemical manufacturers now remove fragrances from their products, according to Stephen Ashkin, President of The Ashkin Group and long considered “the father of Green Cleaning.”

“There is a very real reason for this. For some people, the fragrance found in these and other products can be as problematic to health as secondhand smoke.”

However, Ashkin says it is not necessarily the fragrance that may produce adverse health impacts. “Instead, it is often because some of these product fragrances have been produced from petroleum or made from ingredients such as acetone, phenol, toluene, benzyl acetate, and limonene, all of which can harm human health.”

Public health officials report there are four categories of health effects due to fragrances. These are:

1. Respiratory, including allergic asthma, nonallergic asthma, and reactive airway dysfunction syndrome (RADS)

2. Neurological, which includes headaches, migraines, nausea, dizziness, and confusion

3. Skin irritation

4. Eye irritation, tearing, and inflammation

Adverse reactions to fragrances also cost the U.S. economy more than $25 billion annually in absenteeism due to illness as well as reduced worker productivity.*

Because of this, Ashkin suggests the following steps that employers can take to help reduce the amount of fragrances found in the workplace:

· Select fabrics, upholstery, and carpets that have reduced “off-gassing” levels, and install them on the weekend, allowing time for off-gassing to dissipate.

· Strongly recommend that employees refrain from wearing perfumes and colognes.

· Limit the use of some automatic air fresheners; increase air ventilation in restrooms and foodservice areas.

· Use office air purifiers.

· Have indoor air regularly tested by an industrial hygiene professional.

· Create scent-free zones and meeting rooms.

· Educate all staffers about why exposure to scented products can be a problem.

· Select Green Cleaning chemicals; most are fragrance free.

“And take fragrance complaints seriously, even if just from one office worker,” adds Ashkin. “It is more likely than not that many others are also being impacted.”