Natural Alternatives to Air Fresheners: Are Essential Oils Safer?
For the air freshener industry, the latest catch phrase is “essential oils.” Despite this natural-sounding name, these products are by no means entirely safe. Essential oils are also defined as volatile, and while these substances are extracted from flowers, bark, berries, roots, seeds, and woods, and do have some potential medicinal and positive effects, they can still be very toxic to people and animals, particularly when they are used improperly.
“Essential oils, which are included in many air freshener products, can be very toxic, especially to cats. If you simply have to have essential oils in the home, make sure they are kept in a location where your pets cannot come into direct contact with them,” says veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Coates of Fort Collins, Colorado.
“Also, birds are more sensitive to potential airborne toxins than are other animals, so I generally recommend a ‘better safe than sorry’ approach with the use of air fresheners around them.”
When it comes to using these products around our pets, a little information is your best defense. “Read the instructions on the side of the bottle and be sure you are spraying the recommended amount,” says Dr. Mahaney. “When you walk into a room that’s been heavily sprayed with air freshener, what does it do to your eyes and lungs? If it’s doing that to you, it’s also going to do that [or worse] to your pets.”
Are Plug-in Air Fresheners Safe for Dogs?
Dog owners are all familiar with that distinctive doggy smell that can accumulate in a home, especially during winter when windows are kept shut and dogs come in wet or muddy from walks. We often become so used to the smell ourselves we fail to notice it until perhaps a visitor remarks on it, and then we feel bad that our home has a pong.
Many people resort to using air fresheners to fragrance their homes. These could be plug-in devices, sprays, incense burners, essential oil diffusers or scented candles. Anything to take away that smell and make a home fresh and pleasant.
The problem comes when our dogs are exposed to these products. Many air fresheners are poisonous to dogs and they can react to them just by smelling them. A reaction can be subtle and may even be mistaken for the dog simply being tired, or getting old. In other cases, it can be serious and could lead to the dog dying. Before using air fresheners, you need to know the dangers they pose to your pet.
Dogs have very sensitive noses and are easily affected by air fresheners.
Air fresheners use chemicals when they spray fragrance that changes the smell of your home. These chemicals are often simply referred to as VOCs (volatile organic compounds). The term VOCs covers a wide range of substances, some natural and some not. These include ethanol (alcohol), acetone and formaldehyde. What these chemicals all share in common is that they vaporise at room temperature and release a scent.
VOCs are essential to air fresheners as they help to quickly and easily distribute scent about the room.
The problem with VOCs is that they can be hazardous to the health of both humans and animals. In 2011, the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology reported that air fresheners were negatively impacting 20% of the US population and 34% of known asthma sufferers. They had received reports of allergies and asthma worsening after the use of air fresheners in homes.
Some of the symptoms reported in people who reacted to air fresheners included;
What makes plug-ins particularly bad for pets is that they are usually located low to the floor, at dog height. This means a dog could inhale more of the VOCs from a plug-in than a person, especially if they tend to spend most of their time in a room where one is installed. They are also more sensitive to some of the ingredients, such as ethanol. Ethanol is a type of alcohol and is toxic to dogs in relatively small amounts. Ethanol poisoning can be fatal if left untreated.
Other VOCs in plug-ins that can have nasty side effects include:
Over 100 different chemicals are used in air fresheners and many of them can have unpleasant consequences on human and animal health. Even fresheners labelled as green or natural are likely to contain VOCs – ethanol, after all, is a natural substance, yet very toxic to dogs.
Air fresheners are not required to list their ingredients, which makes it even harder to be absolutely sure what is in them.
Scented candles can emit hazardous chemicals
Air freshener sprays contain the same VOCs as plug-ins, but are generally used less intensely. They can still harm pets if inhaled. Pets should never be in the room when an air freshener spray is used, and if furniture is treated, it must be fully dry before a pet is allowed near it. However, the fragrance will linger for some time and can still be inhaled along with nasty chemicals.
Scented candles also contain VOCs, along with other hazardous substances. Many are made from paraffin wax which, when burned, releases chemicals known to cause cancer. The wick can also be a source of danger. Some wicks contain or are wrapped in metal. When burned these emit toxic smoke. According to the Hayward Score, which aims to improve the health of your home, burning a candle with a lead-core wick can release five times the amount of lead considered hazardous to children.
Smoke inhalation is another real risk for candle users. British woman Farrah Lorrel Fraser, nearly died when she fell asleep in a room with a scented candle. She was saved by her dog Badger, who scratched at her door and whimpered, waking her up. Farrah had black soot lines coming out of her nose and was coughing up black phlegm. She required oxygen therapy and was at serious risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Had Badger not woken her when he did, Farrah would likely have died.
Many owners looking for alternatives to chemical air fresheners and scented candles switch to burners or diffusers that use essential oils, or incense. Though these products are natural or organic, many of the most popular fragrances are toxic to dogs.
Marianne Whytes dog became very sick after being exposed to scents released by an oil diffuser:
However, the following day the little dog went downhill again, hid under a bed and didnt seem to recognise Marianne:
Mariannes dog was lucky, but vets are seeing more and more cases of pets being poisoned by essential oils used in diffusers, burners or incense. The number of these oils that are dangerous to pets is extensive, some of them are listed and worth reading up on. Cats and dogs can be affected by different oils, so an oil that is not harmful to a dog could still make your cat sick.
To be fully safe, it is better not to use any of these forms of natural air fresheners around your dogs.
Dried herbs such as lavender can be used to fragrance a home naturally
Best Air Freshener for Home: Bright Air Solid Pet Odor Eliminator
No matter how much you clean after your pets, sometimes, the smell lingers. And no one wants their home smelling like a used litter box or dog farts, especially not after putting in all that effort into keeping everything tidy. That’s where air fresheners such as this one come to the rescue – not only will it whisk away the odors, but it will diffuse a cool, citrusy aroma all over your home. The plant-based gel is completely safe and the formula is based on natural essential oils, so it contains no phthalates, triclosan, or BHT. It will work for up to 60 days and one piece covers medium-sized spaces, but since you get 6 air fresheners in the pack, you can strategically place them all over your home for absolute, lasting freshness.