air-Q Lab: Are Room Sprays and Air Fresheners Harmful?

If the smell of dinner still lingers in the air after cooking, or the living room smells like cigarette smoke, Febreze and the like promise a quick fix. A press of the room spray and the air is freshened. However, the cause of the bad smell hasn't actually left the room — it's just being masked by a much stronger scent.

Health risk air fresheners – how room scents harm the body

Air fresheners rely on concentrated chemistry for their rapid effect. Some ingredients are even suspected of being carcinogenic or of reducing the number of vital red blood cells. Some air fresheners also release fragrances such as hydroxycitronellal, cinnamal, or lyral, which can be allergenic. This means the artificial fragrances and preservatives particularly burden allergy sufferers, or can even trigger and promote allergic reactions in the respiratory tract.

Besides these pollutants, air fresheners also contain plasticizers used to make the fragrance last longer. These phthalates are said to negatively affect the function of the liver, kidneys, and reproductive organs.

Symptoms & effects of air fresheners

While the long-term effects of room sprays, such as organ damage, are rather hard to pin down, short-term symptoms can more clearly be traced back to air fresheners.

Possible symptoms after using room sprays include:

• Headaches & nausea
• Irritation & inflammation of the mucous membranes in the eyes & nose
• Dizziness & reduced concentration

Air fresheners in the air-Q test: analyzing pollutant development in room air

We wanted to know how using air fresheners and fabric fresheners affects indoor air. For this, we ran two test runs in a 22 m² room and monitored air quality development with our air monitor air-Q. The room was thoroughly ventilated beforehand, so air quality was perfect before the test.

air-Q test: particulate matter pollution from air fresheners

We first used an air freshener, then a fabric freshener. It became clear that the sensor for particulate matter reacted strongly in particular. The corresponding reading rose sharply within a few seconds, with the LED bar lighting up fully orange. While starting values around half past three were about 8 μg/m³, they reached a peak of just under 24 μg/m³ after using the room spray – an increase of 200 percent.

The readings also show that the air freshener lingers in the air longer than expected and, instead of settling, keeps floating around. So while the room freshener does fulfill its function, it massively raises particulate matter pollution in the room for the rest of the test period. The first peak does fade after about half an hour and halves, yet the values still only reach a "low" of about 12 μg/m³.

Stay well informed, for your healthy life

air-Q test: particulate matter pollution from fabric fresheners

For the second test, we sprayed the fabric freshener at around half past four. Readings reached another peak, though much smaller than with the room spray: values climbed from about 12 μg/m³ to just over 16 μg/m³, an increase of 33 percent. The curve also behaves differently. While the air spray produced a steeply rising line followed by an initially rapid decline, the fabric freshener shows a continuous alternation of rising and falling particulate matter readings.

This spray is "wetter," and thus heavier, than the air freshener. So it settles again quickly. This product's functionality can also be confirmed: the spray isn't meant to linger in the air for long, but rather to cling to fabrics and provide a fresh scent there. Even after a two-hour test measurement, particulate matter readings don't drop below this value again. The starting value is never reached again.

Atomizing the room sprays sprays limescale into the air. Together with the minerals it contains, this leads to the elevated particulate matter reading.

air-Q test: VOC pollution from air fresheners

Besides particulate matter readings, we examined the effect on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in room air. For this reading too, the air-Q shows a clear spike. Here, though, the peak occurs with a time delay. Starting values below 3,000 ppb only rose to about 8,000 ppb after about three-quarters of an hour. The air monitor recorded the peak value of about 9,000 ppb roughly an hour and a half after spraying. Unlike the particulate matter readings, however, VOC pollution drops again after about 30 minutes, coming close to the starting value.

Conclusion

Air fresheners strongly and, above all, persistently affect indoor pollutant levels. Elevated particulate matter readings are measurable even hours after use, making these sprays a significant source of pollutants. Beyond particulate matter, the fragrances and pollutants they contain can also negatively affect health, performance, and allergies.

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