Pug in air fresheners

[secsee1]

A few friends of mine have gone mad on buying and using plug in type air fresheners but are they
safe to use ? the reason that I ask this is because I used to work for a company that dealt in
oils some industrial and some fragrant such as rose oil or patulli oil etc. they used to get it in large
quantities and they were delivered in 50 gallon drums but quite a few of the drums had hazard stickers
on them saying ''Warning may be carcinogenic'' which I take to mean may cause cancer,
yet here we are plugging these things into the mains electric, heating up the oil and subjecting everybody
in the house into breathing in the vapours, Can this be safe ?

[beejay1124]

how did the dog get in there ??????????

[Bbbananas]

Exactly - I don't like pugs, but to put them in air freshners smacks of cruelty.

[Bbbananas]

Also, some perfumed candles (made of paraffin wax) can be carcinogenic , over time, if used too frequently and in unventilated rooms. Soya candles are ok though.

[secsee1]

Oooops that should read PLUG

[stokemaveric]

im sure they wouldnt be on general sale if there was a hazard to the public..........

[beejay1124]

wait til' the tabloids get the hold of this

[squarebear]

I assume each plugin uses slightly less than 50 gallons...

[Ankou]

well these days just living can cause cancer.

they are called volatile organic compounds (voc's) and they may affect the environment or human health, depending on the particular chemicals involved, the quantities and concentrations, and the relative locations of "receptors" which are sensitive to the particular chemical.

it has been suggested that the voc's that are contained in the fabric of a cars interior (seats, carpets, ceilings, dashboard plastics etc) are one of the main causes of travel sickness - especially in new cars.

[Bbbananas]

vocking 'ell - that's scary.

[4getmenot]

One way to be sure, just dont buy them. Use candles instead

[Bbbananas]

ah but, 4getmenot, read my post about paraffin candles - I'm being quite serious, I read it in Victoria Health., and she knows everything.

[secsee1]

I dont like the sound of all that, If I wake up dead one morning the shock will be enough to kill me.

[Ankou]

well methane is a voc as well, so if your bedroom door is closed, windows closed, head under the duvet and you spend the night farting, then waking up dead is a definite possibility.

[sara3]

well hey, you're going to look pretty silly dying of nothing.

[Ankou]

probably prefereable to have 'methane poisoning' on your death cert though than 'farted to death'.

you have to think of the possibilty that one of your famous great great great great grandhcilren might appear on the bbc's 'who do you think you are?' wth a sniggering genealogist.

[ethandron]

trouble with plug ins is that you stop being able to smell them after a while. and having 2 plugged in and switched on all the time, 24x7, will cost you about £25 a year in electricity. we've just bought some plug in timer switches (3 for £10 in homebase) and i now have two of these in use, with two 2hour timed slots for the air freshners. you can really smell them when they come on.
i doubt they'll have much of a bad effect on your health unless you're allergic to any of the ingredients, in which case they may make you sneeze.

[patsyann]

Back in the Summer the Fire Brigade put out a warning about the use of them as some house fires appear to have been started by the plug- ins overheating and they showed a picture of a burnt out one. I immediately binned all of mine. Better safe than sorry. Worth looking into Fire Brigade web site to see if anything is available about them .possibly manufacturers have made them safer.

[mrs.chappie]

I've got one but I only use it when I know that we are going to have folk coming round. Otherwise I like to have windows open for fresh air. I can also remember reading that they are bad for your pets.