Pleasant smell, hidden risk? Scented cleaning products may polute the air you breathe
Cleaning products with essential oils or synthetic fragrances may negatively affect indoor air quality and human health, according to researchers at Purdue University in the United States.
The study found that terpenes, the compounds responsible for many pleasant scents in cleaning products, can react with ozone indoors. This chemical reaction produces extremely small nanoparticles that can penetrate deep into the lungs and potentially enter the bloodstream.
Lead researcher Brandon Burr said that while cleaning products remove germs and contaminants from surfaces, they can simultaneously generate invisible air pollution. The researchers found that the resulting particles can expose people to a respiratory dose comparable to, or even greater than, exposure experienced near a busy roadway.
The experiments were conducted inside a “miniature laboratory house,” where researchers observed that scented cleaning products generated billions of nanoparticles within minutes. The particles measured between 1 and 30 nanometers, making them too small for many conventional air-quality monitoring devices to detect.
Researchers warned that the tiny particles are particularly concerning because they can travel deep into lung tissue. They also noted that previous research has associated high exposure to limonene, a terpene responsible for citrus scents, with biological changes linked to conditions that may precede heart disease and diabetes.
Although terpenes occur naturally in plants such as pine, thyme and lavender, researchers said the concentrations released by some cleaning products can be many times higher than the levels people would normally encounter outdoors.
Burr compared the indoor chemical reactions to processes involved in smog formation near highways, warning that indoor air can look and smell clean while containing potentially harmful particles. The researchers recommend choosing unscented cleaning products, ventilating rooms during cleaning and avoiding ozone-generating devices marketed as air purifiers.
The findings were presented at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Fall Meeting, held from August 23 to 27.
