I like entering a home that smells of cooking!

Nope, I open windows.

Never. My windows are open all the time.

I do although I use the type that supposedly neutralizes the odors. It would be nice to open the windows to let out the air during the winter but it takes longer than a few minutes to refresh the air. Since it was a light winter this year we only were -7F for a few days so opening the windows is just a laugh. For those that are unaware vinegar is a chemical and although it may not effect you others are not so lucky.

Sort of off topic but it has to do with odors. Last year I lost Lady at 17 to a urinary infection. Naturally the spots she laid at acquired an odor. I found Clorox Urine Remover for stains and odors with a black wrapper effective. I have had to use it several times but at least for her urine residue it has worked.

I use a solid by Renewzit that has a black cover from the dollar tree. I use in the back of my car in the drink holder on the door. I like the black one because it blends in with my door. You don't even notice it. I barely open it just to give a little scent.

I don't mind air fresheners or candles as long as it doesn't feel like you're gagging on the smell. But I do have my patio door open for fresh air any chance I get.

I don't use fresheners other than a small bowl of vinegar for cooking smells. My vet recommended using vinegar for litter pans and pet dishes as it is not toxic to cats and dogs. Don't know about birds though.

No. A good house cleaning is a healthier smell.

No, don’t use anything like those products. I am a fresh air girl. I can’t stand air fresheners, especially those things in someone’s car, and I’m sorry if I am offending anyone, but I gag and my eyes water and my throat closes up, I don’t care what scent it is. I also don’t like smelling dog, cat, or musty odors in someone’s home either. We have a dog and have had cats in the past so I know it’s sometimes hard. It’s too humid here to keep the windows open except in parts of the spring and fall. And then have to avoid the pollen seasons.

I do occasionally burn a lemon or citrus scented candle when cooking something with strong odors that the exhaust just doesn’t seem to take care of, but rarely.

I did used to burn candles to mask scents of cooking etc. but found that most are now made of soy products which cause my throat and chest to feel like someone is squeezing them. Since most are now made of it I have had to pass.

Not since I became aware of the toxic properties about thirty years ago or so.

I use to love air fresheners and candles, but can't use them much anymore. I don't think I overdid it, but somewhere along the line became sensitive to an awful lot of things :^( Particularly moisturizing shampoos and lotions...

Don't recall the owl, but I do remember some little plastic mushrooms that were filled with a scented liquid. They may have been made by lysol because they smelled exactly like current lemon lysol cleaner, lol.

I use to swear by those big air freshener "pucks" from the RV section at Walmart to put in the bathroom where the litter box is. They absorb odors and work fantastically! Back then we had a cat with kidney disease and the smell could be overwhelming even with good litter and twice daily full changes- one of those worked scary well. With the cat we have now we had to experiment to find a litter that worked for him and was unscented as well- he has skin issues when he uses scented litter...

Nooooo! Instant headache.

Big No to glade or renuzit

yes to diffusers w/essential oils

That reminds me, I was going to pick up a couple the next time I go to Dollar Tree. I just saw this lady on youtube talking about how she loved those for the bathroom and closet and I had forgotten that I used to use these all the time and liked them. I'm not opposed to scents if they are to my liking.

They all contain carcinogenic chemicals, they're no better than cigarette smoke and harder to get away from. I'm so glad that chemical sensitives are being recognized and more places are putting up "no perfume allowed" signs. Some people even get migraines from scents, please have some compassion, why would you want to put someone through that?

I have a spray can (febreeze or knockoff?) for occasional use. But generally our house smells fine "as is."

No I make my own scented wax cubes for the scentsy warmer,candles and spray. I use the cubes for everyday smellin good, the candles for cooking odors,and the spray in my car air vents.

Perhaps the kitchen table isn't the place for me...

Penny, what am I missing?

Never. I'm very sensitive to scents/chemicals.

Oh nothing, Dolly.

Scott, fwiw, I thought this was a perfectly lovely fluff post.

I don't use them, we're an open window household in a climate that usually tolerates fresh air coming in. It's counter productive to reasonable heating bills sometimes, like last week ;0)

I do burn an occasional votive under a party lite melt in my office, cheers up a rainy or snowy day somehow.

Problem with the open window policy that comes back to bite me though is - not bugs because everything is soundly screened - but dust, pollen. I'm sure I cause a little more housework for myself.

Like Morz and several others I am an open window fan! I don't use air freshners EVER!

Neither hubby or I can tolerate artificial scents of any kind. We dont even use scented soaps or lotions. Hubby is more sensitive scents than I am, often getting an instant headache when around them.

I open the windows to freshen the air in the house. Regardless of the weather, we always have a window cracked open.

.

Not in years. I know the store I work at used to sell them by the hundreds every week. Now we only have 1 or 2 scents and only order a case of each maybe every 2 months. I prefer candles or wax melts.

What are "chemical sensitives? Is there a whole new demographic out there that I have never heard of? It is your responsibility to manage your sensitivities, not ours! Holy cow, the whole world has gone insane!

Angela, it is not a matter of demography but of human biology. It is true that there are both natural and synthetic volatile molecules that happen to smell good but which have deleterious effects.

Never, but once in awhile I put baking soda in a cute tea cup or small candy dish and sprinkle some lemon or peppermint extract(the real stuff) on it. Usually in the bathroom.

Penny I hope it is not because I have mentioned your name several times when I wanted to give you specific information like tonight's comment about some peonies being able to be grown in Texas.

Found Sure Scents at Dollar Tree, fragrance is fresh linen, and I so enjoy it.

Scott, I appreciate your starting this thread. I am one of those annoying people who get a headache from many man-made scents, but I just looked up the vinegar and baking soda remedies mentioned by some posters above and I think they may work for our kitty litter boxes. It seems like no matter how often we clean them, there is always a slight hint of kitty scented ammonia in the air (and open windows would mean death by frostbite in our climate).

I find it interesting and sad that people are offended by others expressing chemical sensitivities. Today no one would be offended by the indoor smoking bans or asking someone not to smoke.

I used to use the cone shaped solid air fresheners that gradually shriveled inside. They weren't very effective and lost their scent very quickly. I am now a wax melt person. I am guilty of the car air freshener. In my defense, I keep the opening in the device as small as possible and keep it back in the third row seating area. It is barely noticeable and smells like *name brand* laundry detergent. I am quite fussy about keeping my car clean.

I love scents and use essential oil on a lamp ring. I have found airing out the kitty litter pan out doors eliminated the ammonia odor so I have a spare one. That plastic holds the odor otherwise.

I live in an urban area and fresh air is erratic. Thus my interest in scents. I did find a kitty litter called Garfield. After the comic cat. Seems to work better. On the urine. Not so much her stinky poo. Lol. I also am becoming my mother regarding scents. My mother would spray Lysol constantly. One time she accidentally sprayed her hair with Lysol. Those were the days of big metal canisters of everything and she grabbed the wrong one.

Lol, about the Lysol, Scott. My mother might have done something like that!

Funny you mention Lysol because when I was a kid in the 80s, I use to help out a lot in a science classroom where a lot of rats and mice were kept (kids trained them in classes and took them home as pets sometimes). When we cleaned the cages, we would use the Lysol spray and dry/air out before refilling the cage. Sounds like it would be awful on the animals, but with so many it was probably important that there be an easy way to disinfect... Anyway, when DH and I were cleaning out my deceased father's house recently, we came across a couple of old cans of Lysol. One spray and it felt like I was back cleaning rat cages! Wow the strong association of smell.

I like scents too, even if I am a little sensitive (scentsitive :^p) these days. I love to go into a store and smell them even if I can't have them in the house. The funny thing is that many of the things that I've become very sensitive too are all natural ingredients that have become common in beauty products these days.

There are more people with asthma and as you grow older it can activate in some people who were not previously aware of it which could explain some of the sensitivity but the other thing is that people are just not accustom to scents and find any offensive or have a reaction that they would not have noticed before. Chemicals that are used in products have also been changed to remove things that were considered harmful including the so called inert ingredients.

No, I don't use air fresheners. That is just adding more pollution to your home. I air out the house if I sense an odor problem and often leave a window opened a crack even on a cold day. Usually that odor is from cooking. Luckily, I live in a warm climate, but I was known to open the windows for a bit even on a cold Midwest winter day if the house needed it.

I do! I have a scented wax thing in the office where I use vanilla and cinnamon melts, and no one has ever complained about it bothering them when they are in and out of here. I use the Glade plug ins in the office restroom. No complaints. And I have a glade plug in for the bathrooms, hall, loft, sunroom, and utility room. I like them and they don't seem to bother anyone. I also have scented candles burning at times, and a dual fuel range with a gas cooktop. And a gas log fireplace. And I drink water from the faucet. And wine. And Dr Pepper.

Strong scents give me a headache or bother my breathing so I don't use air fresheners except maybe Lysol spray every once in a while. I do have a Scentsy wax melter but seldom use it. Until recently I was using a Lampe Berger and the scent was very soft and didn't bother me.

My MIL used to have 3-4 room fresheners in every room. She thought it would disguise the fact that her cats were peeing on everything. That pretty much permanently turned me off of any kind of room freshener.

When my husband cooks fish, I like to use something like this. It clears the air or at least makes me feel like it does. I love the smell of citrus so this doesn’t bother me at all.

Many of us who object to the manufactured fragrances do so because the toxic VOCs, such as the phthalates so common to artificial fragrances, makes us ill or, at the very least, uncomfortable.

When I am exposed to such products, my tongue becomes numb, then my lips, and then my fingers. After an accidental exposure to a commonly used pesticide over 30 years ago and an acute reaction, my liver function remained impaired for ten years. My liver is still prickly. Exposure to these toxins are potentially dangerous to me and others like me.

Chemical sensitivities are common; I am hardly unusual. People who have to regularly take liver damaging medications (like the statins or arthritis meds), are elderly or very young, chronically ill, are pregnant or wanting to become pregnant or a sperm donor, should all avoid the fumes of these products.

I hope that my brief explanation makes it a little easier for some of you to understand that many individuals living among you cannot be healthy when surrounded by these chemicals at every turn.

I feel for the people suffer with this. I enjoy trying different scents during different seasons.

This post reminded me that I needed to check the renuzit in the basement. It was feather light so time to put another one. Because I am so used to the type that you squeeze and twist to open I never thought anything other than the type with the wavy edges was a pain in the tush to open. Today the light was just right and I noticed that you are just supposed to pry up the little tear drop shaped thing in the top. Getting it open that was even a worse pain than what I was doing especially finding something thin enough to open it.

I'm just jealous that Marcy has wine and Dr. Pepper coming out of her faucet. Mine just dispenses water. Marcy - I'm coming to your house!

My step-father used to put an air-freshener on the vent of his car (not the hanging pine tree, LOL). One of those plug-in car things. Vanilla scent and I'd get a headache after being in his car for any length of time. Hated it, even though I like vanilla.

I'd never say anything, after all it was his car, and he liked the scent.

I also have a friend who burns incense and her clothes, articles in the house, anything she gives me in a plastic container, all smell like it. I have reminded her that incense isn't good for cats, as is a lot of fake smelly things, but she likes it, so still burns it.

The only scent we use at all is Just a Drop which is a liquid you put a drop in the toilet before going. It comes in eucalyptus or a floral scent. Thankfully it quickly dissipates when you flush the toilet.

Jasdip, that reminds me of a neighbor I visit often. They cook fish a lot and, well, to me, it smells good. But so many times when I'm there they apologize for the fish smell, and will light up this big rocky chunk of incense; I mean it is as big as an English walnut and looks like a chunk of coal. Someone will walk around the house with it in a kitchen pot and incense every room, waving the pot up and down, rolling that rock of incense around in the pot. It actually smells good and is interesting-- I think they might buy it from an import store of the country from which they moved. However good it smells, I think it wants to make my lungs shut down. I cough and cough.

skibby, when I re-read my comment this morning I realized how it sounded! But I didn't feel right editing it so I left it as is........ Bring a glass and come on over!!! LOL!!

I don't use air fresheners, but I am not sensitive to any of the chemicals or scents. I do like good smelling things, and though I don't wear perfume, I like to smell it on other people. I open the windows, but unless something is terribly over powering, scents don't bother me and I like to smell them. Nice scents, that is. I work around some pretty stinky animals..........

a whole lot of scented things bother me - physically. my sister uses the plug in scent things. everything she sends to me smells like it. If it's clothes, i have to wash them or hang them outside for several days. even non cloth things smell like it. I can't use (or be around where it is used) Windex or Lysol. I had to walk right back out of Target one day - as I walked in, I passed a check out lane where the clerk was cleaning her counter with Windex. I felt it instantly and left.

I use to wear White Diamonds, then one day, I couldn't anymore - or even be around those who do. A girl in the office started using it and we had to ask her not to anymore at work. If caused my throat to close up. As did one of those 'hang in the car' things. I bought one for my car (yrs ago) with a coconut scent (which I like) but when I sat in my car reading the newspaper (outside the laundromat), my throat started closing up - it kept getting worse... and I was about to panic when i saw that thing (new) hanging on the mirror. Being the only thing new to me and my car, I took it off and threw it outside the car and left my car door open. It took a few minutes, but my throat began to release and I was ok. Never again!

I buy scent free Kleenex (puffs) and detergent (Arm and Hammer). When i went to the laundromat, I had to use scent free dryer sheets - sometimes they were hard to find in stores around me.

I'm very careful with cleaners, lotions, soaps, shampoo etc.

In a way, it's a really a sad thing to be afflicted with... in another way, it's really a warning to us... a red flag to pay close attention to.