Why do people use air "fresheners" in their tiny travel trailers??!!

[TucsonAZ]

As you may know from my other post I'm in the market for a fiberglass trailer and as you've all pointed out, it's rarely a quick and easy search. To make matters even worse, there's the whole air freshener issue. Half the reason I want a fiberglass trailer is the reduced off gassing and hopefully healthier air inside of it. So I'm looking through a local listing, good price, looks promising:


Link removed as it's sold, was a 2011 Scamp for $11k but in the photos there was a yellow air freshener tree hanging.


And I get to the 7th picture in, why, just why?


For the life of me I can't fathom why people put these toxic petrochemicals in a tiny space they're sleeping in. Totally ruins the trailer as those petrochemicals leach into every single plastic based fiber in the trailer and will never come out.



My assumption is always that they're trying to cover up a worse smell but I have passed on at least a dozen untis over the years because of this issue. Does anybody have any insight as to why they do it, do the people not know how toxic the fresheners are, do they not care, is this a local issue to Arizona as it seemed like a non issue in the Pacific NW for example.

[Jim Bennett]

I have never seen that done. I prefer a nice glass of Scotch or other nice whiskey for a good aroma.

[Borrego Dave]

Adam, some people hang fresheners just because they like the smell, nothing more than that.

[Raspy]

Adam, That posting has already been deleted. Did it sell?

[ZachO]

Those of us sensitive to smells live in a different world.

People are either desensitized, or just have a less sensitive nose.

I don't prefer smelling people at all, but I do prefer body odor to chemical perfume and cologne.

One thing to watch out for, especially in something for sale, is an air freshener to cover up some other smell, like mold, mildew, or some other funk.

When I house sit, the first thing I do is walk around the house and disconnect all glade plug-ins, ticking clocks, then all the little led display lights in the bedroom as well as night lights. Then I find the wifi, and it gets turned off at night...

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by ZachO

Then I find the wifi, and it gets turned off at night...

Is that so you don't get a wiff ?

[thrifty bill]

Same reason people use air fresheners in their homes, cars, etc. Or wear perfumes. They like them. Think of how small a space you have with a car. And have you rented a car lately? Many rental car companies dose the cars down between rentals, trading one odor for another.

I don't care for them myself. But companies have sold probably billions of $$ in various air fresheners, and then add perfumes on top of that. So someone is buying them. And it's not just to trick buyers either.

The best way to avoid it is to buy new. Of course, then you get various off gassing of products used in the original construction whether its from upholstery, carpet, paint, glues, or a myriad of other things.

I'd visit some factories in person and test it out. You will pay a premium for brand new, but molded FG trailers hold their value so well, the premium is typically not huge.


I just looked it up, US sales of air fresheners was $1.62 billion in 2016 alone!! And its not just a US phenomenon either. Global sales were over $10 billion in 2017. Global perfume sales were $39 billion in 2018! So that's basically $50 billion between the two.

Those of us that don't like them are outnumbered! And those where its more than just a nuisance are way outnumbered.

[ZachO]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Is that so you don't get a wiff ?

Exactly.

[WizWid]

Originally Posted by TucsonAZ

...Half the reason I want a fiberglass trailer is the reduced off gassing and hopefully healthier air inside of it....

I don't get that part. Are you saying that fiberglass resin/carpet/mdf off-gasses less than wood/aluminum?

[jokra]

Your question is valid, but there is no valid reason that I can think of for using these things. I do know that not every one has the same level of sensitivity to smell. I have had migraines most of my life and am more sensitive to smell, especially tobacco smoke. I recently rented an AirBnB in BC and it was totally filled with some kind of toxic smell to cover up some kind of odour. I hardly slept all that night and would have left and preferred to sleep in my rental car if it had not been arranged by my family.

[Justus C]

The same reason people drink alcohol, soda, or juice, smoke, eat meat, eat sugary foods, sit around a campfire, etc. Because their enjoyment outweighs the risk of adverse health effects.

Or they are ignorant or in denial of the health effects.

They aren't trying to piss you off on purpose. Don't like it? Don't buy it. Get outta my trailer and off my lawn!!!

[Steve L.]

Pretty much at the bottom of my list of things to worry about, but, whatever floats your boat.

[Eric Frye]

Adam if you are so offended by air fresheners then you may want to stop urinating. Each time you do, you emit uric acid. This is obviously harmful to the atmosphere an will break down to ammonia when exposed to air. Oh and oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and limes, citric acid, bad stuff man. Don't even get me started on apples, cyanide and acidic acid holly smolly.

[ZachO]

Oh come on people. Way to go off the deep end. If he's really sensitive to smells, and you don't know what that's like, you can stay out of his business same as you want him to stay out of yours.

These things really do have an effect, which is why many offices and medical buildings are "scent free". Now in your own place obviously you do what you want, but when you're shopping for a new trailer or car and they're all heavily perfumed, I can understand getting frustrated.

Adam will just have to learn that making any statement on the internet can and will be completely overblown. And yes, criticizing what people choose to do in their own living space is asking for it...

[Casita Greg]

Not to knock the great state of Texas, but being from the more pristine atmosphere areas of the PNW, the one most memorable thing, (smell-wise,) that I will always remember when driving home after picking up my trailer, (besides the ridiculously insane heat,) was the ubiquitous and unending smell of crude oil. Seemed like the whole central and western part of the state reeked of the smell of "texas tea" crude oil. Just not used to it I guess, but I couldn't get away from that smell soon enough. (Sorry Texans, not pickin' on ya'll.)

[Alex Adams]

Originally Posted by Eric Frye

Adam if you are so offended by air fresheners then you may want to stop urinating. Each time you do, you emit uric acid. This is obviously harmful to the atmosphere an will break down to ammonia when exposed to air. Oh and oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and limes, citric acid, bad stuff man. Don't even get me started on apples, cyanide and acidic acid holly smolly.

My mother after having been through chemo for lung cancer and having part of her lung removed couldn't go anywhere near scented candles, air fresheners, etc. She literally could not breath if she stayed near them for any time. There are people who are like that naturally as well.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Casita Greg

Not to knock the great state of Texas, but being from the more pristine atmosphere areas of the PNW, the one most memorable thing, (smell-wise,) that I will always remember when driving home after picking up my trailer, (besides the ridiculously insane heat,) was the ubiquitous and unending smell of crude oil. Seemed like the whole central and western part of the state reeked of the smell of "texas tea" crude oil. Just not used to it I guess, but I couldn't get away from that smell soon enough. (Sorry Texans, not pickin' on ya'll.)

I much prefer the smell of Oregon , Idaho and Washington over the smells of the Southern US . We spent time in Florida and the smell of mold permeated everything . My wife has COPD and the mold really bothered her , far worse than air freshener , perfume or campfire smoke .
Even a bad , cheap cigar smells better than the smell of mold and rot IMHO


PS ; A huge thunderstorm just rolled thru and with it our power went out . I am sitting on my front porch which is illuminated by a lovely scented candle !!

[TucsonAZ]

So I'm seeing in large part it is a geographical thing with maybe some hint of socioeconomics. I notice the SW is much much worse than the PNW but scented products for example are also banned in some buildings in more health conscious Cities like Portland for example (citation given at #1 below). Whereas if you're in a poorer area of say Oklahoma at a casino air freshener is literally pipped into the duct work of the HVAC system (citation given at #2). Actually I think most casinos do this so then we would be debating the socioeconomics of those who enjoy gambling which isn't my goal as I'm just pointing out an observation that the less money a person tends to have the further away I can typically smell them and the less informed overall they tend to be about the correlation between healthy and food/product choices.


To be super super clear, I'm libertarian, do whatever you want to do with your lives, I don't care if you use drugs, drink, gamble, smoke and eat Hot Pockets for every meal. This is your life, you should live it the way you choose, that makes you happy. I'm a HUGE believer in the golden rule.



Scented products however are the new second hand smoke (citation given at #3 and #4) so I think this falls under the golden rule. If you got into an elevator and somebody was smoking a cigar a large percentage of people would find it offensive. Most scented product users have a HIGHLY fatigued endocrine system (citation given at #5) and don't even recognize that they can be smelled from 10, 20, even 50 feet away, that you can smell them in your car at a stoplight when they pull up next to you with their windows down.



So I guess the bigger question beyond using the scented products is how much is okay for them to impact other people before it's an issue. If course if you want to use them in your own home, car, trailer that's up to the person and if it impacts resale or not is again not my business.



I am seeing there are a good number of people who are sensitive to them in here. I have also read that as many as 25+ percent of people have multiple chemical sensitivity (citation #6) so maybe awareness is growing as it's starting to cause serious health issues and the impact of VOCs on physical health relating to these products can't be denied forever.



Let's not forget that Gulf War Syndrome is Multiple Chemical Sensitivity by another name (citation given at #7) so that the health issues of those veterans could be addressed while still denying that scented and FDA/EPA approved products caused multiple chemical sensitives in civilians.



Anyway, this was in part just a rant for me, it's just frustrating in general finding a product, finding one that was owned by a more health conscientious buyer adds yet another level of difficulty to the search for what already feels like a needle in a haystack.



#1) https://www.portlandoregon.gov/civic/article/686655



#2) https://www.casinoair.com/wp-content...t-Cover-up.pdf


#3) https://www.lung.ca/lung-health/air-...quality/scents


#4) https://branchbasics.com/blog/fragra...ondhand-smoke/


#5) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5198031/


#6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5865484/


#7) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8921568

[steve dunham]

I have no problem with making REASONABLE accommodations for people with chemical sensitivities but sometimes it is taken to the extreme .
I’ve worked at businesses where people have complained about the smell of certain foods and want the management to limit what food people can bring to work in there lunch or complain about the smell from peoples clothing because they use a laundry detergent that they find objectionable .
Next they will want bakeries to eliminate the smell from baking bread

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

I have no problem with making REASONABLE accommodations for people with chemical sensitivities but sometimes it is taken to the extreme .
I’ve worked at businesses where people have complained about the smell of certain foods and want the management to limit what food people can bring to work in there lunch or complain about the smell from peoples clothing because they use a laundry detergent that they find objectionable .
Next they will want bakeries to eliminate the smell from baking bread

+ 100% on your comment. You can always find statistics to "prove" any point being made.