My mother thinks I'm just being a drama queen when I tell her this, but I start having difficulty breathing whenever people use those chemical air fresheners like Febreze. She sprays that stuff around the house like its going out of style, and then if I don't leave quick enough I end up gasping for breath for the next 15 minutes. Tonight I changed out one of those "scented oil" type air fresheners for the lady I help with her shower, and I got some of the crap on my hand. I thought I got it off, but I must have gotten some on my clothes because I keep smelling it and then this giant hand reaches around my chest and squeezes me.
Now researchers are discovering that people like me aren't just being overly dramatic. The chemicals in these types of air fresheners really aren't good for us and a lot of people have trouble breathing after spraying air fresheners or chemical cleaners. Could this be part of what's contributed to the rise in asthma over the past 25-30 years? I wouldn't be the least bit surprised.
I like the essential oil air fresheners. They smell a lot better than the laboratory synthesized stuff and don't make me feel like I'm trying to breathe under water. Also, there is a cleaning grade vinegar, and there's a company that makes cleaners called "simple Green" that has pine oil, and an orange cleaner as well. And when it comes down to it, unless you have someone with a compromised immune system, being exposed to certain microbes is actually better for us than wiping everything down with stuff that was originally only meant to be used in sterile settings such as operating rooms. Unfortunately for one of my favorite television characters, Adrian Monk, life ain't sterile! Good thing--if it was, my house would have spontaneously imploded long ago.
