Diatribe: The Dangers of Motion-Activated Air Fresheners.
Our house is a “smoke free zone”. It is not, however, a pet free environment. We have two dogs and one cat that live in the house with us and, what with the three of them and the smells that we bring home from the horses at the barn, I often worry that our house smells less than fresh. While I’m told that I’m simply imagining pet smells and that there are no odors in the house to speak of, an elaborate system of strategically placed candles, Scentsy products, air fresheners, etc. helps to keep my olfactory paranoia at bay.
It can certainly be overwhelming to keep up with a regimen that includes so many candles, gels, sprays and replacement cartridges but, through years of trial and error I have determined that the most effective method of air freshener by far is the “motion-activated air freshener”.
There are several of these tiny machines stationed around our home. Usually near a doorway or tucked neatly behind a decoration atop a cabinet, the plastic canisters are not an eyesore and only occasionally startle a guest with a little “pfsht” of freshness as they pass. (Comically, it took a bit for the cat to learn that these small spritzing robots meant him no harm.)
I recently learned, however, that the motion-activated air freshener has a dark and dangerous side to its mechanical personality.
While rearranging some furniture this past weekend, I found myself with the responsibility of moving a table lamp from its home perched atop an end table near the fire-place into a guest bedroom. As I diligently concentrated on my task, I leaned over behind the end table to unplug the lamp … forgetting that a motion-activated air freshener was stationed on the floor, out of sight behind the table yet effective when passed beside.
That little sucker sprayed some sort of Agent Orange nastiness all over my face and directly into my eyes. “My house won’t stink but I won’t be able to see!” I thought to myself.
Heed my warning, dear readers, the tiny spritz of lovely smelling meadow fresh clean linen lilac and lavender scent that is emitted by a motion-activated air freshener burns like a *!@&%# when it gets in your eyes! Be warned! It hurts! A LOT!
Going forward I will be weighing the pros and cons of a pet-smelling home in a different light. The likelihood of less dangerous potpourri and scented beads in my future anti-pet-smell routine has increased tremendously.
Do you use air fresheners in your home?
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Just scented candles & an occassional spritz of air freshener as needed. Hubby is not good at remembering where automated things are located (or much of anything else either), so he would be constantly spraying himself in the face! I can get a picture of this from your post, no matter where I might hide the motion-activated device he would need to get near it & get sprayed. It never fails!