Cleaners That Smell Good Could Be Bad For Your Health

CHICAGO (CBS) -- When you clean your sink, scrub counter tops, or do laundry, chances are you're using a cleaning product with a strong scent. As CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker reports, a new study is saying that the chemicals that make those products smell good might not be good for your health.

Wander the household product aisle and take a whiff. There's plenty of citrus; sweet smells and fresh scents in those cleaning supplies.

But Faith Wurtzel says all those fragrances make her feel sick.

"It causes instant nausea", she says.

Environmental scientist Anne Steinemann says Wurtzel isn't the only one complaining.

"I had so many calls and emails from hudreds of people telling me that they were getting sick from common household products," Steinemann said.

The complaints she got ranged from headaches and breathing difficulties to even loss of consciousness. So her lab at the University of Washington analyzed 25 "scented" consumer products.

She won't reveal which ones, but says they're commonly used air fresheners, personal care, laundry and cleaning supplies.

"All of them emitted chemicals that are classified as toxic or hazardous under federal laws," Steinemann said.

She even found them in products labelled "green" or organic or natural.

There's no law requiring manufacturers to list fragrance ingredients on their product labels, partly because fragrances are considered proprietary or trade secrets.

They also might not fit. When Clorox voluntarily published its fragrance ingredients on its website, the list had 1,200 items.

"Scented household products are indeed safe", says Ladd Smith of the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials.

The fragrance industry says there's no evidence that scented products can cause health problems.

"There is a very robust process that not only we have but also along several steps in the supply chain," Smith says.

Toxicologist Dr. Tod Bania says the levels of potentially hazardous chemicals are considered low, but  if used frequently for a long time, there could be cause for concern.

"Especially if you have any kind of pulmonary disease, if you have asthma," he cautions.

Faith Wurtzel has stopped using scented products. Now, she uses lemon and a few sprays of cheap vodka for counter top; baking soda for scrubbing; and borax for washing clothes.

She and others would like to see more disclosure about ingredients.

"It's important to know what's in these compounds or in the fragrances, and if it's not listed, it's kind of hard to avoid it," Bania says.

There was a proposal to require labelling of ingredients, but it stalled in Congress last year.

Here is more information about potential problems with fragances, from the David Suzuki Foundation blog and from the Fragrance Materials Association.