15/09/2026
When did ‘clean’ have to smell of chemicals?
We've become so accustomed to fragranced homes that artificial smells have become shorthand for “clean”. But new research suggests our obsession with scent may be creating an invisible source of indoor air pollution.
Researchers found that fragrance compounds released by cleaning products can reach concentrations tens to hundreds of times higher than terpenes naturally present in forests.
Reacting with ozone indoors, they rapidly form billions or trillions of nanoparticles small enough to pe*****te deep into the lungs and potentially enter the bloodstream.
The estimated particle dose during cleaning can even rival that experienced beside a busy road.
Perhaps it's time to rethink what clean actually smells like. As one of the researchers puts it, clean air shouldn't really smell of anything.
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