[...]Why Scents May Not Make Cents When Trying To Sell Your Home. | Wasilla Real Estate News, Valley Market Real Estate[...]…

Why Scents May Not Make Cents When Trying To Sell Your Home. | Wasilla Real Estate News, Valley Market Real Estate…

now my next-door neighbor uses scented laundry products, and the dryer vents to outdoors. i love spending time outdoors, but i have to go indoors whenever she washes because the air in my entire yard smells so strong. now i’m determined to also canvas neighbors of any house that i buy to find out if they use scented products.

as my chronic illness progresses, my sensitivity to chemical smells increases. for the sake of everyone’s health, i hope this issue of the damage triggered by scented products becomes quickly and widely known.

Ten years ago when we bought our home, we were focused on one desirable neighborhood where homes sell relatively quickly, yet found we had to pass on house after house because of contaminants we were having trouble with in the air. One in particular was a home I think we would have done well in, but the kitchen cabinets gave off something we reacted to, probably from something the sellers had used to try to make them look newer. We declined to even look at any fragranced houses, given our sensitivities.

A couple of years later, one of my son’s elementary school teachers used scented candles in her room both before school and during breaks, “for relaxation”. She became very defensive when we pointed out that his reaction to those fumes was affecting his ability to learn and his attendance, and made no changes despite our perception of an agreement to the contrary. Although there were also problems in the other classroom he spent a lot of time in, he missed more than half of instructional hours that winter. While the teacher had moved on, the classroom still stank and we refused to allow our daughter to set foot in it 4 years later. A long term impact, indeed.