Candles and VOCs
You May be Inhaling More Than Aroma

While the holidays may spark a few more candles in your homes than usual, its common for scented candles to be a household staple year-round. There’s nothing quite like transforming your home into the ambiance of your choice with the quick flick of a match. Although candles come in more scents than you can imagine, they do have one thing in common: they affect our indoor air quality.

That beloved candle of yours is doing more than adding the perfect aroma to your space, it’s also releasing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). According to the EPA, VOCs have the potential to adversely impact the health of people that are exposed. This statement isn’t hard to believe as by definition, the EPA states that VOC’s contain formaldehyde, d-Limonene, toluene, acetone, ethanol (ethyl alcohol) 2-propanol (isopropyl alcohol), and hexanal. All of a sudden, your scented candle collection is starting to look less appealing.

The American Lung Association explains that “Breathing VOCs can irritate the eyes, nose, and throat, can cause difficulty breathing and nausea, and can damage the central nervous system as well as other organs. Some VOCs can cause cancer.” It is later stated in the article that proper ventilation is an effective way to combat these effects. If you find yourself not willing to part with your scented candles, knowing how to reduce the negative effects of their use is imperative.

Having windows open isn’t always an option, you can however boost indoor air quality with the use of an air purifier. Each Winix air purifier is equipped with filters to specifically combat the presence of VOCs.  Winix VOC fighting filters include an Activated Carbon Filter, Coated DeOdorization (CD) Carbon Filter, and a Washable AOC^TM Carbon Filter; you’ll see one of these three in each Winix air purifier. Hopefully, the use of scented candles are starting to sound less intimidating now.

Although your cherished candles are a VOC culprit, you’re probably not going to toss them into the trash. They add a level of relaxation after a long day and can create the perfect mood for a lovely meal – both sound pretty hard to part with! With the use of an air purifier, there’s no need to say goodbye. You’ll be able to enjoy the perks of using candles while the purifier tackles the rest.