In this solo presentation, HVAC professional Derek Cole addresses the controversial topic of artificial fragrances in the home, arguing that scented candles, plug‑in air fresheners, and other synthetic odors off‑gas chemicals that degrade indoor air quality and can even damage HVAC systems. He shares a real‑world incident where excessive candle use produced soot that entered a newly installed heat‑pump’s ductwork, creating the false impression that the heat pump was the source of the problem. Cole differentiates between natural essential‑oil diffusers, which he deems acceptable, and synthetic fragrance products, urging homeowners to choose unscented or fragrance‑free items and to read labels carefully to avoid masked chemicals. He also explains the distinction between “unscented” and “fragrance‑free,” likening clean air to the odorless freshness of a newly caught fish. Drawing on his personal sensitivity to smells, he describes his own fragrance‑free personal‑care routine and concludes with a professional recommendation: minimize artificial scents to protect health and HVAC performance.
Chapters
So today I'm going to talk about something very controversial, very controversial. I've tried to stay away from it unless— I've tried to stay away unless I'm asked directly about it. I mean, it's like, you know, telling some folks, you know, is it good or bad to drink Diet Coke? Should I drink Diet Coke? Should I not drink Diet Coke? Aspartame and sucralose. And, uh, we're not getting into all of that, but I am going to get in— get into something that does affect your home, because that is what we're all about. We're about home comfort, energy savings, indoor air quality. So I'm, I'm not going to beat around the bush— I'm not going to beat around the bush anymore and just simply talk about it. Should— I've gotten the question, should I have candles in my home? Are candles okay in my house? Well, it's a pretty, uh, pretty sensitive topic, but, um, anything artificial as far as, uh, smells, odors, fragrance, perfumes, uh, plugins, uh, anything artificial like that in your home off-gasses or has chemicals involved in it. Therefore, it is not good for you. It's not good for your indoor quality to have those things in your house. Now look, I I get it, people like different smells and they want the smells in their homes. Okay, that's fine. But you're asking me, should I have candles or even, you know, a fragrance or a plug-in? Or— it's chemicals. Chemicals are bad, so to have it in your house is not the best idea. Um, yeah, I'm sorry, but it's not. It's chemicals. It's like, uh, cleaning chemicals or anything else. Um, anything with a fragrance has the chemical. Now I'm not talking about all natural, like oils, and you have diffusers with that oil. I mean, that's natural stuff, stuff like lavender and peppermint and natural oils. That can be diffused throughout the homes. Yes, those are natural, but we're talking about the plugins, the fragrances, the, uh, stuff you spray around the house, or even candles you light. Uh, they have chemicals involved in them, and that is not good for you. We had— talk about candles— one time we had a, uh, homeowner told us that the new heat pump we installed was sooting up her home. So back up a little bit. Soot happens because of a flame, right? So you have to have fire to have soot. So when you have a straight electric heat pump, you don't have any fire. You have electricity. So for our heat pump we installed, to have a sooting problem, um, from the heat pump would be impossible. So we had to see what was going on. Well, it turns out this homeowner had so many candles in their home, and they lit so many candles, the soot from the flame of those candles was actually getting into the air vents, uh, of course everywhere else, but it was getting to the air vents. And it was a situation when the air came on, it blew the soot out. So it would appear that the unit is causing a soot problem when in fact the soot is coming from the candle, candles, uh, and it's coming into the duct system and blowing out when the air comes on. So again, I know it's sensitive, but anything artificial in nature is not good for your indoor air. It's just like anything else in the world, you know, if it be food, they want you to eat natural ingredients. Same thing, you want natural products in your home. Unscented, fragrance-free. There is a difference between unscented and fragrance-free. You have to read that up to make sure it's not being masked— the fragrance isn't being masked by more chemicals. So, um, you know, clean, clean doesn't have a smell. There is no smell with clean. It's kind of like when you go look at a— go look to buy fish, okay? It shouldn't smell fishy. It should smell like nothing. It should be fresh. It shouldn't have an odor to it at all. So clean is the same way. Clean doesn't have a smell. Well, you say, well, after a rainstorm it smells really good outside. Well, that's because of ozone, UVB, ozone after a storm that makes it smell a nice fresh scent, uh, smell. But clean has no smell. Candles, if you can do without them, do without them. If you can do without plugins, do without plugins. Again, these are chemicals, these are off-gassing in the air, on your clothes. If it's on your clothes and you can smell it, then it's probably in your lungs to some capacity, right? Um, it's what I've, I've told homeowners, uh, technicians before, you know, be a filter or buy a filter. Um, so you have a choice. I mean, do you want that stuff in your home? Do you want the excess chemicals burning from candles or spraying through cleaning products or some kind of plug-in scent happening? Do you want that? Do you want those chemicals in your home for you to breathe? Would you take a Glade plug-in, pour it out, and drink the liquid? No, you would not. They do not want you to do that. I don't want you to do that. You do not do that. So why would you breathe what you would not consume, right? Think about that for a minute. Step back and think about that. Why would you drink what you would not breathe? Why would you not want to consume that but you want to breathe it? So think about that when you look at candles or fragrance or anything like that. Now, I'm pretty, uh, myself, I'm, I'm pretty sensitive to smell, so most things I have from my personal hygiene are fragrance-free, uh, body wash. The only thing with the fragrance is my aftershave, um, has a little bit of smell to it, but I'm very sensitive because my, my clothes are washed in fragrance-free and I have fragrance-free dryer sheets, and, um, you know, I get kind of obsessive about it because I'm so sensitive to smells. Um, deodorant, same thing. Deodorant, unscented deodorant, because I have that sensitive smell. So make a decision. I mean, you know, you're an adult, do what you want. But my professional opinion would be stay away from the candles, the fragrance, the chemicals. Less of those things you can have in your house, in your life, I just think the better.
