Steinemann likens our dryer vents to little tailpipes spewing the fragrance chemicals into the outside air.
Except that the government regulates tailpipes.
This is somewhat worrisome, given that about 73 percent of U.S. homes have clothes dryers. That they're vented outside doesn't mean there's no exposure.
It puts a new spin on those evenings I spend on my front porch in a rocker, sometimes noticing a sweet smell, and it isn't always the nearby spicebush. The dryer vent is around the corner.
The dryer study - more on that later - is the latest in a series of research projects Steinemann has completed on fragranced products.
"I got interested in this whole topic because of people getting sick," she said. "Not just mildly sick. Severely sick."
It began with e-mails and phone calls from people who said they had asthma attacks or other respiratory difficulty after breathing scented products. Some said they had seizures.
So, a curious Steinemann waded in.
One poll that focused on scented laundry products found that 10.9 percent of people randomly surveyed reported irritations from the vented air. It motivated her to investigate further.
Because companies aren't required to list the fragrance ingredients in their products - although recently some have voluntarily done so on company websites - Steinemann started looking at what was in the scents.
Previous research has documented more than 2,600 chemicals in fragrance concoctions.
In 2010, Steinemann tested 25 scented products - including cleaners, personal-care products, laundry products, and air fresheners - and found a total of 133 volatile chemicals. More than a third of the products emitted at least one chemical classified as a probable carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
A coalition of industry groups recently reiterated that fragrances are responsibly produced, rigorously tested, and safe.
More than that, fragrances are desirable.
