I tried to buy a house where they used plug in air fresheners, and the owners cooperated with us for months trying to get the smell out to no avail. Our real estate agent even lent them her ionizer (that is what she said it was anyway), but we finally gave up. We ended up never buying a house, mostly because nearly every house on the market was using some sort of artificial "deodorizer".

Good luck with your situation. I just purchased an Aranizer and am hoping that it will work for times such as those. Anybody had any luck with that product?

I've had experience trying to remove perfuming smells like the ones you mention. I've used ozone--which in my experience really only works with organic problems, like mold, I've used stand alone air filters, and have not had great success. The problem is all these scented products get into the fiber of more porous substances in the house itself like sheetrock, like doors (which may be hollow-core).

I've been told you can seal things that have smells, but I've never tried. It's good that there's hardwood and tile. But if the house is really overrun with the stuff, it won't be so easy, would be my guess. I took most of my own house back to the studs, but the parts of the house that I didn't, I can still smell the fragrance of perfume the sweet little old lady wore--and that's before perfume was as noxious as it is today. I can still smell her spices in all the kitchen cabinets. I've been here six years.

If you are not going to own this house, the question is, will you be allowed to overhaul it if you need to? I"ve never heard of the cleaning service you mentioned so I don't know if that will be effective or not. But I would want to know if I could seal the walls if I needed to. And that's a big job if she's used Febreeze, if she's used, in particular Glade plug-ins.

You asked about outgassing...I have no information to back this up, but if the smell remains and you still find it irritating, i would wonder if there isn't still some kind of exposure taking place.

From extensive direct experience, I have found that once air fresheners are used, especially the plug-ins, the house is hopeless for at least 4 to 8 years.

If fabric softner tissues have ever been used in a dryer, that dryer will forever impart that odor to clothes. I tried many washings/wipings with 99% isopropyl alcohol, and running on high with rags for many hours to no avail. I am a Ph.D. biochemist with MCS.

Hi, Terri:

I took one quick look at the Aranizer web site and saw the term "activated oxygen." That's an advertising "weasel word" term for ozone. Don't believe the advertising claims of companies marketing these ozone generating products.

Ozone is the second most potent oxidant know to science. It's the major component in smog that causes breathing problems in people with asthma and lung disease. It should not be breathed by anyone for extended periods of time, as from an air "purifier" that constantly pumps out ozone. The EPA recently considered lowering the safety level of atmospheric ozone. I'm not sure it was instituted, but EPA is concerned that ozone in smog is still too high. Ozone is pollution! NIOSH, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, has been trying for years to get products like the Aranizer off the market.

My wife and I have personal experience with an ozone generating machine. It caused damage to our home and to my wife's lungs.

I've commented on this issue before on Debra's blog. I urge you to return the Aranizer, get your money back, and locate a home that doesn't reek of artificial fragrances. The only way to get rid of those fragrances, which have soaked into the wallboard, carpets (if their are any), wood surfaces, anything that is even a little bit absorbent, is to rip it all out and replace it. That's what I'm going to have to do for my wife, who suffers from chemical sensitivities. We're trying to find the least fragranced home and then I'll have to tear out the original sheet rock in at least the worst rooms, e.g., bathrooms and bedrooms.

Again, please don't expose yourself to ozone 24 hours a day from that Aranizer! Good luck to you.

Peter in CT

Thank you for your thoughts. I am discouraged to know that I may not be able to rid the apartment of these fragrances, especially the Glade plug-ins. I have been finding that, at least in Miami, all the realtors put these plug-ins into units when they are showing them, unless the units are brand new construction. In light of that, Debra and readers, do you think it is safer to move into a new construction unit or to do my best removing frangrances from a previously lived-in apartment? I don't have MCS and could tolerate the smell. My only worry is that, for me, it isn;t the smell that is bad, but the fact that the smell represents the presence of potential carcinogens in the air where I live. So for someone without MCS, would you recommend a new place or a place with potential lingering fragrances? as always, all of your thoughts are much appreciated!

Debra, thank you for your thoughts. After what period of time does new construction no longer become new, and therefore ok to live in? In Miami, where I live, there is so much new construction - i.e. it was built in 2007 or 2008. At what point would these "new" highrises be outgassed to ok levels? I know there is no one exact timeframe but any thoughts or estimates would be much appreciated!