Please make "fragrance-free" a filter

[Brian450]

There is now a HUGE number of people who are fragrance-sensitive or have MCS. I'm one of them.

The odours of conventional cleaning products, air fresheners, dryer sheets, etc. make me sick. They give me headaches, burning eyes, feelings of tightness and tingling, respiratory irritation, heart palpitations, nausea, dry mouth and many other symptoms. I've had more than one vacation ruined by fragranced bedrooms that were making me ill. Surveys indicate that about one-third of the population in the US and other countries is fragrance-sensitive or has MCS or prefers fragrance-free spaces.

Please AirBnB stop ignoring this incredibly large group of people. You currently have filters for 13 different accessibility features. Could you PLEASE add another one, "fragrance-free"? Fragrance-free properties actually exist, it's just that you can't easily find them, at least not on the airbnb site itself. (Google search can be used as a workaround, but it's far from perfect.) Thanks!

[Lauren487]

Could your cleaners use bleach instead of laundry detergent just like hotels? I bring my own sheets but bleach wouldn’t permeate them like scented laundry. I don’t think a mildly scented laundry detergent exists to me tide free and clear is slightly too scented. Borax and baking soda is so much cheaper than tide anyway. 

[Lauren487]

Hydrogen peroxide makes a great bathroom cleaner

There is also a product that is called earth worm that uses enzymes works wonders! 

[Cynthia1247]

Bleach is hideous and not better than laundry soap it's a terrible toxic chemical. I had to deal with a bleach contamination in the bathroom with an apartment that I rented couldn't even go in the bathroom after 2 cleanings. I found out from a chemical engineer that 3% food grade hydrogen peroxide will neutralize bleach fumes. I always carry 3% hot food grade hydrogen peroxide when I travel because many bathrooms smell like it because they require my law in some places to clean bathrooms with bleach

[Brenda901]

Thoughtful response and suggestions from Linda. I second that. Would not consider staying at this property. Last time I used airbnb (many years ago) host thought she was accommodating, but fragranced trash bags were relatively new and permeated the living spaces. I had carried my own fragrance free dishwasher detergent, dish soap in addition to all personal products and MY OWN SHEETS and pillow. Not enough! Previous bedding fragrance permeated mattress and made me miserable. Subsequently, I began carrying my own trash bags in addition to the above to hotels. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

Thank you @Linda3636  for taking the time to explain.

Unfortunately, I can not request any special detergent to be used by my laundry service. They use their own product and we have no choice. But at least they don't use any dryer sheets 🙂 I don't think they are even available to buy here, never saw them in the store.

We are hosting 6 years already with about 3600 guests and nobody ever complained about the sheets smelling too strong .

in Croatia, 3% Hydrogen peroxide can only be bought in the pharmacy (15€ per 1 l which is very expensive when you use it so often) or as a hair product that is very fragranced and gelly.

I know we can buy eco laundry detergent without smell but I have no idea if there is any fragrance-free dish soap available to buy here, out of curiosity, I will look the next time I go shopping. I wonder if it costs more than the regular one I am buying (if available).

I am not allergic to smells but I also don't like air fresheners and fabric softeners. I remember when I was pregnant, all artificial fragrances smelled bad to me 🙂

[Lauren487]

Cheapest fragrance free laundry is mollys suds pods from Amazon. 
365 unscented laundry detergent works too

dish soap is planet free and clear at Amazon or whole foods 

basically 7th generation makes it all too 

‘if you care free and clear dishwasher pods work the best 

just look for products that say free and clear

hand soap is at Whole Foods too

[Martin3344]

This is an extremely intriguing and interesting topic. In over 6 years of hosting I have just come across this for the first time with a recent guest, so it is very topical for me.

I have looked it up on Wikipedia where it describes MCS as 'an unrecognised and controversial diagnosis' and states that 'MCS is not recognised as an organic, chemical-caused illness by the World Health Organisation, American Medical Association, nor any of several other professional medical organisations. Blinded clinical trials show that people with MCS react as often and as strongly to placebos as they do to chemical stimuli; the existence and severity of symptoms is seemingly related to the perception that a chemical stimuli is present'.

It also does not appear to be listed as a condition on SIGN, which is the main healthcare guidance authority in Scotland, which is my domicile.

Strong smells are certainly an unpleasant recurrent issue, and they can be quite an issue with short turnarounds when previous guests have left smells in the apartment, especially having to open the windows for a long time in the cold winter months. Smells can be very hard to get rid of, and are as problematic for a successful turnaround for new guests as when previous guests leave a big mess. Perfumes, after-shave and bacon are the main culprits ! However I don't feel that I can dictate what people wear or what they cook when staying at one of my places.

It certainly sounds like a very nasty condition and suffered by a great many people, and I have every sympathy with those who are affected. Finding suitable places to stay must be a nightmare.  However while it does not yet appear to be a globally recognised condition by the health authorities it cannot make sense for Airbnb to introduce new host rules in this area, nor expect compliance and / or punishments for guests who choose to wear fragrances in an accommodation. This would require a far greater shift in public awareness and compliance requirements across the whole global hospitality industry.

My recent guest had discussed her intolerances to animals and chemical substances with me in advance. I agreed with her how everything would be provided for her stay, and we went through things again when she first arrived. This all appeared to be to her total satisfaction. As other hosts have previously suggested this approach would seem to me to be the only way to go with this just now, at the least until such time as it becomes an acknowledged serious condition by the global health authorities, and worldwide hospitality compliance measures and public awareness campaigns would then be required.

[Brian450]

I would suggest leaving medical debates out of this entirely, and see it as a social issue. There is a fairly large group of people who is made extremely uncomfortable by something that is quite common and  many hosts think of as an unqualified plus.

Well-meaning hosts think they're doing guests a favor by spraying air freshener and using scented detergents and dryer sheet on linens, but for a group of people, the effect is the exact opposite of what is intended. Instead of feeling more comfortable, they feel less comfortable, and they may even be unable to stay in the place at all.

It shouldn't matter whether these people have a medical issue or what the anonymous authors of a website that anyone can edit think about it. It's should be a matter of simple humanity and compassion to address something that bothers a great number of people. 

If AirBnB introduced a fragrance-free filter and sent out a few educational emails on the subjects, a lot of hosts would suddenly realize that spraying Febreze, washing linens in Tide and drying them with Bounce means that some people will be extremely uncomfortable in their space. They might even do a little reading and realize, even without the help of the global health authorities, that those scented products are harming everyone, and the environment, and decide to no longer use them.

Nothing could be simpler. Introduce the checkbox. Make compliance voluntary to address concerns about money-back abuse. Create awareness of why this is needed. We can create a better world and be kinder to each other without Wikipedia's permission.

[Mark116]

@Brian450  You're not really engaging on the main challenge with 'fragrance free' which is that it is wholly subjective and cannot be objectively measured.  Even 'fragrance free' cleaners have some scent.  Baking soda has a scent and so does vinegar.  Yes, hosts could check that they don't use plug ins or air freshener spray, list what cleaners are used, but beyond that, it is in the eye of the beholder, and this is the problem.  If I check that my space is 'fragrance free' and then someone complains about fragrance, then I am the one on the defensive.  This means that despite the fact that we don't use pesticides in the yard, don't use plug-ins, don't use odious fabric softener and could change from the Tide we use to something else, I would never ever list my property as 'fragrance free' because it is begging for some complaint down the road.  I would also never recommend that any other hosts list their space as fragrance free for the same reason.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Mark116  I agree with what you said, but I also think @Brian450 is being very reasonable here. He is not requesting a 100% fragrance free place and understands it would be hard to provide. All he asks is some filter for places where air fresheners, dryer sheets and too strong laundry detergents are not used. Even my place would probably be acceptable for him without any special effort from my side.

But expecting 100% fragrance-free place with a lot of human traffic is unrealistic and hyper-sensitive people will always suffer there. Guests are using their own cosmetic products and even if we wash everything with peroxide and soda we can't guarantee the place will always be smell-free. I am happy if guests don't cook curry or fry fish and if they open the window at least 1x per day 🙂

[Brian450]

"You're not really engaging on the main challenge with 'fragrance free' which is that it is wholly subjective and cannot be objectively measured.  "

I already responded to this criticism. AirBnB could easily institute a policy for "soft accommodations". These are accommodations that are too subjective to determine objectively whether they were met or not. By checking the box for a soft accommodation, the host merely indicates a willingness to make a best effort, but does not enter into an enforceable agreement. 

You are making my case for my by recommending that hosts should never list "fragrance-free" as a feature. Many are fragrance-free, but don't dare to advertise these because they fear abuse and liability.

That is precisely why we need official soft accommodations, so hosts can signal good faith without accepting liability.

The problem is the system of "defensive hosting" that we have now that does not permit hosts to advertise that their property is fragrance-free. The solution is to absolve hosts of responsibility for a fragrance-free claim so that the claim can be made.

[Helen744]

@Brian450 you are not a host and therefore should not be posting here . Tell Airbnb not us . If any host wanted to do as you say they already have that capacity which if you WERE a host you might grasp . H

[Kimberly274]

Well I AM a host and agree with all that is being said here. It's ridiculous not to offer any kind of help or filter here. Be nice. 

[Lauren487]

There is a filter button where you can check off as a host If you use non toxic products or something?!

[Brenda901]

Wow!  You can also inform me I am not a host and send me your airbnb fineprint advising non-hosts are ineligible to participate in Community Center. I first contacted airbnb on this issue SEVERAL years ago and was DIRECTED TO THIS FORUM by airbnb. Was directed here again by a building biologist who is licensed as Electromagnetic Radiation Specialist – EMRS and Environmental Consultant – BBEC to help build a consensus for airbnb on why this topic is relevant. I am also researching how to create a fragrance free* future listing. Won't be visiting you down under! I am from the Volunteer State where southern hospitality is a point of pride!