Plug in air fresheners/ Fire Danger

[Guest]

[LikORish-Spider]

From the "what it worth" department.

Before this email, I had heard that these types of devices were unsafe.
 
Thought this was worth passing on: FIRE DANGER. This was received from a
friend in the home insurance business. It is well worth reading.
This is one of those emails that if you didn't send it, rest assured
someone on your list will suffer for not reading it.
The original message was written by a lady whose brother and his wife
learned a hard lesson this past week. Their house burned down....nothing
left but ashes. They have g! ood insurance so the home will be replaced
and most of the contents. That is the good news.
However, they were sick when they found out the cause of the fire.
The insurance investigator sifted through the ashes for several hours.
He had the cause of the fire traced to the master bathroom. He asked her
sister-in-law what she had plugged in the bathroom. She listed the normal
things....curling iron, blow dryer.
He kept saying to her, "No, this would be something that would
disintegrate at high temperatures". Then her sister-in- law remembered
she had a Glade Plug-In in the ba! throom. The investigator had one of
those
"Aha" moments.
He said that was the cause of the fire. He said he has seen more home
fires started with the plug-i! n type room fresheners than anything else.
He said the plastic they are made from is a THIN plastic. He also said
that in every case there was nothing left to prove that it even existed.
When the investigator looked in the wall plug, the two prongs left from
the plug-in were still in there. Her sister-in-law had one of the
plug-ins that had a small night light built in it. She said she had
noticed that the light would dim and then finally go out. She would walk
in to the bathroom a few hours later, and the light would be back on
again. The investigator said that the unit was getting too hot, and
would dim and go out rather than just blow the light bulb. Once it cooled
down it would come on. That is a warning sign.
The investigator said he personally wouldn't have any type of plug in
fragrance device anywhere in his house. He has seen too ma! ny homes
that have been burnt down due to them.
PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ALL THE PEOPLE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK.
NOT ONLY COULD IT SAVE SOMEONE'S HOME, BUT IT COULD SAVE SOMEONE'S LIFE.

[Morningangel-Iola]

Thanks for that

[sixpence33]

I have heard stories of that.  Better off just unplugging them expecially when the family is gone.

[mcgonagall]

better off not using them

[Roz]

Yes, my home usually smells of the washing powder I use it's not such a bad smell that i'd want to cover it up - but I suppose if you have pets or teenage sons some kind of freshener is a good idea (*ducks as Mike aims a punch*)

[grecopa]

If you want a good link to a site that confirms or denies urban myths try Snopes.com and do a search.  I did one for air freshener and came up with this. http://www.snopes.com/toxins/glade.asp  It's so far undetermined if the stories are true.  But they may be. 

[LikORish-Spider]

If you want a good link to a site that confirms or denies urban myths try Snopes.com and do a search.  I did one for air freshener and came up with this. http://www.snopes.com/toxins/glade.asp  It's so far undetermined if the stories are true.  But they may be. 

Could be a plot to undermine sales by a competitor, like Thomas Edison (DC power) versus George Westinghouse (AC power) and Edison's sponsorship of the electric chair, which used AC.
I was just posting for info. To err is human to burn is terrible. Like you say, everyone your own due diligence and make an informed choice. This could be a GLADE attack scheme.

[sixpence33]

  LOL Whats next, catnip?

[jediknight]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm lets see erm ah here's the one!

heeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllppppppppppppp the glade martians are invading the earth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hows that?

[rosewhite]

Thanks A bunch for the warning.. My mom buys and uses those air fresheners all the time. Better safe than sorry. (her house burned about 15 years ago because of her coffee pot, it was one that was recalled shortly after HER fire!) That figures. any way thanks for the info I will pass it on... it actually makes sense, they do get hot, and if you forget to unplug them when they run out of the scent, it might get bad..

It could be an advertising ploy, but as I said better safe than sorry. I'll let her know and she can decide for herself.