(ARA) - The growing concern about how environmental pollutants affect our health is causing a significant growth in both the popularity and sales of natural, environmentally safe products for cleaning the home.

Cleaning up the environment with the purpose of living healthier is becoming a priority for some who are seeing a direct correlation between their children’s health and what they use to clean their house. Numerous studies have shown levels of VOCs (volatile organic compounds -- any organic compound which evaporates readily into the atmosphere) that are present in the air from using these products -- specifically air fresheners -- cause adverse health effects.

According to the Wiley Interscience “Flavor and Fragrance Journal,” fragrance is increasingly cited as a trigger in health conditions such as asthma, allergies and migraine headaches. Other more serious maladies like autism and depression may also be related to the presence of VOCs in the home. In addition, some fragrance materials have been found to accumulate in fatty tissue and are present in breast milk.

It has a self-contradictory effect, to clean with the intention of ridding your environment of harmless odors, while at the same time depositing harmful pollutants. The thought makes you want to clean up your cleaning solutions. And while air fresheners may have a pleasant scent, the chemical components that make them work are dangerous.

Now, you don’t have to live with the odors that come from everyday living and you don’t have to change your lifestyle. Don’t get rid of the dog, dump the diaper bucket or stop sweating at the gym. You can eliminate odors naturally with a line of products that are proven to be safe for people, pets and the earth.

Fresh Wave, a unique odor neutralizing product comprised of a proprietary blend of Soya, natural extracts of Lime, Pine Needle, Aniseed, Clove and Cedarwood, comes in a variety of forms. Independent laboratories’ research and data prove that Fresh Wave products are effective for eliminating all kinds of odors.

One mode of elimination is by using the spray. A light, non-aerosol pump, sprayed directly onto fabrics, furniture, clothing or straight into the air pulls odors in and poof -- they’re gone. Pet odors, the spicy remnants of last-night’s feast or the uncle’s cigar smoke can be easily eliminated. It’s even okay to spray right onto yourself -- initially there’s a light, clean scent and then nothing. The odor is gone.

For larger, more constant odor problems like a musty basement or nursery, put out a bowl-full of the Fresh Wave Gel. Airflow circulates over the gel and odors dissipate leaving only a clean, natural scent, without any detriment to the child.

Or, if you’re getting your house ready for selling, it’s important that the home is odor free. Odors can greatly reduce the appeal of a home to a potential buyer. Set out a few jars of the gel to remove any lingering evidence that someone lived there and the house will have more appeal.

It’s cleaning green. If you enjoy cleaning with vinegar for its “green” environmental qualities, but don’t care for the vinegar odor that lingers, burn a Fresh Wave soya candle and the vinegar scent is gone.

Fresh Wave also offers Vacuum Pearls that freshen your vacuum by sucking them into the vacuum bag; Carpet Shake that you sprinkle on the carpet to neutralize odors in rugs; and Pearl Pack Sachets that can be placed anywhere: shoes, pockets, gym bags, drawers or anywhere you want to neutralize odors.

How does it work? When the mixture is activated by airflow, it attracts, captures and neutralizes odor molecules. All that remains is a clean, natural-smelling environment, with no masking fragrances and no harsh chemicals.

Since 1989, Odor Management Industries (OMI) of Barrington, Ill., has been successfully solving industrial odor problems with their unique technologies sold throughout the world. Now this same incredible technology is available to you so you can safely remove odors in your own environment. They launched the consumer product line in 2004. Give your environment a breath of fresh air and create a naturally “green” home.

For more information and locations that carry Fresh Wave products, visit www.fresh-wave.com.