(ARA) - Air quality in the home is always important but there comes a time when it becomes more important than ever. If you’re planning to start a family, for instance, you want to make sure that during and after your pregnancy your air quality is as healthy as it can be.

The growing concern about how environmental pollutants affect our health is causing a significant growth in the popularity of natural, environmentally safe products for cleaning and eliminating odors in 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 health and the cleaning chemicals they are exposed to. Numerous studies have shown levels of VOCs (volatile organic compounds -- any organic compound that evaporates readily into the atmosphere) present in the air from using these products. Air fresheners specifically can 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 and allergies. 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.

For Kelly Siebert, who recently became pregnant, making changes to her home’s air quality wasn’t a choice she had to make, but a necessity. “When I got pregnant I immediately had a heightened sense of smell and everything I smelled increased the nausea,” says Siebert. “I was very uncomfortable. Anything my husband cooked, even the smell of my dog, Otis, bothered me. It was very difficult for a while.”

“It was recommended that I suck on bits of lemon or peppermint to relieve the nausea, which helped. But it wasn’t until I discovered Fresh Wave that I had some real relief and began to feel better,” explains Siebert. “Fresh Wave doesn’t create its own scent and it’s not toxic.”

Fresh Wave, a unique odor neutralizing product comprised of a proprietary blend of soya, natural extracts of lime, pine needle, aniseed, clove and cedarwood, initially has a light, fresh scent.

How does it work? When the mixture of natural elements 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.

“I started out burning the Fresh Wave candle in the kitchen when my husband cooked, and also opened a jar of the crystal gel for the living room,” continues Siebert. “The initial scent is citrus and pine, which gives a zing that cuts the nausea-causing odor. Then the scent disappears and the odors are gone.”

The Fresh Wave Gel is so simple. Just open the jar and set it in an inconspicuous spot for continuous, safe odor removal. Air currents in the room waft over the open jar allowing the gel to soak up odorous molecules. It also comes as a spray, a carpet shake, vacuum pearls for the vacuum bag (just suck them up), as a soy candle to eliminate cooking odors, and pearl sachets to tuck into closets, gym bags or anywhere unpleasant odors reside.

“Because it’s a non-toxic approach to odor control, I believe in it. And not only does it work, but it works really well and such products are so hard to find. It’s the healthful way to manage problems that arise from pregnancy and it gives me the peace of mind I need to use it in the nursery,” says Siebert.

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