Can.cer remains one of the most difficult illnesses to treat — and often, its roots lie closer to home than we realize. You might think your home is a safe space — but here are six common objects that could be slowly compromising your health.
1. Scented Candles and Air Fresheners: The Fragrance Trap
These products often contain limonene and phthalates — chemicals used to enhance fragrance and diffusion. While limonene is naturally found in citrus peels, it can oxidize in the air and turn into formaldehyde — a known carcinogen linked to lung and breast cancer, liver damage, and reproductive harm.
Phthalates, meanwhile, are known endocrine disruptors that interfere with hormonal balance, especially dangerous for pregnant women and children.
Even worse, burning candles in enclosed spaces can raise carbon monoxide levels, causing dizziness, nausea, and headaches. If you must use them, ventilate well — or consider switching to essential oil diffusers without synthetic additives.
2. Air Humidifiers: Breeding Ground for Bacteria
Though designed to relieve dry air, humidifiers can create invisible health hazards when not maintained properly.
Even distilled water can accumulate microbes overnight. Inside these machines, stagnant water becomes a breeding ground for bacteria such as Legionella, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa — all of which can cause serious respiratory infections.
To stay safe, disinfect your humidifier tank every 48 hours and dry it completely when not in use.
3. Dry-Cleaned Clothing: A Silent Contaminant
Delicate garments often go through dry cleaning, but the process involves harsh solvents like perchloroethylene — a petroleum-based compound classified as a probable carcinogen.
Repeated exposure to perchloroethylene has been linked to cancers of the bladder, uterus, and esophagus, and symptoms like dizziness, memory impairment, and skin irritation.
When you bring freshly dry-cleaned clothes home, remove the plastic wrap immediately and air them out in a well-ventilated space before putting them in your closet.
4. Thermal Paper Receipts: Tiny Slips, Big Risk
Those small slips of paper at the store — yes, receipts — may seem harmless, but they often contain Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that disrupts hormonal function.
Even brief contact can allow BPA to seep into your skin, with links to early puberty, fertility issues, obesity, and hormone-related cancers like breast and uterine cancer.
5. Hairbrushes: A Bacterial Minefield
Your hairbrush may be harboring more than stray strands. If not cleaned regularly, brushes can accumulate oil, skin flakes, and bacteria that irritate the scalp and worsen conditions like dandruff or folliculitis.
To sanitize, soak your brush in warm soapy water for 10 minutes, use an old toothbrush to scrub between the bristles, and let it dry completely in sunlight.
6. TV Remote Controls: One of the Dirtiest Things in the House
Your remote control — touched daily, rarely cleaned — can carry a surprising range of bacteria. A study in the Journal of Infection Prevention found pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, and Enterococcus on hotel room remotes.
These germs can cause everything from skin rashes to respiratory infections and urinary tract infections.
Wipe your remotes weekly with an alcohol-based cleaner. And if you’re staying in a hotel? Disinfect the remote before touching it.