Now your kitchen can smell like Yellowstone National Park

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History is full of strange bedfellows. Air Wick recently debuted a new line of home fragrances inspired by four national parks.

With the marketing tagline “Bring Home the Vibrant Scents of Nature,” the collection of aerosol sprays, oils, and candles promises to fill your home with authentic outdoor scents. A percentage of proceeds will help support the National Park Foundation.

Three out of every four American households uses home fragrance. A report by the U.S. Market for Home Fragrance Products estimates that 2012 sales will top $6 billion dollars, with air fresheners making up almost half of purchases.

Our love affair with air fresheners comes at a time when our homes are less draughty and more heat efficient. Reduced air exchange traps pollutants, and a number of researchers have sought to better understand the impact that air fresheners have on indoor air quality.

The Environmental Protection Agency lists air fresheners as a source of indoor volatile organic compounds. Exposure to these gases can have adverse health effects, with several high profile studies correlating volatile organic compounds from air fresheners to increased headaches and breathing difficulties.

Many air fresheners also contain phthalates—chemicals known to cause hormonal abnormalities, birth defects, and reproductive problems.

My advice? Avoid chemical fragrances in your home, open a window, buy some potted philodendrons, and make a donation to the National Park Foundation instead.