# New hair dryer emits PTFE fumes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2015, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hair-dryer-emits-ptfe-fumes/721614 "2015-06-04T08:45:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hair-dryer-emits-ptfe-fumes/721614/1 "2015-06-04T08:45:00Z")
Bought a new hair dryer, and it smells pretty chemical-ish. Like the smell of a new car. Surely it can’t be healthy fume stuff when used, especially with the high temperatures of hair drying? PTFE (Teflon) material fumes? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hair-dryer-emits-ptfe-fumes/721614/2 "2015-06-04T11:23:03Z")
Why do you think your hair dryer has PTFE in it? I imagine there’s going to be some period of outgassing (like with a new car), is the smell diminishing over time? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hair-dryer-emits-ptfe-fumes/721614/3 "2015-06-04T11:58:00Z")
Space heater coils are coated with a small amount of PTFE; I’ve heard it was to keep them clean during shipping. A woman I used to know owned birds. During a winter furnace problem she bought several space heaters to keep her birds warm. Two parrots died from the fumes. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hair-dryer-emits-ptfe-fumes/721614/4 "2015-06-04T12:17:50Z")
From: [Ask A Vet Online 24/7 - PetCoach](http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=15+1829&aid=2874) > [@](#): > > Some Common Sources of PTFE > Non-stick pots, pans, and other cookware > Stain repellants > Space heaters and heat lamp covers > Non-stick irons and ironing board covers > Hair dryers > Non-stick oven drip pans and broiler pans > Non-stick griddles, woks, waffle makers, electric skillets, tortilla presses > Non-stick hot air corn poppers, coffee makers, bread makers > Non-stick slow cookers, roasters, pizza pans > Ceramic cooking stoves ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hair-dryer-emits-ptfe-fumes/721614/5 "2015-06-04T13:09:37Z")
This is interesting. My initial reaction was “PTFE can’t make you sick – it’s inert!” And for practical purposes, it is. Even if you heat it, it won’t melt until 600K. That would require much higher temperatures than a hair dryer hits. But PolyTetraFluoroethylene (PYFE, or Teflon) doesn’t come alone – perfluorooctanoate, AKA perfluorooctanoic acid, or, understandably, **C8** , is used as a surfactant in producing perfluoropolymers. It’s toxic, carcinogenic, and persistent in the environment. It’s been made in industrial quantities since the 1940s, and its use has only been phased out recently. _This_ is the stuff that’s driven off by heating Teflon-coated pans and has caused deaths of birds and “Teflon flu” in humans. If you had Teflon in a hair dryer in any part that gets hot, it could be there, too. So it’s not the PTFE that’s affecting you – it’s the **C8** that seems to invariably accompany it. I’m sure that will make you feel better. > **[Perfluorooctanoic acid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfluorooctanoic_acid)** > > Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA; conjugate base perfluorooctanoate; also known colloquially as C8, for its 8 carbon chain structure) is a perfluorinated carboxylic acid produced and used worldwide as an industrial surfactant in chemical processes and as a material feedstock. PFOA is considered a surfactant, or fluorosurfactant, due to its chemical structure, which consists of a perfluorinated, n-octyl "tail group" and a carboxylate "head group". The head group can be described as hydrophilic while t... > **[Can Teflon Make You Sick?](https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/4716)** > > For Bucky Bailey's parents, the 22-year-old's wedding day in August of this year was one they feared might never come, given how their son started life. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hair-dryer-emits-ptfe-fumes/721614/6 "2015-06-04T16:53:31Z")
It’s likely not PTFE at all, but Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate that you smell. It’s not very toxic, but there are some concerns about it being an endocrine disrupter.