9 Ways to Use Febreze

If you’ve just been using Febreze as an air freshener, you’re missing out! Here are 9 other ways to use Febreze to keep your home and belongings smelling clean and fresh! You can also find out more about the safety and ingredients of Febreze.

 

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that I was down in Ohio {and Kentucky!} last month. I was actually there to visit the Procter & Gamble headquarters in Cincinnati for a behind the scenes look at the research and safety testing that goes into all of the Febreze products. We were able to go into some of the testing labs as well as talk to some of the head scientists that work on the products. It was a really cool experience and it’s truly amazing how much research and testing goes into developing a product.

There are so many household products on the market these days and so much conflicting information on the internet, that it can be difficult to know which products are truly the best for you and your family. I really feel that being informed and educated on the products that we use in our homes is important and I wanted to pass on some of the information that I learned during my time in Cincinnati. I hope you find it as interesting as I did!

Although this post has been sponsored by Febreze, all opinions and text are my own.

How Febreze Works

Unlike other air fresheners that just temporarily mask odors, Febreze contains a complex of three different {four for Febreze FABRIC} odor cleaning technologies to truly eliminate those nasty smells. Febreze is not just covering up one odor with another {which, honestly, can often make the odor WORSE!}, but it’s actually “cleaning” the air and removing those molecules that are causing the odor. Buffering ingredients like citric acid stop odors by balancing out their pH {to make it more like water} while cyclodextrin {made from corn} has a donut shape that actually traps and locks away odors. If you’re interested in learning more about how this OdorClear technology works, click HERE for a couple of cool video clips.

What Ingredients are in Febreze

It’s so important to be aware of what ingredients are in your cleaning products in order to make informed decisions about which products you choose to use. That being said, I can also attest to how hard it is to find accurate and proven research to know which products are safe to use. There really is so much conflicting information out there, and social media makes it so easy for inaccurate information to spread like wildfire.

Febreze is committed to the safety of their products and does extensive safety testing with all of their ingredients. They’re also working hard to be as transparent as possible with their product ingredients and now have a full list of Febreze ingredients for all of their products up on their website. It’s also important to note that Febreze does NOT use phthalates, formaldehyde or flammable propellants in any of their products. Unlike most other air fresheners, Febreze uses nitrogen as their propellant. This is VOC-free, completely non-flammable, and gentler on surfaces due to the higher water content.

Safety Testing and the Safe Range

Basically we all have the same question with any household ingredient that we use: Is it safe? You would think that it should be a pretty straight forward answer, but, in reality, there are a few variables associated with this.

First off, almost any ingredient {whether man made or natural} has the potential to cause harm once it reaches a specific amount or concentration.  Even too much of a good thing can be bad!  For example, in nature too much water causes a flood and too little water causes a draught. For this reason, it’s so important to know the safe limit of any ingredient used in a product.  Obviously, this takes a great deal of research to determine, and that’s were the Febreze scientists come in. Febreze looks at the safety limits of all of their ingredients to determine what amounts are safe to use. They then scale that ingredient back even more so they keep it well within the safe range.

One of the other safety aspects that I was wondering about, was the effect of air fresheners on the lungs. I was surprised to learn that Febreze never actually makes it down to the lungs or even into the trachea as the particle size is too big. Just to get into the upper respiratory system, particles need to be smaller than about 30-100 microns and Febreze sits in the 85-120 micron range. Any small amounts that do make it into the upper respiratory tract {i.e. the nasal cavity} are easily cleared by the body.

In the end, it’s totally up to you to decide what products are right for you and your family.  There are a lot of choices out there so just be informed, keep everything in context, and use products in moderation.  It really doesn’t have to be a scary process!

What Can I Use if I Can’t Tolerate Heavy Scents?

For those of you that can’t tolerate heavy scents, Febreze has a lot of different scent “levels” available. For no scent, Febreze has a 0% perfume Fabric refresher that just works to clean the air without leaving any scent behind.  If you like a little scent, there’s a new air and fabric freshener out called Febreze ONE. {It’s not quite in Canada yet but is coming here soon!} It contains no dyes, aerosols, or heavy perfumes and I love that it comes with refillable {and recyclable} packaging. Febreze ONE comes in three different single-note fragrances leaving a nice, light, natural scent. And for those with allergies, Febreze even has an allergen reducer collection.

How to Use Febreze

We all have a “custom home scent” based on what products we use in our homes, how consistent we are with cleaning, what we cook, etc. Odor just naturally settles into the surfaces and fabrics around it. While it’s easy to wipe down and clean the hard surfaces, soft surfaces such as curtains, furniture pillows, and rugs, can be harder to target. Even worse, those odors can “rebloom” when people plop down on the sofa or fluff up a pillow, or when the hot temperatures hit. You may not always notice the scents yourself as you can quickly become accustomed to them {what Febreze calls “nose-blind”!}, but other people entering your home will definitely pick up on it.

Febreze can be used as part of your regular cleaning routine to help clear the air of any lingering malodors. Before you start your other regular cleaning tasks, give the room a spray with Febreze ONE {along with any fabrics that you feel need to be refreshed} and allow the mist to settle for a couple of minutes. Febreze will “trap” the odor molecules which will then fall to the floor due to the weight. You can then just vacuum or wipe down the hard surfaces as usual to remove the molecules for good.

9 New Ways to Use Febreze

So we all know that Febreze can be used as an air freshener to clean the air and eliminate odors, but I wanted to end things with a few ways to use Febreze that you may not have thought about. If it stinks, there’s probably some way to use Febreze! Here are a few ways that we’ve used it in our home over the years. If you have a unique way that you’ve used it, I’d love to know!

Laundry Hampers

If your house is anything like ours, laundry can pile up for days before it finally makes it into the washing machine. To keep things smelling fresh in between loads, give clothing a quick spray with Febreze FABRIC to prevent odors from settling into your other clothes or drifting into the air around it.

Seasonal Items

I love changing our home decor around for the different seasons and have a ton of storage boxes in our garage filled with off-season items such as throws, pillows and other decor items.  If you’re changing up your seasonal decor, give any musty-smelling items a spritz with Febreze FABRIC for a fresh start to the season.  With summer approaching, even outdoor items such as patio umbrellas or lounge chairs can do well with a spray!

Garbage Cans

Keep a bottle of Febreze close to the garbage bags and spray down the garbage can {and air around it!} every time you change the bag.  It will get rid of any old odors that are lingering or are re-activated when you change the bag. And, of course you can always give the garbage contents a spray mid-bag too. It will take care of those odors and allow you to use the garbage bag to the full potential.

Camping

I love the smell of a campfire while we’re sitting out at night roasting our marshmallows. I don’t like it the next morning, however, when I wake up and it’s all over our clothes. We have a small trailer and the scent of smoky clothes can easily take over the whole space. I like to give our clothing a good spray with Febreze Fabric and then put them outside in the sun for a few hours. Febreze also works great for refreshing sleeping bags or other camping gear that’s difficult to wash.

Sports Equipment

My youngest son plays hockey and lacrosse, and it’s amazing how BAD his sports equipment can smell after his games. Keep a bottle of Febreze in your sports bag to quickly spray down the sports gear {and the bag too!} to keep the odors at bay until you can wash it. For gear that can’t be washed, be sure to air it out and let it completely dry between uses. I’m actually working on a full post on how to clean sports equipment, so stay tuned for that!

Pet Beds

All of our pets have their own beds, and it doesn’t take long before they start to smell. One of our dogs in particular likes to “fluff” up her bed and spread the odors around!  Give the beds a regular refresh with a few sprays of Febreze Fabric Pet Odor Eliminator in between washes. Just let it dry for a couple of minutes before allowing your pet back on. For those of you wondering about the safety of Febreze around pets, it has been tested independently through the A.S.P.C.A. and deemed safe to use around pets when used as instructed.

Shoes

I’m sure we’ve all had at least a few pairs of shoes that didn’t smell their best.  Gym shoes, sandals, sports shoes – they can ALL benefit!  Just give them a good mist with Febreze and let them completely dry.  For added disinfecting, place them out in the sun to air out.  For extra stinky shoes, you might need a couple of doses!

Door Mats

Door mats get trampled on all day long with dirty shoes, dirt and debris from outside, and who knows what else. Spray the mats down with Febreze to get rid of the bad smells and provide a nice, welcoming scent to those coming into your home.

Guest Bathrooms

Of course, Febreze can be great to have in all the bathrooms, but I think that the guest bathroom is the most important. Not only do you want it smelling fresh for your guests, but it’s also nice for them to have something to spray if they need it.  There’s nothing more embarrassing than leaving someone else’s bathroom stinky.  You can also light a Febreze candle for a continuous fresh scent with no work involved!

I’m sure there are many more uses that I haven’t even thought of yet, but hopefully that will give you a little Febreze inspiration! Next time you’re in need of an odor intervention, you’ll know just where to go. 😉