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4 Homemade Febreeze Recipes
Basically the ingredients to make homemade Febreeze are a mix of water and fabric softener.
Directions:
- Unless otherwise noted, place ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well to mix. Test a small unnoticeable area first before using to make sure no discoloration or damage occurs. Use as needed, shaking well each time before use.
Homemade Febreeze Recipes
Recipe #1
1 cup fabric softener
1 cup white vinegar
2 cups water
Recipe #2
2 cups water
1 cup fabric softener
Recipe #3
3 cups water
3 TBS fabric softener
3 TBS rubbing alcohol
Recipe #4
2 cups water (warm)
1/4 cup fabric softener
1 TBS baking soda
ETA: Review the comment section below for discussion about flammability concerns and adding chemicals to the air we breathe. Interesting!
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I’m curious as to how these tips compare to Febreeze. The active ingredient in Febreeze is one of the Cyclodextrins–I don’t know if fabric softeners have this same chemical in them that Febreeze does. Either way, I’d be curious to hear people’s experience with the faux Febreeze.
More details on Cyclodextrins from P&G:
scienceinthebox.com
Admin Edit: Skato I just fixed the link so that it wouldn’t break the template, everything else is as you wrote it
The air freshners that are using organic materials such as herbal extracts and water or innocuous materials that we ingest with every cookie like baking soda are not going to be worthy of concern about their chemical composition. Fabric softeners may not be your favorite solution, if you are sensitive to the chemical compounds in softeners or if you simply don’t want more chemicals floating about your house. I do, however, find that baking soda, herbal extracts and oils and other organic/innocuous materials work as well as any Glade or Renuzit product. I also find that it is nearly impossible if not totally impossible to prevent exposure to these chemicals, and clothing is flammable anyhow. Don’t test that statement, please!
I do understand, however, minimizing exposure, and I totally second saving money on little frou frou things like air freshners, which I enjoy, personally, but hate to waste 4 or more dollars buying.
This is not the most brilliant idea for health reasons since most major brands of fabric softener contain a bevy of toxic and central nervous system affecting chemicals. We are already subject to hundreds of chemicals each day. Why would you want to add to that.
Fabric softener is also known to break down the flame retardants that are sprayed onto furniture and clothing and could increase the flammability of your furnishings.
actually from what I’ve seen our local dollar tree sells a brand of liquid fabric softener called “Cuddle Soft” in 24 oz. containers for only a buck and I saw on the label that it uses only biodegradable surfactants….and it’s made in the USA too….:-)
so this sounds like a decent option as far as liquid fabric softener goes…….also in the first variation I think the idea is to let the vinegar to the suppressing of the odors….because unless I’m mistaken vinegar is supposed to be a good odor neutralizer…..as is baking soda….:-)
sorry….34 fl. oz…..not 24
Just because it smells the same doesn’t mean it works the same…
Cheap vodka – 1/2 and 1/2 with water. Leaves no real smell, works great on stuff like furniture and carpets. Car use might be a bad plan if you ever get pulled over, it does leave some smell if it’s in a closed area. Old tip really.
All of your recipes would stop things from stinking, but in distinctly different ways.
A little geeky info:
Fabric softeners do their softening by coating fabrics with a thin chemical layer that, put simply, acts as a lubricant making the fibers feel smoother. They’re also electrically conductive to minimize static buildup.
As Jay said above, Cyclodextrin is what makes the magic in Febreze. The molecular structure of cyclodextrins allow them to actually wrap around odor-causing hydrophobic compounds. (hydrophobic = repelled by water)
I’ll also second what Ryan said about fabric softener increasing flammability.
Simply put, the perfume in fabric softener will cover up odors with scent. The magical cyclodextrins actually wrap around the odors and suppress them.
Whew.
do you know how/where I can score some Cyclodextrins easily to add to my fabric softner, baking soda, vinegar mix?
This is really interesting info and I’m glad you guys are sharing it. Since clothing is actually washed in liquid fabric softener, is the clothing we wear flammable (if using liquid fabric softener in our laundry)?
Jay Gilmore: I still wear perfume sometimes and hubby’s big into cologne, so I’m not broken from self-induced chemical environments yet. Not including the plugin air fresheners that hubby’s in love with. But I understand what you’re saying, good point.
TN,
Honestly, I don’t use conventional liquid fabric softeners but rather soy-based fabric softeners that are scented with essential oils and natural scents. Granted I also don’t use conventional laundry detergent either since most of them are very harsh for both my skin the environment; they are not truly biodegradable. Many of these are quite harmful to aquatic life and don’t get filtered by many water processing plants.
On the flammability issue, many fabrics such as drapes, soft furniture and childrens clothes are treated to be flame retardant for safety reasons. It is recommended that you not use chemicals that could jeopardize this retardancy. Even natural based fabric softeners can effect the flammability in clothing.
I will confess though, I have had occasion to use the real Febreeze from time to time but even then I have started to opt for more natural solutions.
Great timing Jay, I just finished reading about laundry detergents in a book I’m currently reading and how toxic they are:
Page 67, The Encyclopedia of Country Living
I did pull together a list of homemade laundry soap recipes if anyone is interested in that option. I enjoyed doing that at one time, but it’s definitely a discipline to develop considering how much easier it is to just pick up a box at the store
. I’m not sure about the Fels Naptha or the Washing Soda for some of the recipes, but the rest of the ingredients I think are environmently friendly.
I added information in the original post above to read the discussion here regarding flammability and chemical concerns. Thanks very much for the comments everyone, I found it interesting and learned something
.
I make lye soap and use it to wash my clothes….
Not consistantly, but it is pure soap. I sometimes put essential oils, but for laundry, I leave it plain mostly.
I will use febreeze sometimes tho- dog + couch…. sometimes = eewww.
I am reading the recipes for homemade laundry and febreeze recipes. These are great ideas and I am going to start making my own. I am wondering if anyone has tried using only essential oils, like Lavender or Rosemary mixed with water or any other substance for refreshers? If so,do you have a recipe?
I am learning a lot and can’t wait to start making my own products!
Hi Stacey, I do have some info for you: Easy Homemade Deodorizer Sprays.
There are also a few more ideas for fresheners in the Homemade Cleaners category if you’d like to browse through it, or you could try doing a search for “fresheners”, I think you’ll get them all that way too.
Enjoy
.
Thank you! I am going to try the vinegar with EO! You have a great website with plenty of helpful information….thanks for responding and I will keep coming back for more great tips!!!
What if you make your own fabric softener? will this also work in the air freshner?
I use
vinger, hair condishner, and water.
Try this recipe for homemade air/fabric freshener spray:
1 c. vinegar
1 c. water
1/2 tsp vegetable glycerine
1/2 tsp essential oil of your choice
Makes enough for a 16 oz bottle.
Place in a spray bottle and shake well. The glycerine emulsifies the E.O. so it doesn’t sit on top of the water. You can double this recipe for a 32 oz bottle. Vinegar is suppose to be excellent for smoke odors too.
Oh, for home made fabric softener:
2 quarts vinegar
1 tsp glycerine
1 tsp Essential Oil
Put in a bottle and shake. Use 1/4 to 1/2 a cup per load. This removes the residue from store bought detergents and fabric softeners, making the clothes soft and wrinkle free. I believe I read it’s not to be used on infant and childrens clothes because it removes the flame retardents.
I just make up the homemade fabric softener, take a cup or two and add an equal amount of water to the spray bottle and I’m all set to freshen the air.
Enjoy!
Robin, I used your deodoriser on my sofa and it worked great. THANKS!!!! I really didn’t want to use fabric softener and your vinegar mix was just the ticket. Now my family room smells much better.
Jessica,
I was looking for fabric softener recipes when I found this. How do you make your own? What amounts of the ingredients you posted? Thanks.
I make homemade laundry soap using washing soda/borax/ivory soap with vinegar as my softener. I cloth diaper my son, and the manufacturers of all the diapers I own state not to use fabric softener. They recommend using vinegar as the softener. Fabric softener is flammable. (My neighbor actually caught on fire last month and the doctors are saying it was from the Downy she used) Since all the diaper companies I use recommend vinegar, I am assuming it is not taking the flame retardant out of his clothes/diapers. Also, my friend is a district manager at Gap, and he says that their pajamas are flame retardant – but if you use fabric softener, the flame retardant is null.
There are a lot of great ways to make air freshener, and the best way to keep your house, carpets and furniture smelling fresh is to vacuum & wipe them down regularly! Chemical scents give me a terrible headache, and most deodorisers make me feel ill. I enjoy the scent of febreeze from quite far away, but if I’m in a living room that is treated religiously, I can’t wait to escape.
For a room deodoriser you take about 2 cups of water and add essential oil to it in a spray bottle (can’t be a bottle that used to house chemical sprays or cleaners). For the bathroom, tea tree oil is grand – mold hates it, and the scent is strong and bracing. Spray on tile and grout, and inside the toilet bowl regularly.
For furniture and bedrooms I like lavendar and rosemary oil together. They’re both natural insect repellants, so a spritz in your closet twice a week means moths are moving out. (I also have read that if you mist your school-age children’s hair with it daily, they will never bring home lice from school).
Many essential oils are fungicidal as well. Citrus seed extract/oil is unscented, and works as a fungicide spray in the bath. Tea tree works in the same way. Straight vinegar is about 85% effective against mold, but it doesn’t smell so nice. 100 proof vodka works, but I’d rather mix myself a wee nip to brace myself for cleaning the bath than to actually use it on the tile.
My friends down under swear that a room spritz with tea tree oil, eucalyptus and lavendar is just the thing to fight off winter sniffles. I don’t catch colds, so that anti-viral spray is unverified by me, but it does smell crisp and clean.
Thank you, just what I wanted, some nice combinations of EO’s for my room fresheners. Nice tip about the natural bug repellent too.
Curious if anyone has preferred formula for pet urine odor. I moved into a rental and it smells like the previous renters were raising a cat colony! (Odor must have been masked when I did my inital walk through but a week later the odor began to surface and has gotten to the point of repulsive after a few months.) I tried pure vinegar and water and a carpet cleaner with no luck- now it smells like a wet dog and cat pee……
Hi Vanessa, check out this post for some tips: cleaning cat urine, hope that helps!
I was wondering about potty training mishaps, friend’s puppy piddles and two year old (child) stains on carpets. I can clean my carpets every weak and the same exact stains will come back. I also have the odors. Is there any good way to clean my carpets? We have tried to put bleach in and we have tried vineager.
Hi Shawna, you can check this tip: How to Clean Cat Urine, that might help.
Thanks for such a great site! I share so much of what I learn here with others on game sites and chatrooms and give them this sites name to come and look up all the good stuff! Ive found everything from ragrugs to booties to laundry detergent(which by the way is GREAT) to using stuff to make other stuff that I would have never thought of I just love this place!!!WTG TIPNUT a BIG Woohoo for YOU!!
“I was wondering about potty training mishaps, friend’s puppy piddles and two year old (child) stains on carpets. I can clean my carpets every weak and the same exact stains will come back. I also have the odors.”
We have a carpet cleaner and I have tried numerous cleaning fluids and homemade concoctions without much success until I tried Walmart’s brand, Great Value Orange Carpet and Upholstery cleaner. This got out reappearing stains, and doggy and toddler accidents. It must be the power of the concentrated orange, and it’s not as toxic as some of them. The carpet smells great!
Also try straight peroxide on stains – this always works from me with coffee and tea stains. K-mart has some of the largest bottles of peroxide that I’ve seen – great value.
I really didn’t think this was going to work but I decided to give it a try anyway. I mixed equal parts fabric softer, alcohol and water and gave it a a big shake and I’ll tell you, this is BETTER then Febreze!
wouldn’t the laundry softener build up on things that you are’nt able to wash in the washer?
Don’t ever use Febreeze to try and get rid of skunk odor as it will magnify it and make it much worse
I have not tried this Recipe for homemade febreeze but will try it out today. will try and see if I can find a soy based softner though.