apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I'm sort of against Febreeze. Yes, it smells wonderful, but I try not to use any air fresheners in my place unless it is environmentally friendly. One of the things I've found that works really well is just plain ol' vinegar. It doesn't matter if its apple cider, red or white, they all seem to work well against fighting odors in the disposal. I have found however, that the apple cider does seem to last the longest.

Baking soda followed by vinger then boiling hot water. Cleans my disposal and everytime.

I've heard use salt. But isn't that corrosive?

i use febreeze in the arm pits of my husband's shirts! since he sweats so much, sometimes the shirts get impregnated with a funky smell... so i use febreeze before tossing them in the washing machine and voila!

i'll try it now on my kitchen sink!

is febreeze not environmentally friendly? news to me. i love febreeze. i will even admit i use it as perfume at times. eau de febreeze!

according to cursory google search:

http://www.ciao.co.uk/Febreeze__Review_5142664

"Upon further investigation I have found the active ingredient of Febreze to be a cyclodextrin, that’s often used in cleaning supplies and helps reduce unpleasant smells. Cyclodextrin is a sugar like compound that traps the odour molecules. The odour molecules would still be present in the fabric but you wouldn’t be able to smell them, they would be masked. Once the molecules are trapped your noses will not be able to smell any further. Please do understand that these odour causing molecules are still present within the fabrics, it’s just that they are masked, Febreze is not intended as a replacement to cleaning."

febreeze totally freaks me out.

im sorry, enviro-friendly or not, i dont want to coat my couch with a chemical on a regular basis. many of my fabrics are vintage (my couch, throw pillows, curtains, my rugs) and i just dont feel like stuff like that is very good for aging textiles.

also i just think its weird...
dragging your stuff out to air out in good old fashioned sunshine a few times a year does wonders.

The commercials for Febreze where the moms spray everything in sight that their kids come in contact with creeps me out. Blanketing one's household with a chemical spray just doesn't seem like a good idea. Though I suppose if I were a smoker, I'd rather smell Febreze than cigarette smoke...

raddlesnack, please be careful putting Febreze on your skin!

I read raddlesnacks comment and almost laid out laughing...I LOVE IT!!

I love febreeze air fresheners. Especially the ones made for winter, like apple and pumpkin spices.

I used to love the sprays for textiles but they seem to leave this residue on things including the textiles I use. It made my sofa and bed spreads feel strange. If you spray febreeze on a window and let it dry, you will see what it leaves behind. It's icky and I now hate to lay on my sofa because I can still feel what residue. I need to get the sofa cleaned before the winter......

Febreze and I are not friends. I recently cleaned and polished every square centimeter of my bathroom to an operating-room gleam. As a finishing touch, I sprayed the whole room with Febreze air freshener. Every surface looked as if I'd tried to spray my armpits with powder deoderant and missed. This was not a happy moment for me. I categorically hate Febreze.

Why coat the very place food and dishes are washed with some mysterious happy chemical? (By the way, adding bleach and drain openers to the city water system contributes to an ecological nightmare. We don't need to use them.)

If one doesn't want to deal with the problem oneself, then call a plumber. They'll source the issue (perhaps accumulated fats, etc. lining the pipes) and handle it effectively and probably for a lot less that the gallons of Febreeze that will have to be purchased over time.

I hope those with stinky drains will deal with the common household problem rather than masking the effects with chemical solutions. The kitchen is where we feed ourselves and our families with the wholesome ingredients to life. Unless you would ingest it, don't bring it near your food.

For my disposal, I find that turning it on with the water running (after disposing any garbage) and adding a drop of dish detergent-- the sudsing leaves it fresh and odor free. I use Mrs. Meyers now but Dawn worked well too previously.