Have you seen the latest batch of Febreze ads? Their slogan is "breathe happy." Unfortunately, breathing in these toxic chemicals does not make me happy:
BHT
ACETALDEHYDE
1,3-DICHLORO-2-PROPANOL
LIMONENE
METHYL PYRROLIDONE
BUTYLPHENYL METHYLPROPIONAL
ETHYL ACETATE
GERANIOL
LINALOOL
BENZALDEHYDE
DIETHYLENE GLYCOL MONOETHYL ETHER
ETHYLHEXANOL
HEXYL
CINNAMALAnd this is only a partial list--read more on Environmental Working Group's site.
"But wait!" you say. "The ingredient list on the bottle says, 'Contains water, alcohol, odor eliminator derived from corn, fragrance.' Why aren’t all those chemicals listed?"
For one single reason--they don't have to be.
Under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, manufacturers are not required to list all ingredients of household cleaners. This is ostensibly to protect their formulations (I find that odd because bread has all the ingredients listed and there's no lack of healthy competition there...but I digress).
Thankfully, you can make your own odor eliminator spray for pennies and you won't have to worry about residue on the baby's crib--on the dog's chew toys--on anything at all.
You'll need:
A clean, empty spray bottle
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 cups distilled water
10 drops essential oil (a single scent, or a mixture. Imagine the possibilities!)
My favorite place to get essential oils is Mountain Rose Herbs.
Measure the baking soda into a bowl and add the essential oil on top.
Using a fork, mix the oil into the baking soda. This will help keep the oil suspended in the water.
Put the baking soda/oil mixture into the spray bottle (a funnel helps) and top off with the distilled water. Label your bottle, shake before use, and breathe happy--and safely.
P.S. Don't throw that bottle of Febreze away. It is hazardous waste (isn't that scary?) and must be disposed of at a licensed facility. Find one near you at Earth911.
Disclosure: affiliate links.
This article was shared on Small Footprint Friday, Simple Lives Thursday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Your Green Resource, The Thrifty Home, and Wildcrafting Wednesday.
Hello Brown Thumb Mama! What a frugal recipe! And non-toxic as well! So sad that you can't dispose of the original without taking it to a special facility! Thanks for sharing the recipe and the tutorial! Blessings from Bama!
ReplyDeleteI'll never understand our labeling laws. Obviously not there to protect the consumers. Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteOh wat lekker! Wat een goed idee!
ReplyDeletehugs x
Crystelle
Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week; I hope you’ll join us again!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Kathy Shea Mormino
The Chicken Chick
http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com
Love your blog! Gives me inspiration
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to try this out. Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting! I agree that making your own is so much better for you. I love using homemade cleaning products but have never made my own "febreeze". I will be trying this today! :)
ReplyDeleteThat is so scary, especially the part about how you have to dispose of your Febreze! We don't use that stuff anyway-- it just reeks of chemicals and I don't feel it does the job. I love your alternative, thanks for sharing :D I look forward to reading more
ReplyDeleteGreat info! Would love to have you share this on Wildcrafting Wednesday at:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/01/wildcrafting-wednesday-7.html
and The HomeAcre Hop tonight at:
http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/01/the-homeacre-hop-5.html
Hope to see you there!
Thank you for posting and for the link to Mountain Rose!! Absolutely trying this!!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you linked this up! I have heard that Febreze had terrible ingredients! I have a question...does the baking soda make a film when it is sprayed over tile or glass? I have found baking soda is like salt and makes a crystalline residue. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteHi Jacqueline, I usually spray it into the air rather than directly on surfaces. It's quite a dilute mixture, so any residue would be minimal (but I do think it would leave a film).
DeletePerhaps some citrus vinegar and water would do the trick for those surfaces? http://www.brownthumbmama.com/2012/12/boost-your-cleaning-with-citrus-vinegar.html
I didn't know that a Febreze container is hazardous waste! I can't wait to try this healthy alternative. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIf there's febreeze still in the container it is hazardous waste. When I switched out all the chemical cleaners in my home and tried to take them in a box to the dump I was informed that I literally had to take them to hazardous waste facility all of them including febreeze.
DeleteDo you think that people don't research things before we post them?
Hi, found you on the Raising Homemakers linky.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I do like the smell of Febreze...but not at the cost of our health. Writing this recipe down in my Stuff I Can Make Not Buy notebook. Thanks for the tip!
Great tutorial to make things simpler in your cleaning routine! Thanks for linking up with Tuesday Greens!
ReplyDeleteI've been making all my home cleaners including room spray (febreze) for years, but I've never used baking soda to suspend the oil. That's a great idea and I will try that for my next batch!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this!
ReplyDeleteWith a toddler and a seven-month-old, both of whom put everything in their mouths, I'm now more than ever in search of homemade alternatives to commercial products.
I will be making this soon!
I just read that Febreeze was a suspected carcinogen. This is a great alternative and I'm pinning. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMy hubs uses Febreeze you know where...So I my try this one out. I only use it when something goes bad in the trash and I spray it in the bottom of the waste basket before inserting a new bag. So glad to have this one to give a try.
ReplyDeleteOh, wow, I didn't realize Febreze was hazardous waste! I have so much to learn about environmentally friendly living! Thank you for sharing this at Motivation Monday!
ReplyDeleteI have MCS, (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity). Perfumes, air fresheners, (Lysol, Febrese) and many other things make me really sick. I called the Febrese company several years ago to ask if they made an unscented version. I figured if it really destroys the odors as advertised, it shouldn't need perfume to mask them, right? They told me baking soda was the "active ingredient". I have made a version of your recipe many times, (didn't measure ingredients). I like it just fine, but getting co-workers to use it is a challenge. They like the labels and aerosol, etc. I'll try it again, using your recipe. We'll see.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures' Make Your Own! Monday link-up.
ReplyDeleteCheck back tomorrow when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts! :)
I couldn't agree with you more-- that list of chems is frightening indeed! Great solution to the odor dilemma and delighted you popped by to share at Seasonal Celebration Wednesday! Rebecca @Natural Mothers Network x
ReplyDeletehow great! Thank you for sharing this natural alternative. Thanks for sharing at Tasteful Tuesdays this week! Do you sew or know someone who does? I have a fabulous pattern sale (18 patterns for under $25) and giveaway going on right now.http://www.nap-timecreations.com/2013/02/sew-fab-e-pattern-sale-and-giveaway.html
ReplyDeletecool :)
ReplyDeleteI can barely stand the smell of any cleaner, let alone febreeze! Thank you so much for this recipe! Perfect with two young boys around! Would love for you to share this awesomeness at the party tonight! xo bridgett
ReplyDeletehttp://www.osiemoats.com/2012/07/thursday-linky-party-1.html
I love the baking soda trick - totally trying that next time I make a spray like this. Usually I just do EO's and water! I featured you in my Your Green Resource this week... thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeletehttp://redandhoney.com/2013/02/your-green-resource-featuring-homemade-natural-febreze/
Love this recipe! I've done essential oils, water, plus VODKA, the magical quick-drying ingredient, too!
ReplyDeletehttp://mindofthemother.blogspot.com/2012/11/de-stinking-homemade-natural-fragrance.html
Thanks for getting the anti-Febreeze message out there... that stuff is nasty!
Thanks for sharing this at Consider the Lilies! I'm excited to try it out!
ReplyDeleteI'm featuring this post on my link up tomorrow! :)
That's crazy about Febreze! I tend to avoid using those kinds of air fresheners, because they bother my husband's asthma. This sounds like it might be a good alternative though (and probably a lot cheaper too). I'm pinning. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis looks great!!! Can't wait to try. I'm slowly adding natural living to our lifestyle and this fits in wonderfully!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
The How to Guru
I just happened to buy sweet orange EO! And I like to sneak sniffs every once in a while because it smells so delicious. Now I know how to truly take advantage of it!
ReplyDeletePinning!
I have all the ingredients for this so I shall give it a go. Lets's see if my male household notices the difference Haha!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this! I can't wait to make my own.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of using baking soda - an old-fshioned remedy used since my mother's time. Question - can one use tap water instead of distilled? Also, is the essential oil just for a nice smell or does it also have odor-eliminating properties????
ReplyDeleteI prefer distilled water since it has all the minerals removed through the distillation process. You could use tap water if you boil and cool it, but spending the 99c to buy a gallon of distilled water is worth it to me. :o)
DeleteThe oil is just to add a nice smell--the odor elimination comes from the baking soda.
wow, how simple is this! :)
ReplyDeleteGenius...I love it. Featuring this on Tickled Pink tonight!
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought formaldehyde was all we had to be concerned about in commercial room sprays.... Thank you for sharing this valuable information! On the blog of an essential oils consultant [ http://tinyurl.com/b2z87oy ], I read that EOs can leach petro chemicals out of plastic, so we should use glass or stainless steel bottles, and then too, I guess we should remove the sprayer from the bottle after each use, since the tube is usually plastic. Does that make sense to you?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link! Those fragrance combinations sound lovely.
DeleteI don't have any information on essential oils and plastic, so I'll have to do some research. However, with just 10 drops of oil in 2 cups of water, I wouldn't think the concentration would be strong enough to corrupt the plastic.
Just hopped over from Eat Make Grow. I have used baking soda mixed with an essential oil as a carpet refresher (sprinkle all over and let sit a little while, then vacuum) but never thought to add water and make it a spray. Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteOf course if you use Chamomile essential oil, you'll just be adding the hexyl cinnama right back into it.
ReplyDeleteMany of these harmful chemicals listed are naturally produced.
On the other hand, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a chemical compound that is made, and the making of it usually involves Ammonia.
While baking soda is used for a lot of helpful things, it can also have really bad side effects, just like some of these other chemicals.
I think this article is great to help people save money and reduce some of the bad chemicals in their house, but I also think that people need to research products and not just see a big scientific name and worry, and also check out common products (baking soda) to learn what is going into it! [:
Recently found your site and made a batch of this w/ Jasmine oil. My house and furniture smells amazing. No more dog or stuffy house smell. My nose thanks you for posting. I love the smell of febreze, but my allergies hate it. Since I like the scent so much and your baking soda suggestion, I took canning jars, poked holes in the lids and filled with small amount of baking soda and jasmine essential oil and have been using as air freshener in couple rooms. Goodbye expensive store bought products!
ReplyDelete