Febreze was my favorite scent in college. Didn't have time to do laundry - febreze it. Stinky dance shoes - febreze it. Going somewhere - febreze yourself.
While I want to believe my home is beyond the need of a product like this, I have a majestic beast who loves to roll in the mud and use my pillow as a paw mat.
What do you mean - this isn't my bed???
But.... what is febreze?
According to proctor and gamble, it doesn't remove odor molecules. Instead it traps them inside of a chemical shield to mask the bad scent with a fake chemical smell. Um - what?
P&G claims it uses only four ingredients: water, alcohol, odor eliminator derived from corn, fragrance.
Unfortunately the ewg found 89! Here are the findings:
University of Washington study found that U.S. air fresheners released an average of 18 chemicals into the air. On average, one in five of these chemicals were hazardous substances highlighted in federal and some state pollution standards.
When EWG conducted more sensitive testing of the air freshener Febreze Air Effects as part of a 2009 study of cleaning supplies used in California schools, we detected a total of 89 airborne contaminants, including acetaldehyde, a likely human carcinogen according to the EPA.
Some of those chemicals include:
- BHT — a known neurotoxin, a hormone disruptor, immune system toxin, and irritant to the skin, eyes, and lungs.
- Propylene Glycol — also a known carcinogen, propylene glycol is toxic to the immune system, is linked to allergies, accumulates in the body and irritates the skin, eyes, and lungs
- Acetaldehyde — a known carcinogen, that has reproductive and development effects immune system toxin, and irritant to the skin, eyes, and lungs.
- Fragrance — This is one of the four disclosed ingredients. However, on its own, it can contain up to 400 ingredients, most of which 95% are petrochemicals. Exposure to fragrances can damage the central nervous system and cause depression, hyperactivity, irritability, inability to cope, behavioral damages, headaches, dizziness, rashes, hyper-pigmentation, vomiting, coughing, and skin irritation. the most common chemicals in fragrances are ethanol, benzaldehyde, benzyl acetate, a-pinene, acetone, benzyl alcohol, ethyl acetate, linalook, a-terpinene, methylene chloride, and a-terpineol. Most of these ingredients were found in Febreze.
- 1,3-Dichloro-2-propanol — known carcinogen
Woah. Scary right? But, what if I told you there was a cheaper, easier, and safer solution?
Being in the theatre most of my life, there is always a need to freshen costumes. There isn't enough time to wash them in between each show. So, how can we freshen sweaty actor costumes on a theatre budget?
Vodka Spray
1 minute
1 part vodka
1 part water
In a spray bottle pour it half full of vodka. For the other half pour in distilled or filtered water. Give it a good shake and spray.
It's that simple. Vodka is a disinfectant. When it hits your carpet, dance shoes, or sweaters, it will destroy the bacteria causing odor.
Now, you want to use the cheapest vodka you can find in a glass bottle or on tap. Save the good stuff for drinking. But, isn't it cool knowing you could safely drink this if you wanted to? Try drinking febreze.
What do you use to freshen your home?
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