Frugal Living » Household » Homemade Febreze

Homemade Febreze

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Create your own anti-stink Copycat Free-breeze- aka Anti Funk Spray! This formula is a homemade counterpart to the expensive, perfume style spray that you can find in store for $4 or more per bottle. This easy spray will help get rid of the nasty odors that are left behind, such as wet pet smell on the furniture, stinky sneakers, and much more.

homemade-febreze

There are lots of copycat recipes for this particular type of spray, but there’s a trick to making it properly to avoid having a “white residue” left behind.

You’ll Need:
1/3 c baking soda
2 c water
1 c fabric softener, any scent you like. (Free Samples work wonderfully for this!)

Here’s the trick to avoiding residue, bring water to a boil in a saucepan on the stove and then dissolve the baking soda in the water. Remove from heat, cool, funnel into a spray bottle, add fabric softener, seal and shake well to combine; Use as you would the store-bought FeBreeze.

2nd Recipe

Here’s an alternative recipe that you can try if you don’t have access to fabric softener or prefer not to use it in your home

1/3 c. Baking Soda
2 c. Water
2 tsp Rubbing Alcohol OR 2 Tbs Vodka
15 drops essential oil (any scent you like, we use lavender)

Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan on the stove, add the baking soda, stirring to dissolve completely. Remove from heat, cool. Funnel into a spray bottle, add remaining ingredients, seal and shake well to combine. Use as you would any store bought Febreze-style product.

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© Can Stock Photo Inc. / mayerkleinostheim

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18 thoughts on “Homemade Febreze”

  1. this recipe works just as good as the way over priced febreze…..it also takes the static out of the house. we were always getting shocked from our house being so dry. this spray has solved that problem 🙂

    Reply
    • What is the baking soda for?. I’ve made something similar, just without baking soda.

      I tried it and it is great.:worthy:

      Reply
    • What is the baking soda for?. I’ve made something similar, just without baking soda.

      i find using baking soda it leaves a white film powdery stuff..

      Reply
    • What is the baking soda for?. I’ve made something similar, just without baking soda.

      did the myo febreeze without baking soda work for you? i do have hard water here….

      and am kind of leery about trying it after reading other posts. thanks for any input!

      Reply
  2. i really loved this, but it seems that when i used the gain fabric softener it would separate and then my bottle would leak and crystalize on the nozzle. i loved how it smelled and how easy it was to make, just had to keep it on the counter and watch for leaking.

    Reply
    • Don’t know why but the baking soda and fabric softener don’t stay mixed and when I use it the baking soda leaves a film.

      You have to boil the water and mix them, you can’t use cold water or it will leave a residue.

      Reply
  3. maybe the baking soda is not being dissolved properly for those having crystallization issues. also hard water maybe to blame.

    Reply
  4. made this today & completely dissolved the baking soda over the stove in boiling water. i now have a white residue everywhere. carpeting, rugs, furniture, etc.

    white residue on grey carpeting is horrible. not happy with this myo at all 🙁

    Reply
    • Made this today & completely dissolved the baking soda over the stove in boiling water. I now have a white residue everywhere. carpeting, rugs, furniture, etc.

      white residue on grey carpeting is horrible. not happy with this myo at all 🙁

      just out of sheer curiousity but why would you spray this everywhere (as you mentioned) without first testing it in a small area if you’ve never used it before?

      Reply
  5. would making distilled water work for those who have a hard water problem? my parents house had its own well water, and it was very hard water, and when mom needed to use water for something, she use to boil some and let it cool, then use it with no trouble with the minerals in it. just a thought.

    Reply
  6. i tried this with just fabric softner & water. it worked great. sometime we want the smell stronger & simply add more softner.

    i have even placed a few bottles at my work. crowd pleasing not as strong as febreeze

    Reply
    • I tried this with just fabric softner & water. It worked great. Sometime we want the smell stronger & simply add more softner.

      I have even placed a few bottles at my work. Crowd pleasing not as strong as Febreeze

      I also make this without the baking soda. It works wonderfully!

      Reply
  7. I had a problem with crystallization no matter what I did. I substituted the baking soda with 1/4 cup distilled vinegar. Ever so slight smell when spraying but it dissipates as it dries/evaporates.

    I have not had any problems since with everything smelling fresh and no residue.

    Reply
  8. I’ve just tried this exact recipe and I love it! I did go for the more expensive fabric softener…the Downy Infusions…wow. I made it while visiting my mom, Tamm422, and now can’t wait to tackle the the ever present dog smell in my house…which nothing else seems to have worked…I’m hoping this does!

    Thanks for the instructions!

    Oh and BTW, I have not had any issues so far with residue.

    Reply

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