Febreze has come a long way since their early beginnings as a simple fabric refresher. Now they have an extensive line-up of products ranging from scented candles, to room deodorizers, to being an additive in laundry detergent. But is their success due to a clever marketing campaign, or are people buying it up because it really works? We put our review team on it to come up with the answer.
Overview
It’s often the case that when a product becomes successful it branches off into spin-offs and other useful items for the home. Such is the case with the Febreze product line, and now you’re armed with all sorts of ways to get your home, car, or office smelling the way you want it to.
The Claim
The basic claim behind Febreze is that it isn’t just adding a new scent to items or the air, but rather that it’s eliminating it entirely. The process behind this is patented and involves the use of a special sugar molecule that acts to entrap offensive odors and remove them from our sense perception. So it’s not as if it’s getting rid of the odors, but encasing them so we don’t smell them.
The Hype
They run a pretty steady amount of ads for Febreze, which keeps it in your subconscious for when you get to the store. You might find yourself instinctively reaching for it in the grocery aisle, or wonder why you’re suddenly looking it up online to see if it really works. It’s one of those hard goods that is very effectively sold through a combination of product placement in the store, and a steady stream of television ads that usually results in purchase. This can be good if you really do need an air freshener, or it might lead to an unnecessary purchase if their psychology works.
The Cost
The prices on Febreze range from about $3 for their vent packs that go in cars, to about $5 for a bottle of their more traditional spray bottle. Their prices are pretty competitive, and they don’t jack up the prices due to all of the advertising that is spent on them. You might pay a slight premium for Febreze of another rival like Glade, but the theory is that the other products won’t be able to match the effectiveness because they can’t use the same process as it’s protected.
The Commitment
The nice thing about Febreze is that you don’t have to do too much to use it, all of their products are either set-and-forget or spray and walk away. In olden times, circa the 1990’s you had to keep a bottle of potpourri spray handy and use it to cover up a stinky room. If you had bad-smelling fabrics like sofa cushions or comforters it was a real chore to have to wash them just to get the smell out. Many times they weren’t necessarily dirty, they just needed some freshening up. So in that respect Febreze does make things easier.
Evaluation
It’s easy enough to try out Febreze and evaluate whether it does the job of getting rid of odors. It’s not overly priced compared to other room deodorizers and air fresheners, but the key is to play to their strengths. Any time a company comes out with so many different product types they’re sure to miss the mark on a few of them. But overall, users seem to be very happy with the performance of the various products, and have no worries about buying it in bulk.
Final Febreze Review
The concept behind Febreze is a solid one, and it does seem to really work on eliminating odors and not just masking over them. Of course there are some products that get better reviews, so it’s not always a sure thing. Here are some of the products they offer that hit the nail on the head: Air Effects (all scents), Fabric Refreshers (all scents), Laundry Odor Eliminator, and their Allergen Reducer Air Freshener. These show strong user satisfaction, and you can be sure they’ll get the job done in your home as well. Some of the scents they make for other products don’t go over too well, but if you stick to the Gain scent, or their original scent you should be good to go.
Our Recommendation
The best line of defense against bad smells and odors is to avoid the offending source altogether. If that’s not an option then you have to bring in some reinforcements to get your home or car smelling good again. Overall Febreze has shown high levels of effectiveness and has proven that they’re not just a one trick pony. They’ve successfully branched out the label into other areas and continue to expand their brand, even going so far as to patent the process to prevent other companies from stealing their method.
Sonnig – What you said makes sense.
All tbis stuff does is cover offensive odor up-with another offensive odor that makes me sneeze. Sorry-if you want your house to smell good, you’ll just have to clean it and take out your trash once in a while! And if you have pets who you aren’t washing or cleaning up after, shame on you for thinking that spraying an air freshener on their litter or beds is doing your job as a pet owner. Scoop the dang litterbox and wash that dirty dog, or settle for a pet rock.
Fabreeze saves my daughter’s wedding. Her wedding dress came back from the fitting smelling like fried food. I was horrified. We used unscented Fabreeze the night before the wedding and it saves the day.
Here’s a novel idea; find the source of the odor and clean it accordingly.
Febreze is just a lazy way to cover up offensive odors without addressing the root of the problem.
The chemical stench of Febreze just reaks of nastiness!
Tv commercials brought me here.
I don’t understand rave reviews which say they are using it constantly. If it works so well, why would it be necessary to spray on drapes, beds, upholstered furniture all the time? If it just works temporarily why not use any other less expensive spray?
Or, what are people doing in their living spaces that requires this?
I HATE FEBREZE!!! I don’t care if it works or not, the smell will kill you. And I am very angry that when I purchase a product that I’ve purchased in the past and have been happy with, they slide the Fabreeze crap in it. Will aggressively look at package labeling to make sure Febreze is NOT IN THE PRODUCT!!
This stuff has to be bad for your health…
I am worried that the residue or next day odor left by initial spraying – – converts to something like cat urine odor. I am running around whiffing everything, planning on major scale deep cleaning, including cat urine, wondering if I have hidden pests . . . all b/c of this next day reaction. I don’t have a cat, wash floors regularly, with Pine Sol and Oil Soap (another suspect); but it usually is pinpointed at having sprayed day before. Now I am bummed out! I have a ten item list just to clean mattress, in case it’s culprit, as Bear Stearn’s has rep., but its really heavy, next I can wash all clothes anywhere, look for rodents (no crap signs though). Steam clean the house, no carpet though; wash down walls (I do this,b.c sometimes I smoke). I hate to clean, btw, but I do it. Bummered out/
Why would u leave pizza in your room for a month.
This product SUX. it is worse product ive evr used. EVER.. febreze make my house smell like doo doo. i left a pizza box in my room for a month and figure that i should mask the smel. it was stink. febreze didnt get rid of the smel. i was sad. the carl comericals arent tru. i had 3 gurl come over and they ran away because of smel.. just thougt u shuld know. send refund plz
Bet you and your house smell like a sasquatches nut sack!
@ Donavan
There’s a couple things you can use to clean those stanky clothes and your washer simultaneously!
Pinesol!!! It is cheap and very effective and the lavender one and the blue one both smell great in clothes … I had a not so clean boyfriend and while I buy nice detergents sometimes his habits kinda required a stronger clean.
Another thing you can try is white vinegar. But honestly I say toss all those clothes back in that stank washmachine and kill two birds with one stone use about a cup of the pinesol and your stuff will definitely be clean
Febreeze is a waste of money and does not work like they claim it too! I accidentally forgot to throw away the trash today before heading out and came home to a foul smell! Mind you, we have febreeze plug ins in the kitchen, livingroom and bathroom. What do you think we smelled upon walking in the house?? Definitely not the febreeze! But the garbage! we’ll never purchase anything from febreeze again.
What is the danger of using fabrize to the point of making me sickish. What are the ingredients? Is there anything that is bad for health? I get a headache and sick to my stomach.
How different is the new scent with Febreeze? My male kitty is VERY picky and of he doesn’t approve he will hold in his pee until he gets bladder crystals.
Febreze is the best odor reducer on the market. I have cats, dogs, and one stinky husband. I have been using Febreze for at least 10 years–it works.
Ugh. I am distressed that I find Febreeze so effective. I even Googled why it works and wound up here. I have five cats and Fresh Step litter now includes Febreeze but I didn’t like their odor shield version so I resisted buying Fresh Step Febreeze until that was all I could buy last week. To my surprise my apartment is only stinky now when cats actually do their business. Luckily I’m already in habit of cleaning litter several times a day so kitties stay happy too.
Good job Febreeze.
Febreze is evil. It coats the lungs with toxins, causes ill health, stinks like a chemical factory, and the worst is that people are fooled into thinking it not only smells nice but that EVERYONE SHOULD BE CONTAMINATED WITH IT. I DO NOT WANT your artificial scents, nor the lingering respiratory distress that these bring on. Keep them to yourself — but wait! You can’t! Because the stuff permeates everything that comes within its orbit. Just use basic soap and scentless laundry detergent and realize that human odors are not bad. The end.
Well as Febreze is a good smelling product but my wife and I have purchased about 3 cans of Febreze with the can having a problem with the spraying system. It will not spray. It’s seems like the idea is to get the most out of the product but it does not. The spraying of the liquid product does not come out of the can. Do not buy these cans. They don’t work at all.
“Febreeze does not mask odors, it eliminates them.”
Thought experiment: put the management of Febreeze in a room, arm them with cans of Febreeze, and add nerve gas.
Q/ Which odor would be eliminated? The nerve gas? Or the smell of bullpucky from them & their ads?
Cheers,
Febreze is great for deodorizing things that can’t exactly be through into a washing machine. Especially if you had pets who didn’t quite make it outside to do their business. It helps eliminate odors while leaving a pleasant smell in the air. However, if you have something that is persistently stinky then, unfortunately it’ll only cover up the smell for certain amount of time before it goes back to stinking again. It works great even to make the bathroom fresh after using it.
I love Febreze! Just like Vanessa up there, I can’t stand strong scents, and so many odor eliminators are just strong smells that barely mask the odor. Febreze is really great at getting smells out of fabrics that you can’t wash, like furniture, rugs and curtains, and it leaves behind a distinctive but fresh light scent. I prefer the Febreze air freshener for bathrooms (the lavender scent is especially nice). Since it doesn’t just cover the scent, it actually smells nice and not like…well, bathroom. Trash bags with Febreze have been my savior in the kitchen with smelly food trash. Everything with Febreze that I’ve tried has been a winner!
I’ll admit, I always have a bottle of Febreeze in my cupboard but I don’t use it very often, mostly because I don’t think about it. But when I do find a reason, it works great. Love the fresh scent, love the fact that it pretty much eliminates odors completely instead of covers them temporarily. I have tried other brands and nothing compares.
Keeping a clean home is something that I strive to do day in and day out, and with the Febreeze fabric refresher I can take things to the next level. I use it almost on a daily basis, spraying it on my sofa, beds, curtains and other areas of the home. Instantly my home smells clean and refreshed and I can tell that my cleaning efforts are really working. There are impostors that try to do what Febreeze can do but none of them offer the awesome smell and the refreshing scent of Febreeze. If you want to exemplify your cleaning power make sure there is a bottle of Febreeze there to help you out.
Ahhhh, Febreze! This product is my very favorite! I’m a clean freak when it comes to my bathrooms and the need for my furniture to smell fresh. When febreze was marketed, I quickly tried it out and never went back to anything else. This stuff is awesome, I tell you. I haven’t heard of one person that has had a bad experience with it. When it comes to stocking up on this stuff, I usually need to exercise self control in order not to go over-budget lol… I like the way it neutralizes offenses odors quickly. That’s a must in family with 3 males! lol.
I use the Tide too! Its my favorite!
I should buy stock in Febreze as I purchase a bottle every week. There isn’t a room that I don’t use Febreze in. I keep one in the car too. When I clean my house, then I spray it on the drapes, furniture, bedding, floor rugs and I even spray it in the air conditioner vents. You will get the fresh scent throughout the room. If there is an odor in your home, then try Febreeze. It doesn’t just mask the odor for a while, but it will remove the smell instantly. There isn’t another fabric refreshers that I would even purchase.
Stephanie: I too have tried generic Febreeze-like products and they don’t work! At best they mask the smell with a very strong scent and don’t do as good a job as Febreeze.
I love Febreze because it gets rid of bad smells without being overpowering. I get headaches easily from scented products that are too strong, but Febreeze doesn’t give me these headaches. I also love their candles. I have also tried the Tide with Febreze detergent and it left my clothes smelling beautiful and fresh.
I am a firm Febreeze supporter! So much so that I now buy my laundry detergent and kitchen cleaners with it. In a house with 3 kids, 2 dogs, and a cat there are some smells that even with hardwood floors you can’t ever seem to get rid of, and covering them up never works because once the spray has left the air the funky smell is still there. Febreeze doesn’t cover them up, once I use any of my cleaners or air fresheners the odor is completely gone.
I have tried the genaric fabric refreshers and other air fresheners and nothing else comes close, they are actually a complete waste of money.
My laundry smell like crap because my previous washer smelled the same. I forget to clean the washer on a regular basis, well more like I got lazy and never cleaned it and eventually it became so dirty I couldn’t get rid of the stench. Anyways I can’t throw out all my clothes, so hopefully febreze can get rid of all the smell. I’ve never once used febreze for my laundry before, I’m just not a clean person lol. It either works or I’ll waste a ton of money on new clothes.