Homemade Febreze-Go Green by staying Cheap!

I've seen this on the internet a few times, so I thought that I would bring it to the eyes of you fantastic readers at instructables.

Febreze- We all use it (I hope some of us do) to clean what we have dirtied, make that which is foul smell better, and generally add a hint of fragrance to our garments.

In this short but sweet instructable, I'll show you how to make your own Homemade Febreze with things you should already have in your home.

This is not my original idea. I see it on the internet a lot, but since it was not on instructables, I thought I'd share it with you here.

The motive behind making your own Febreze type smell good cleaners is that the cost of making it yourself is lower than the cost of most cleaners today. Cleaners are getting more expensive everyday, and by making your own, you can cut back on spending outrages amounts of money for a bottle of stuff that you can imitate with household ingredients. So when you make your own Febreze, you are saving money, which you can later invest in solar panels or other energy saving/producing devices.

UPDATE: I just found this instructable by Bigbadjohn81 on how to make Homemade Fabric Refresher. I usually search for instructables that I want to make to make sure that I do not repeat anything already made. I did not find his instructable while I was looking, and so it has been made. I'll leave it where it is for now.

UPDATED UPDATE: I found more instructables on Homemade Febreze earlier today that I didn't see before I made this. I don't know, maybe I looked to fast. I've also been getting comments pertaining to this instructable not being Green. I interpret Going Green as yes, saving the environment, AND saving yourself some dough at the same time. So by making your own Febreze for cheaper than you can buy it, I consider this to be green. Thanks!

Step 1 Some notes and recipes.

I've seen a couple of different recipes for making Homemade Febreze on the internet, and while I will be sharing all of those with you, I will only be demonstrating how to make the simplest one. Since simple=Fewer ingredients=cheaper=Greener!

Here are the varying recipes of Homemade Febreze that I have found, though for this instructable I will be showing how to make Recipe #5.

Recipe #1------------------------------Courtesy of TipNut.com *
1 cup fabric softener
1 cup white vinegar
2 cups water

Recipe #2------------------------------Courtesy of TipNut.com *
2 cups water
1 cup fabric softener

Recipe #3------------------------------Courtesy of TipNut.com *
3 cups water
3 TBS fabric softener
3 TBS rubbing alcohol

Recipe #4------------------------------Courtesy of TipNut.com *
2 cups water (warm)
1/4 cup fabric softener
1 TBS baking soda

Recipe #5------------------------------Courtesy of Thriftyfun.com **
1 part water
3 parts fabric softener

*http://tipnut.com/4-homemade-febreeze-recipes/

**http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf243748.tip.html

The Recipes above are borrowed from TipNut.com and Thriftyfun.com. I do not claim making any of these, but I am posting them here for informational purposes only.

If you have concerns about flammability, unhealthiness, or other life/fabric threatening concern, check out the comments on the TipNut page that talk about this, instead of filling my comments with questions that, frankly, I wouldn't know how to answer.

Comments

[dalston1]

For the green folks: technically, you can just make homemade "green" fabric softener (also available at TipNut), and then use that as the "fabric softener" ingredient in all the recipes.

So, taking that as an assumption from the very beginning, it's green.

Now get off his back.

[tabitha_6878]

THANK YOU for this recipe!

LOVE IT!

My mother in law has 13 cats and this is just what I needed!

{{BIG HUG}}

[blodefood]

I know this sounds counter to what you are trying to accomplish, but is there a fragrance free alternative to this?  I find so many of these products have such an objectionable smell, to say nothing of burning my eyes and throat, a scent free alternative is nice.  Any ideas?

[soulcalibur]

seems the simplest of all ideas. by the way if i were you i'd buy one of those garden pressurizer bottle things and use that instead. maybe even a well cleaned out weed killer pump pressurized container. still i think the solution won't clean and keep it that way as good as febreeze does.

[zomfibame]

I dig the idea of making cheaper versions of name brand stuff no doubt; but this is not any more green than just buying the name brand stuff. Fabric softener is NOT green. some might argue it is somewhat the opposite of green. due to the fact that it is a skin irritant to many people, and it can cause problems if it finds its way into lakes, ponds, rivers etc. Good instructable, but possibly change the name of it by removing the "green" part. ... I could be biased though, since I'm not too fond of fabreeze. I tend to like Lysol

[lawizeg]

NIce one, once again. I just have a question...how is this green? I dont really get it.

[Gunk on Floor]

The cost of fabric softener, which most people already have, and water (costs relatively nothing) means that making your own Febreze is cheaper than buying it at the store. And spending less money in an already money hungry world that we live in, can help you save what you have and be green! Hope I've answered your question!

[Aar000n3y]

Wait, so spending less money is a way of being green? I don't understand

[bedeboop]

No toxins mainly. :)

[nerdnurture]

Yes! Part of the environmental disaster we have created stems directly from our need to consume every new-fangled something that enters the market. We cannot continue the current rate of consumption. Period. The more you can make yourself, and the more you can find multiple uses for the same stuff, the better. Reduce and reuse. They come before recycle... I think homemade febreeze is a good idea. Vinegar makes a good fabric softener too though, and it doesn't have any of those wierd chemicals you can't pronounce.

[DaNerd11]

I get that, i think.... Nice instructable, im doing it right now.

[Gunk on Floor]

Thanks for the support nerdnurture, sometimes it's hard to explain things the way you mean them and other people (you) can put them in the right words.

[gillian]

For one thing, by making your own instead of buying febreeze, you'd be preventing the water weight from being transported via truck, so there would technically be less use of petroleum. That being said, I bet fabric softener is not very good for the environment.

[Gunk on Floor]

Well, yeah. Spending less money on anything by finding a cheaper more efficient alternative is the equivalent of being green. Take vegetable oil for example. You can use used vegetable oil in diesel vehicles as an alternative to diesel fuel. You can get the vegetable oil for almost free, and it's better for the environment, so your being green. Hope I've answered your question!

[Aar000n3y]

No no, that's green because it is recycling something to use its energy instead of letting it go to waste. Not because it's cheaper, even if that is a plus.

[Gunk on Floor]

But because you're using it in place of the oil, that's one more car that doesn't rely on fossil fuels which are inevitably destroying the atmosphere. So while it does do a good amount for the ozone layer, it's also helping you save money, because like you said, you are using the energy from it that would have been wasted.

[Gunk on Floor]

I also interpret being Green in a little bit of a different way than most because of my money pinching dad. Going green should mostly be about helping the environment, but anything that you can do to save money will help in the long run.

[Aar000n3y]

Well it also says eco-friendly projects in the description of the contest, so you could think about the contest in that way instead. How will saving money help in the long run for the environment?

[Gunk on Floor]

Because you could then use money you saved to invest in solar panels or something like that.

[Aar000n3y]

I understand your reasoning, but it's too indirect. Setting up solar panels is green, but how you get the money for them isn't. Also, I could use this instructable to save some money, but then use the money to buy some gasoline.

[Gunk on Floor]

Or just save the money and find an alternative to gasoline that is green? What's wrong with saving money.

[Aar000n3y]

What I was saying is that this is about money, and money isn't always used for something that's eco-friendly. I have nothing against saving money, I just don't think saving money is eco-friendly by it self.

[chris76108]

Money is GREEN!
But I think Aar000n3y needs to go GRAY (duct tape) ;oX

[pyelitegamerro76]

by buying the ingredients, you can make many batches using the original supplies once you use all your febreeze, once your done with your fabreeze, you need to buy more effectively using more plastic bottles, so this instructable saves you plastic bottles less plastic = more green

[lawizeg]

Yea, you have! thanks!

[Patty_Racket]

Couple of pointers I think would be worth adding... First, if you buy non-toxic biodegradable (ie: 7th Generation) liquid fabric softener, your not doing much harm to the water table... and its better 4 your clothes too. Second, doubles as an awesome "wrinkle-release'er" solution. Note that i use only a couple of tablespoons softener per BOTTLE of this stuff even as a "Febreez" To apply use an 'atomizer' pump spray and for extra effect toss the garment in the dryer on low, or fluff, for a few minutes. Just as a precaution: don't go overboard on this stuff!! You can accelerate fabric damage over time. And finally... as we all hate static in our laundry, and yes. some of us use dryer sheets... well this stuff triples in function if you just spray 3-4 pumps in the dryer near the end of the cycle-- viola-- no static and a light softer effect as well!!! Hmmmm... doesn't that seem curiously like what Febreez/Tide and Febreez/Bounce did in a partner marketing campaign? Just be sure to use non-toxic softener brands or dilute as much as possible while still getting the desired effect.

[aprilq1111]

Most fabric softeners are bad for your skin - they cause allergic reactions and flare-ups of conditions like psoriasis and excema(sp?). Not green. They also build up on your clothes, which shortens their lifespan. Not green. And of course, the runoff enters our water supply, which affects everyone downstream... So spraying diluted fabric softener around your home is just not good. My homemade freshener is as follows: Place 2 tablespoons cheap vodka in a clean 20-30 oz bottle. Add distilled water to almost the top. Add 2-5 drops essential oil of your choice, or until you like the effect (lavender, peppermint, or orange are nice, sandalwood is a little more masculine). Shake before using. This lasts forever because of the distilled water. The vodka keeps it sanitary, and helps the water to evaporate quicker. Mist it anywhere and enjoy! It's safe for fabrics, and won't leave stains. Because I don't use fabric softener anymore, I spray my sheets after laundering them.

[amariusd]

If you add vinegar- 1 to 2 tbsp- it will help dissapate the odors as opposed to covering them. Also be careful as most fabric softeners are flamable. I have tried the green tea with vinegar and rather like that combo... Very cool though.

[bookfreak53]

Good Job! Your project seems "green" to me and I'm all for doing things that save me money while being better for the planet. You are an honest person and I applaud you for sharing what you have learned!!!

[anngel369]

can't wait to try it out! thanks

[cowscankill]

(removed by author or community request)

[Gunk on Floor]

The recipe is 3:1 softener to water, but after looking at my fabric softener, which seemed slightly thick, I changed it around and used 3 parts water to 1 part fabric softener. Sorry for the confusion, I just didn't want a super thick mess of febreze.

[cowscankill]

ah, smart thank you

[dchall8]

Or if you don't like the smell of Febreeze or any of the commercial fabric softeners, but you do have a favorite hair conditioner, you could do the same thing with that. Hair conditioner AND fabric softeners are made from various waxes, surfactants (soapy chemicals), alcohols, fragrances and water. The waxes are what make and keep fabric and hair soft. The fragrance is all you want for your air freshener. For those people who can't figure out what is green about this, they must need to have the color on their monitors checked. The pictures in Step 3 clearly show a green liquid ;-) Maybe they used a different interpretation of "green."

[Ward_Nox]

you might want to shop arounf for fabric softener most brands have chemicals in em that water proof fabrics

[0.775volts]

You can also use a 50/50 mixture of vodka and water. In theatre we call this "Vodka spray". It works pretty well (you can make it stronger if you wish), and doesn't have that pesky febreeze smell (i don't like the smell too much).

[sofa0ne]

Nice idea but I wouldn't consider it GREEN.<br/><br/>I think we have differing ideas of what going green actually means.<br/>As I have always understood it, going green is about saving the environment not your money. <br/>Haven't you ever heard "the High price of buying cheap?"<br/>You can shop at Wal-Mart but that doesn't mean your "green".<br/>If something does save you money and helps the environment than it's likely more people will buy into just such a practice. <br/><br/>If your looking to kill odor in a green way perhaps you could do something along these lines...and note green tea is even cheaper than fabric softner.<br/><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.care2.com/greenliving/green-tea-to-refresh-your-home.html">http://www.care2.com/greenliving/green-tea-to-refresh-your-home.html</a><br/><br/>I also had some questions regarding the use of this method does it stain furniture? <br/>Is it animal friendly? <br/> <br/>

[Gunk on Floor]

Making your own Febreze doesn't necessarily save the world, you are correct in that. But anything that we can do to cut back on spending money on commercial products buy substituting them with things we already have will help the environment tremendously. Why go out and buy Febreze, when you could just buy your favorite fabric softener like always, and then mix up your own freshener when you get home? I understand the way you see the meaning of going green, but there are many many ways that it can be interpreted to other things (less spending).

Regarding your questions: Seeing as how it's fabric softener, I don't see why it would do anything to your furniture besides improve the smell. Unless you're talking about wood or vinyl furniture, I'm not completely sure about those.

We've been using it around our cat and he seems completely fine. If you'd like to see how he's doing, check him out here]here.

Thank you for the feedback, and as I said, there are many ways of interpreting "Going green" and mine is partly to save yourself money. Thanks, gunk

[GorillazMiko]

Awesome job, as always. I love the smell of Febreeze. Yum. Kind of. Great job.

[duck-lemon]

hey dis is kewl