Anyone use Febreze products - those funny commercials!

[parsleysage]

Has anyone seen those really funny commercials where they take blind-folded people into a really smelly, disgusting room that has Febreze products in it/sprayed in it and they can't smell it?  They are hilarious, lol, I'd be so mad if someone did that to me!  

Anyway, I realize it's probably just a marketing ploy, but it makes me think I can get rid of the smell that lingers ~15 minutes after one of the cats takes a poop.  I was wondering if anyone uses Febreze products to manage that smell.  Frequent cleaning keeps the smell down in general of course, but what about when a fresh "deposit" is made when guests are in the house?  I had a housewarming in my new place a few weeks ago and one of the cats conveniently pooped in the box RIGHT before my guests got there - like two or three minutes before the doorbell, lol!  It was pretty bad.  I have the glade stuff but it doesn't cover the smell unless you REALLY spray it and at that point it's so thick you can barely breathe the air.  Plus, the strong scent plus the cat poop scent... 

Does the Febreze stuff work?  Anyone use it or tried it?

 

[rafm]

I use it on the dog beds and am happy with it. No, it's not as good as the commercial but I do find it helpful. 

 

[feralvr]

I do have Febreze in the house ready to "spritz" and located in convenient places - near the litter box. I do think a few spritz's work really, really well. A little goes a long way

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I have one of the plug in diffusers and I love it!  Each diffuser lasts about a month.  I have it plugged in in my kitchen and I can smell it when I come out of my bedroom in the morning on the other side of the house (granted my house isn't huge, but it's not tiny either).  It's not overpowering either.

I'm not sure if it really helps with the cat smell.  We have one of the littermaid boxes so I think that is where most of our help comes.  Either that or I'm immune to the scent of cat poo?  I dunno.  I do like to use it on coats and things when we eat out or go somewhere and they pick up a grease smell or something like that. 

I think the real test for me would be something to take care of the scent of DD's diaper pail.  Now THAT would be a test for their commercials!

 

[natalie_ca]

All air fresheners do is really just mask the smell. Nothing "kills" ondours other than air exchange and time and of course washing off whatever it is that is giving off the offending odour.

I use a diffuse in "lotus flower" scent. It's very pretty.  But when not using that, I tend to go with "Oust" in the citrus scent. Citrus is my favourite smell in the world.

 

[otto]

Those diffuser "air fresheners" are terrible. What's in them? Whatever chemicals they are putting out, you are breathing in. Imagine what they do to tiny cat lungs. It's just more air pollution.

I've had that experience with a cat pooping right before someone comes to the door. Just laugh it off, offer face masks.....everyone poops, after all. In a few minutes the odor is gone, and the people will know that your house does not perpetually smell like cat poop.:lol3:

PS I'd rather walk into someone's house and smell cat poop for a few minutes than be knocked down by any of those plug ins or sprays or other type of "freshener". I can't tolerate them at all, and in fact will leave a house that is using them, unless the host is willing to unplug/deactivate the things while I am there.

 

[meowmmy_aprile]

I use both the plug ins and the spray. I find it works really well. I never spray the spray when the animals are near. For some reason I feel it is ok for me to breathe it in but not them lol. I actually keep a can near the litter box and when someone is exceptionally stinky I go in and recover for them and spritz a couple sprays and it works well.

Do I think it works like the commercial? Nope, but it does do a better job than some of the other products I have tried.

 

[natalie_ca]

Those diffuser "air fresheners" are terrible. What's in them? Whatever chemicals they are putting out, you are breathing in. Imagine what they do to tiny cat lungs. It's just more air pollution.

I think you might be thinking of something else.  This is what I use. It's a reed diffuser.  A perfume in a bottle with reeds inside that soak up and gently emit a faint scent.

 

[otto]

I use both the plug ins and the spray. I find it works really well. I never spray the spray when the animals are near. For some reason I feel it is ok for me to breathe it in but not them lol. I actually keep a can near the litter box and when someone is exceptionally stinky I go in and recover for them and spritz a couple sprays and it works well.

Do I think it works like the commercial? Nope, but it does do a better job than some of the other products I have tried.

What do you mean "re cover?" Do you mean you cover the poop? Why not just scoop it out as long as you are right there?

If you are spraying something, they are both breathing it, and ingesting it. What doesn't stay in the air for them to breathe, lands. The cats walk (or dig) where you have sprayed, then they lick their feet. Or it lands on their fur. Or wherever they sleep.

And those plug ins....all those chemicals you, your family, your pets...breathing them in with every breath.

I think you might be thinking of something else. This is what I use. It's a reed diffuser. A perfume in a bottle with reeds inside that soak up and gently emit a faint scent.

I am talking about ALL of them, including this one. My hair dresser uses those in her bathroom. I always forget, until I walk into her bathroom, then I gag and back out quickly, and just "hold it" until I get home. They are all awful, in my opinion. Full of chemicals that anyone in the vicinity is forced to breathe in. Over powering scents. Cats' olfactory senses are many times stronger than humans. Imagine how awful it must be for them to have to smell that kind of stuff all the time.

I have a sensory disorder, and cannot tolerate smells of any kind. I was serious when I said I will not stay inside a house if someone has any kind of "air freshener" going, whether it is a plug in, or the kind that is free standing, (and those ones that go off when you walk by? my gosh they are foul) or a scented candle, or a diffuser stick. Either they unplug it, turn it off, or blow it out, or I have to leave.

I don't get it. I really do not understand this obsession with covering up the smells of living with all these horrible perfume smells. How bad do people think their houses smell, that you have to cover it up with perfumes. It only makes things worse. Ugh.

I take that back. I do understand, it is called advertising. The media has brainwashed everyone into thinking their houses stink unless they use all these awful things.

I bet you who use these things are good house keepers and I doubt very much that your homes need this kind of "freshening". And for any one who doesn't practice good hygiene, no amount of scent is going to disguise a dirty house smell anyway.:lol3:

 

[speakhandsforme]

I don't get it. I really do not understand this obsession with covering up the smells of living with all these horrible perfume smells. How bad do people think their houses smell, that you have to cover it up with perfumes. It only makes things worse. Ugh.

I take that back. I do understand, it is called advertising. The media has brainwashed everyone into thinking their houses stink unless they use all these awful things.

The perfumes don't smell horrible to those of us that don't have a sensory disorder.

I certainly don't think my house stinks unless I use an air freshener. But I do use them because I just like the way they smell. It's a pleasant scent to me. I don't use them to cover anything up. :dk:

 

[otto]

The perfumes don't smell horrible to those of us that don't have a sensory disorder.

I certainly don't think my house stinks unless I use an air freshener. But I do use them because I just like the way they smell. It's a pleasant scent to me. I don't use them to cover anything up. :dk:

But doesn't it bother you to think about all the chemicals you are breathing in, in your own home?

And those smells bother more than just people with sensory disorders. A lot of people are sensitive to scents and perfumes, not as hypersensitive as I am, but enough to be disturbed by them. Many are just too polite to say so.

 

[parsleysage]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ignite anything with this question.  The poo smell really bothers me as I live in a very small home with my three kittens - when it lingers, especially when guests are over trying to enjoy a meal or a movie, I like to get rid of it if possible.  I use sprays infrequently to start off with, and my mother suffers migraines from strong smells so I'm accustomed to living without them, though now that I live alone I like to burn incense.  Anyway, I'm not warding off evil spirits with heavy clouds of perfume spray, I just want to get rid of the poo smell occasionally. 

As for chemicals, I agree it's best to eliminate them if possible.  But with chemicals in shampoo, body wash, laundry detergent, nail polish, makeup, plastic tupperware, processed foods, exhaust and smog, chemical cleaners, and on and on... you pick your battles in today's world I guess.

Thanks for the reviews of Febreze, y'all!  Sounds like it works pretty well for most of you.  I think I'll pick some up!  

 

[meowmmy_aprile]

Hrmm seems my name got added as someone elses quote I didn't say this.

Bah I tried to quote the above quote that had my name attached to it, seems it didn't work.

To answer Ottos question as to why I recover and don't scoop. I do scoop my boxes but after they go and it is (fresh) I recover it a bit so it can dry and doesn't stick to my scooper.

 

[swampwitch]

I'm with otto 100%. Febreze doesn't "eliminate" odors; it affects your nose so you don't smell them. It wets then surrounds the "odor molecules" with chemicals (beta-cyclodextrin and zinc chloride) so when the chemical reaches you, it keeps your nose from smelling it. The zinc chloride dulls nasal receptors.

The fragrances in Febreze (and all other air fresheners) are considered a trade secret, so the ingredients do not have to be listed. However, it is a fact that they all contain phthalates, which are carcinogens and hormone disruptors. If you want some scary reading, google phthalates.

I read somewhere that 70% of us have more air pollution in our homes than outside. I just scoop the poop and open some windows, even if the weather out is bad it just takes a minute or two to get some fresh air in.