Here are two recipes for Homemade Fabric Refresher, the first is a Green recipe as it has no harsh chemicals; the second recipe can be made with common household items that may contain harsh chemicals.
Homemade Febreze or Fabric Refresher (Green version)
This recipe is frugal and does not have any harsh chemicals and therefore we consider this to be a “green” or environmentally friendly recipe.
Supplies Needed:
Resource: associated content
Homemade Febreze or Fabric Refresher (not so Green)
This recipe is simple and homemade however it uses fabric softener which may contain some not so “green” chemicals. I used this recipe with Snuggle Exhilariations (wild orchid & vanilla kiss) and it smelled great! I think the smell is stronger and lasts longer the the actual Febreze.
Supplies Needed:
Resource: eHow
Check out more Frugal tips for your home to help you save money!
Homemade All Purpose Cleaner
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Homemade “GREEN” Easter Egg Dye
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Thank you so much, this is a great tip:) I have some concerns about leaving water sit around in the spray bottle though. It seems it would take awhile to plow through the whole bottle, so couldn’t organisms or mold grow in the sitting water?
I haven’t had any issues and my bottle gets used up pretty quickly. I use the natural version.
Instead of using fabric softener I used dryer sheets and they just work just as good as the fabric softener!
I use Purex crystals (mostly natural ingredients), you have to let them disolve in hot water for a while first, and reduce it to 1 to 2 tbsp or it is just way too strong. With the baking soda, I had to just shake the bottle now and then or it would settle, no big deal. Going to try the vinegar solution next. Do you find the vinegar smell lingers at all?
I love the recipe, it’s much cheaper and I do find the smell last longer than febreeze.
I always use baking soda, so I’m not sure about the linger of vinegar. Let me know what you think when you try it.
I do use vinegar in my all purpose cleaner with essential oils and you can not smell it one bit!
Yeah, this doesn’t work at all. It completely ruined the spray bottle I put it into–the pump got so clogged up with baking soda that I had to throw it away. Sorry to say so, but this recipe just doesn’t work.
I’m sorry to hear that it didn’t work for you. Perhaps you didn’t use warm enough water to dilute the baking soda. I use this recipe and haven’t had any problems. However, I have not had much luck with purchased empty containers, such as the ones you get from the dollar store. I reuse industrial product bottles and have much better luck. (I ran into the bottle issue with my homemade glass window cleaner.) If you don’t have any bottles, as friends or neighbors to give you their empty bottles when they have finished using the cleaning products. I hope this helps!
It clogged up my bottle too and I used hot water to make sure the baking soda dissolved. I didn’t even get a chance to use it as it clogged up my spray bottle almost instantly
Sorry but this recipe didn’t work for me either and I also had to throw away my bottle. I would like to try a recipe along the lines of using a lot less baking soda and a little bit of vinegar and water and see how that is.
I’m so sorry to hear it didn’t work for you. Did you use the green version?
Thanks for the article! I am interested in trying the green version but I am not sure what essential oils I could use that are non toxic to my cats. Any suggestions?
I received this response from a friend that sells essential oils: “According to the cat tear sheet,… these oils are acceptable: Frankincense, Helichrusum, Lavender, Lemon, Melissa, Oregano, Peppermint,
AromaTouch, Balance,Breath, Deep Blue, DigestZen, Immortell, On Guard, Serenity, Zendocrine.” Let me know if you have any more questions!
I’m having a really hard time getting the baking soda in the green version to dissolve, any suggestions?
I usually fill the bottle with baking soda first, then ad hot water and shake before adding the essential oils. See if that works. Are you using an older box of baking soda? That could be the issue.
Can essential oils hurt fabric? just wondering IF I need to be careful where I spray this. Thanks
It is wonderful to find a homemade Febreze recipe, thanks for sharing!
I have not had any problem with the essential oils, as long as you do not use an excess amount. However the fabric softener can leave some spots on fabric or other surfaces!
I love this and thanks sooo much for sharing! I will NEVER buy Febreze again!