On a whim I ordered this Febreze Odor Removal Appliance from Amazon for $22. My kitchen always has this “interesting” assortment of (burnt) smells and I was hopeful that the Febreze would do more than pump out a scent to mask odors.
Febreze contains no odor masking scent. Instead it works with a fan and filter to pull in stale air and pump out “de-scented” air. In other words it removes and doesn’t just mask odors.
The kit advises that you must first remove the inner wrapping from the filter. There is also a “filter replacement” indicator that works by squeezing a tiny bubble at the very top of the filter assembly. Once you’ve removed the plastic wrap, squeezed the bubble and reinserted the filter – all that’s left is to plug in.
I mounted my Febreze unit in a spare outlet next to my kitchen sink. The one thing you’ll notice is that this device tends to hog the whole outlet.
There’s also a slight vibration which I noticed more at first than I do now. While initially setting up my Febreze I thought the vibration from the fan was going to be more noticeable than it has been. You can see that on the back of the unit they’ve placed a strip of foam toward the bottom which is meant to cushion any area where vibrations may transfer from the unit.
In my testing this foam strip was mostly for looks. The outlets that I used never let the Febreze rest against the wall.
Here’s a picture of the Febreze “unboxed”. Inside is the filter which you remove from a plastic bag and re-insert to the device. Then snap on the cover (after activating the “replace filter” sensor by pinching) and you’re in business.
When your filter needs replacing (about $9 via Amazon) – you’ll be notified via an indicator on the front of the Febreze. So far I haven’t gone through a filter yet so I can’t comment on how long these last.
So how does this contraption work in the real world?
In a word it’s simply amazing. Easily matching other filters that I’ve used which cost 10 times as much.
Over the weekend I burned, cooked (ok, Jennifer cooked – I burned) and burned some more. Whatever odors were left in the air were removed by the time that I returned home.
My kitchen is probably an average size with a dining area located adjacent to the cooking area. I’m impressed that this small device plugged into a wall outlet does so well at removing odors.
I don’t have any pets or smokers in the house to judge how this unit would work in a “hard core” odor removal scenario. Amazon sells different filters for about $10 each which claim to address special needs like smoking and pets.
Overall I’m impressed with the filter and the fact that it doesn’t just mask smells – but appears to remove them from the air.
Febreze – Odor Removal Appliance – $21.99
What I like:
– Removes (doesn’t mask) smells
– Easy to use
– Inexpensive
What could be improved:
– Add an outlet adapter so I could still use the plugs that this blocks
What I liked about this is there's no masking odor (as if I were to use Febreze from the can) — the odor is just gone. And the device is affordable for about $20 and the filters for about $10 seem to be reasonable.
I was pleasantly surprised to say the least.
As a side note, if I remember correctly, many of the fabric odor removal sprays are comprised of a 5-10% solution of magnesium sulfate (better known as Epsom Salts) and water. So simple we make our own odor removal solution to use at home, geeks that we are. 🙂
I have an area downstairs in my house where the cat boxes are that I may just have to try this in. We'll see how it does up against the likes of Taffy and SIlverbell!