DIY Homemade Febreze
With just 4 ingredients, this DIY Homemade Febreze will keep you on a budget and will leave your home smelling fresh and inviting!
DIY Febreze
Do you love a fresh, clean smelling home but hate paying store prices for it? Problem solved! You can make your own with this easy Febreze recipe. And if you are looking for other ways to clean on a budget, check out my 1-Ingredient Toilet Bowl Cleaner!
It seems that every other week, I have some sort of a deodorizing product on my shopping list. Febreze, Glade, air fresheners, candles, wax melts, etc. Now, I know what you are thinking. Is your family really that stinky???Here is my answer. I have four children, two dogs, a cat, and an obsession with yummy smells. Even though I love buying these products, the frugal side of me cringes at some of the prices. For that reason, I have created my DIY Homemade Febreze. At just $0.15 per bottle (That is not a typo!!!), I will never go back to buying this product from a store. In comparison to WalMart's 27-ounce bottle for $4.99, the answer is clear.
Looking beyond the price, you may be wondering if this creation is as effective as the name-brand item. Let's just say since I started using it, I have had WAY more people compliment me on how fresh and awesome my house smells than I ever did with store-bought Febreze. With just four cost-effective ingredients, you will be absolutely amazed at how satisfied you will be with this DIY Homemade Febreze.
Ingredients for DIY Homemade Febreze:
1/2 cup Downy Unstopables (scent of your choice)
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 caps full rubbing alcohol
water
clean spray bottle (I use 32 oz.)
funnel (optional)
How to Make DIY Febreze:
Step 1: Pour 1/2 cup Downy Unstopables of your choice. I used the "Fresh" scent.
Step 2: Add 1/4 cup white vinegar.
Step 3: Next, pour in 2 caps full of rubbing alcohol. This is to help the Febreze dry faster when it is sprayed on carpeting, furniture, etc.
Step 4: Add warm water until your spray bottle is full.
Step 5: With the sprayer in place, swirl the mixture around until the Unstopables are completely dissolved. I mixed mine every 10-15 minutes, and they were completely dissolved in about an hour.
Now the fun begins! Spray everything! My girls have a blast with this part. I should probably just mix two bottles so they each can have one. Every piece of furniture, patch of carpet, and random blanket smells super fresh because it has been sprayed. The part that makes me smile most is how long the scents last. When I walk into my house after a long day at work, I can't help but smile because I immediately can smell my DIY Homemade Febreze. Not only am I saving money, but I am creating an inviting, fresh-smelling home that I absolutely love!
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DIY Homemade Febreze
With just 4 ingredients, this DIY Homemade Febreze will keep you on a budget and will leave your home smelling fresh and inviting!
Materials
- 1/2 cup Downy Unstopables (scent of your choice)
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 2 caps full rubbing alcohol
- water
Tools
- clean spray bottle (I use 32 oz.)
- funnel (optional)
Instructions
- Pour 1/2 cup Downy Unstopables of your choice. I used the "Fresh" scent.
- Add 1/4 cup white vinegar.
- Next, pour in 2 caps full of rubbing alcohol. This is to help the Febreze dry faster when it is sprayed on carpeting, furniture, etc.
- Add warm water until your spray bottle is full.
- With the sprayer in place, swirl the mixture around until the Unstopables are completely dissolved. I mixed mine every 10-15 minutes, and they were completely dissolved in about an hour.
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What a clever idea! Nice way to save some $$ too! Thanks for sharing. Blessings, Janet
Absolutely! I was blown away at how much money I could save with this recipe!
I bet that smells so good. Our house is so old and can smell musty sometimes so this would be something good for me to try. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
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It really does! I love walking into my house and smelling a fresh,clean scent!
If you have some left-over, how long is it still effective for? I know the obvious answer is to use my nose to see when it is no longer effective, but I have a chronic sinus infection that greatly diminishes my sense of smell.
Great question! I actually have some that is about three weeks old. (This is by far the longest a batch has ever lasted because my children love spraying everything all the time.) I just got my bottle out and sprayed my couch. Even though it is 3 weeks old, I personally think it smells the same as it did on day 1. Because the bottle is fairly sealed, I can't see it losing much of it's potency over time. I hope you enjoy!
Could you tell me what Downey’s unstoppable is please, we don’t have that here in Australia.
Absolutely! Here is an Amazon link for them.
https://www.amazon.com/Downy-Unstopables-Wash-Scent-Booster/dp/B00J4GT9TY/ref=sr_1_1_sspa/141-2797369-0327803?ie=UTF8&qid=1525400717&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=downy+unstopables&psc=1
Very cool I will have to try this thank you so much for sharing.
Absolutely! We love ours and use it all the time! Enjoy!
What is downy unstoppables,
They are located right in the laundry detergent aisle. They are small beads that can be used as a fabric softener. And...they smell amazing!
Can i use liquid downy?
I have never tried it, but I don't see why it wouldn't work! If you give it a shot, let me know how it goes! I am always looking for different modifications!
Janie, Did you try this with liquid downy? I would love to know if it works then I could have more choices as far as scents go.
Thanks
Why do you use vinegar and some use water for the liquid?
I choose to use vinegar because it is a great odor eliminator. While using my DIY Homemade Febreze, I am not only freshening things up, but I am also getting rid of the odors that I want gone. I hope you enjoy my recipe!
The only thing about this is that Downey is full of chemicals so your family is inhaling these all day which is so unhealthy. I make my freshener with essential oils which are healthy for everyone
Thank you so much for that suggestion. I will definitely keep it in mind in the future!
How do you make your out of essential oils?
Not always true. Essential oils can exacerbate asthma if burned or used excessively... even in sprays like this one, and can cause itching and irritation for those with sensitive skin or skin condtions. I, myself, cannot use any sort of candles or air fresheners that contain essential oils without, then, having burning sensations in my eyes, and any sort of skin care with essential oils causes my skin to be itchy for days after I have used it.
I tried your recipe today and my house smells awesome! I was looking for a deodorizer because when I cook the smells stay in my stairway. Who wants to walk downstairs in the morning to the aromas of last nights dinner?! Not me! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
I am so glad that you enjoy the DIY Homemade Febreze It is a quick way to freshen up the house a bit! I know we love it too!
I made this why does it clog all my spray bottles
Oh no! I am so sorry you are having that issue. I am also sorry that I don't have an answer for you because I have never had that happen. I currently have three different bottles mixed with three different scents, and I have never had a bottle clog. The only suggestion that I have is trying a spray bottle that is intended for more than just water. The ones I use are located right in the cleaning aisle. I hope this helps!
Will the rubbing alcohol discolor fabrics?
I spray this DIY Homemade Febreze on everything and have never had a problem with discoloring.
I know this may sound like a silly question but, when it says two capfuls of alcohol do you mean two full of the caps on the alcohol bottle?
There are no silly questions! You are absolutely correct. Fill the cap from the alcohol bottle twice.
I am a huge fan of homemade money saving tips. I am going to the store today and grabbing some Unstoppables and some essential oils to see what works best!! I will share my thoughts after I've tried both!!
Awesome! I can't wait to hear your thoughts!
Is there a possible substitute for the white vinegar as my wife is allergic to it. I saw a comment about someone using essential oils for their concoction--however, no specific ingredients were mentioned. I wonder how effective it would be without the vinegar? Perhaps using water instead? Thanks!
While I do think water could be substituted, I do not believe the DIY Homemade Febreze would have the same effectiveness. Apple cider vinegar could be used without altering the final product, but I am not sure your wife is able to use that. If I come across another solution, I will definitely pass it on to you.
Hi, I just made up a bottle of this stuff.I have to say for me the unstoppable with green cap smells great.This is better than the original febreeze.I bought my items from the dollar store where the unstoppables was 1.74.Very cheap.Thank you for the recipe,I ordered the essential oils to try them.Will let you know how that works for me.
I am so glad you are liking it! Please keep in touch and let me know how the essential oils work!
Can you use any brand scent beads or does it have to be downy unstoppable? I have arm & hammer clean scentsations.
Any brand will work just fine!
Since the bottle is smaller, I halved the recipe and used the bottle of actual Febreze that I just finished. The labels on the back and front peeled off easily and did not leave any weird sticky residue, so I was able to just write "Becki's homemade fabric refresher" on the bottle and stick it right back in the spot the bottle had been in anyway!
I made this today and it is wonderful. I am sitting in my living room surrounded by the scent of fresh laundry. I love it! I already had Downy scent boosters on hand but I'm going to save them for this and use vinegar in the wash instead 😉
Hi I’m planning to make this diy febreeze but I’m little confused what do you mean by 2 caps of rubbing alcohol? Because the cap of rubbing alcohol is really small
Thank you
That is correct. You will only need a small amount. Just two capfuls.
I want to confirm correct bottle size. Your recipe calls for 32 oz bottle but your Amazon link is for 16 oz? I have a 32 oz bottle that appears much larger than the one shown in your pics and would yield a much weaker liquid. Please confirm which is correct?
Thanks for your help. I'm eager to try this scented spray.
I do apologize for the Amazon link. I use a 32 oz bottle to mix it in, but then I like to split it between two 16 oz bottles to store in different places of the house.