Febreeze (I know, it's O.T., but thanks for the info!)

[Guest guest]

Hi, Linda, and THANKS!

    I know this thread about Febreeze is off-topic, but I do appreciate the

information!

I have long used charcoal (horticultural charcoal--comes in little bags and

tiny, crumbled pieces) for the soil in my houseplant pots.  It supposedly

absorbs any stuff in the soil or water that might stress the plants--keeps them

growing & healthy.  I also knew there was a medical use for charcoal--sometimes

in the case of poison ingestion...I just had never thought of using it to remove

" fumes, odors, perfumes, etc " from enclosed spaces!

 

    Several (probably about 4 or 5) years ago, my DH and I got home from a short

trip. I had our suitcases in the laundry room, was removing our packed clothing

items and immediately piling them into the washer for laundering.  One small

suitcase stood near the door, and one of my 4 cats lingered nearby. 

 

    The kitty, our skittish little " Pip " , a neutered male, always seems

terrified of the other cats in our home and, despite being neutered, seems

determined to diligently " mark " numerous areas in our home--repeatedly. 

 

    That day, after we'd been gone a few days and our cats had been cared for by

a sitter, I guess Pip was feeling anxious. I didn't notice him sniffing around

my little suitcase until it was too late--he decided to obliterate the  " strange "

smells on my suitcase with his own strong " calling card " .  GRRRRRR! 

 

    I tried EVERYTHING I could think of to get rid of that " cat-pee " smell!  I

hated to throw away the handy little suitcase, but for several YEARS, it sat in

the storage room, stuffed full of --UGH!  I HATE to admit it!-- " Bounce " fabric

softener sheets!  I was trying to eliminate the odor and the Bounce sheets just

were making it worse--the suitcase smelled like pee-and-fabric softener sheets! 

(GAGGGG!)  

 

   The horrible smell finally dissipated to a tolerable degree.  A few times, we

did still use that suitcase--to carry things like shoes and other " we don't care

if it smells weird " things.

I wish I had thought to try charcoal briquettes and crumpled up newspapers--that

might have made that suitcase use-able much sooner! 

 

   (The moral of this story is that I never open the door to the laundry room or

bring the suitcases into the house after a trip until everything in them is put

away and/or laundered, etc., just in case Pip or his brother, " Tiger " happen to

be exploring and on the alert for the

" strange smells " we bring back with us after travels!)

 

   Thanks again for that very useful information about the charcoal briquettes

and newspapers!  I will keep it in mind for future " odor emergencies " !

 

   Peace!

--Laura B., in Illinois

 

PS:  Is it possible that charcoal could be used in some way to absorb the

" V.O.C.'s " (fumes from chemicals) that are emitted by new furniture, building

materials, flooring, carpeting, and so on?  I am pretty sensitive to these, and

I am 99% sure that

a new mattress set we got early this year is partly to blame for certain health

issues I've had since these came into the house.  I put more houseplants in the

room, but I wonder if something else--maybe utilizing charcoal--might help the

air quality.  Regular room " air cleaners " don't usually lower the V.O.C. levels

much...plants supposedly help, but I don't know if they get it all, either.

 

 

Re: Febreeze

    Posted by: " Linda Richardson " larichardson1955 larichardson1955

    Tue Apr 14, 2009 2:46 am ((PDT))

 

I have asthma and one time had the car cleaned at a car wash where despite

specifying no scents and no armourall, they still used armourall. Yes, it did

cause asthma attacks, even with windows rolled down.  I finally wadded

up/crinkled up lots of newspapers, put them on the dash, floors, and seats, set

some charcoal briquets carefully inside so they wouldn't rub off on anything,

rolled up the windows and left the car several days sitting in the hot sun (this

was in Tucson, Arizona in the summer, so it was really hot inside the car).  It

really worked, and I just tossed the papers in the recycle bin afterward and

returned the charcoal to the bag for the next cookout.  Hope this helps you.

Linda