FEBREZE

I tend to think I keep a pretty clean household so in the three years I’ve lived in my current apartment, I’ve never had to buy an air freshener. That changed this evening.

Something smelled terrible in my garbage can underneath my kitchen sink. I’m not sure what it was but it smelled like a combination of sweaty body odour mixed in with decomposing meat. My plan was to take the garbage out and then buy a container of Febreze.

After dinner, I bundled up the garbage bag and tied it up nice and tight, and proceeded down to the garbage room. The bag smelled the entire time I rode down the elevator. I was very glad to dump it into one of the dumpsters. I then headed back upstairs to the Safeway to get the Febreze.

Once back in apartment, I was going to spray the bottom of my garbage can to clear it of any remaining odours. As I looked into the can, however, I noticed a gross yellowey liquid at the bottom. It smelled terrible! This was the source of the odour! I guess one of the garbage bags had leaked and this had been festering in the can for who knows how long. I quickly poured this foul liquid into my toilet and then tried to wipe the can down without touching any of the liquid residue.

Then came the Febreze. I sprayed a moderate amount into the garbage can and then place a fresh new bag in it. I also opened up the area under my kitchen sink, which still smelled, and gave it a good blast.

I then left it for about an hour for the Febreze to do its thing. When I returned to assess the results, I came away with a few conclusions. First, I believe Febreze does actually eliminate, rather than cover up, odours. I’m no chemist but if those doughnut shaped Febreze particles indeed bind with the stinky ones, then that’s awesome science going on. Second, a little bit of Febreze goes a long way. I thought I was pretty conservative with the amount I used but the scent of “fresh linen” was a bit overpowering for a good hour or so. I think I could have used a lot less spray. Alternatively, the makers of Febreze could probably dial down the intensity of the scents.

Overall, my kitchen doesn’t stink anymore which was my primary goal. I didn’t get a sense that the odour was being masked but that it was genuinely gone. Thumbs up for the Febreze.