I am fascinated by the air care world, and today we are talking about how Febreze air works with a natural propellant.

Last month, I had the opportunity to watch a fantastic online event with the makers of Febreze and science Expert Emily Calandrelli aka The Space Gal. They shared how this odor fighting technology works, but also demonstrated it.

Before the event, I interviewed Emily and senior Febreze Scientist Morgan Brashear for some specific questions readers have brought up over the last few years.

I think you will find this fascinating!

How Febreze Air Works With A Natural Propellant

After attending another online event back in the fall with experts in air care around the country including makers of Febreze, I learned so much about how air fresheners work. Air fresheners aren’t just about nice scents, they are about capturing and eliminating odors in your home.

We learned in this post that bad odors aka malodor is a serious problem physiologically, economically, emotionally, and even physically. This is why there is an important market for air care products. People want their homes to smell good, but also eliminate the odor causing molecules.

Febreze has some interesting technology behind their products. Today we are going to explore  some details on how Febreze Air works and what makes it different.

Febreze Air Natural Propellant Source

Propellants are what makes something move forward or upward. A propellant is simply a substance that propels something. Traditional air fresheners use a liquid hydrocarbon, but Febreze Air uses a natural gas propellant, Nitrogen. Nitrogen makes up 78% of our air and doesn’t react with other things.  

I spoke with Febreze before this presentation about the benefits of a natural propellant. Morgan said the great thing about using a gas propellant like this is it also allows the solution to be water based! In fact, about 90% of Febreze Air is water. The only downside to natural propellants are it is more expensive and harder to formulate.

Being a water based solution means it dries faster, but also won’t damage surfaces.

Things to Keep in Mind For Using A Natural Propellant Air Freshener

The way this nitrogen works, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, you don’t have to shake the mixture before spraying like you do with traditional air fresheners. The nitrogen sits on top of the solution, and when you press the spray nozzle, it will push solution out. You don’t want to shake the solution because excess nitrogen will be released which isn’t necessary.

You also don’t have to tilt the can up or down, this also can release too much Nitrogen unnecessarily. All you have to do is simply hold and spray!

More About Nitrogen

Emily shared some more details with me about Nitrogen that I wasn’t aware of. Nitrogen is used in many products, even food products. For instance, you know how a chip bag is full of air and feels pressurized before you open it? This is actually Nitrogen inside. Oxygen in the air makes food go bad faster, so they package products with Nitrogen!

I thought that was so cool!

Other Active Ingredients in Febreze Air

We mentioned that 90% of this solution is water. This means the other remaining portion is what contains the odor fighting technology.

Last year, we learned that Febreze uses different technologies to eliminate odors. It doesn’t mask them, but actually absorbs and neutralizes the malodor molecules.

During this presentation, they set up a cool experiment. If you take a can of tuna and add the juice to a glass, you will obviously smell a strong fish smell. Spray in Febreze air for two seconds and the odor is completely gone! If you do the same experiment with a traditional air freshener spray, you will smell a mix of air freshener, but also the tuna odor.

The odor eliminating technology is what makes the tuna smell disappear.

Cyclodextrin

One of the main ingredients is cylcodextrin. When Febreze first launched in 1998, they featured a molecule called cyclodextrin which is still their star ingredient. Cyclo means circular and dextrin is a starch. So basically, this circular starch captures malodor molecules and absorbs them. It eliminates all types of bad odors.

Citric Acid and Sodium Citrate

The other odor eliminating technology in Febreze air is good old-fashioned citric acid aka lemon juice. We love lemon on Chemistry Cachet because it is a fantastic cleaning agent and odor eliminator. It eliminates odors by neutralizing the pH. That tuna smell experiment is a great example of how citric acid neutralizes the pH of fish smell. If you love eating fish at home, you might squeeze lemon on it. This adds a great flavor, but gets rid of the fishy smell too!

They also add in sodium citrate for acidic smell neutralizing.

Different Levels of Scent

I noticed different labeling on some of these products, so I asked about that. Febreze Air has less scented products labeled Light, so if you want less of a smell, but just enough to kill odors, look for this label. The highest scented Febreze products for heavy duty smells is their unstoppable line.

This is just something to keep in mind.

What is actually getting into our bodies when Febreze is sprayed?

Part of the presentation was about molecule size which I also thought was great information to share with our readers.

Particles are able to reach different parts of your respiratory tract depending on their particle size, which is measured in microns (um). Anything larger than about 100um is too heavy to remain airborne and will quickly fall out of the air, and it won’t be able to be breathed in. Particles between 30-100um will deposit in the upper respiratory tract, like your nasal cavity, and will be expelled through normal bodily functions like coughing or sneezing. Particles between 10-30um will make it to the top part of the lower respiratory tract – specifically into the trachea and bronchi. And finally, particles less that 10um can get into the deep lungs. That’s why things like asthma inhalers and nebulizers have a particle size of about 5um, so the particles CAN reach the deep lungs, where the medicine can do its job.

Febreze particle size is designed to be between 85-120um, which means that most of the particles that form once sprayed into the air will quickly drop to the ground and others will deposit in the nasal cavity, where you can smell them, and then are rapidly cleared.

Therefore, Febreze particle size is anywhere from 17-24 times larger than that of an asthma inhaler. So if you were to think of it on a larger scale and equate the particle size of an inhaler to that of a marble (16mm), then Febreze particles (272-384mm) would be about the size of a 15-in beach ball (381mm).

How does learning about Febreze help us understand DIY options?

We love making and talking about homemade room sprays, but I think educating readers on how things work can help them also understand what a DIY product is about.  When you learn the incredible science behind a product like this, and the decades of research that go into it, you can see how a DIY product cannot mimic this.

DIY products are meant to be an alternative option, but not necessarily a replication. There is no way to have the same type of technology in a homemade room spray. But we can utilize similar things like using water and citric acid. A homemade product won’t necessarily capture odors like this, but it can neutralize pH, and simply add a pleasant smell.

In general, this is true for most homemade products. You can’t expect the same results for everything, which is why on Chemistry Cachet, we are so picky about any type of DIY we share. It has to be very similar to a store-bought version giving you the same results.

Just food for thought 🙂 We like to share the science behind how things work in general, so our readers can understand household products better based on science.

Follow on Facebook | Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Hometalk