We have two kids in diapers, a large German Shepherd dog who loves to jump on our couch, and we cook most of our meals from scratch. In other words… we could use some odor-eliminating spray every once in a while.
Sometimes, smells linger no matter how clean your home is, and that’s why odor-eliminating spray is so convenient. We’ve all heard of Febreze, but there’s a new (less synthetic) kid on the block called Fresh Wave, and I’m ready to put it to the test.
Fresh Wave vs. Other Air Fresheners
Over the last year or so, I’ve been working on swapping out our home products for non-toxic, simpler swaps. We now make our own laundry detergent (easier than you think), and I ditched the Pine Sol (my heart still hurts, but it’s for the best).
Read more:
- Understanding the Health Effects of Carcinogens in Laundry Detergent
- Clorox® Recalls Pine-Sol® Scented Multi-Surface Cleaners […] Due to Risk of Exposure to Bacteria
Another product I want to tackle is air freshener. We don’t use it all the time, but occasionally, we pull out the Febreze. But just like all of these other popular home products, it’s full of synthetic fragrances and perfumes.
Read more: Health Hazards of Air Fresheners
Fresh Wave uses simple ingredients like water and plant oils to remove odors without unleashing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) throughout your home.
That said, while we think of botanical oils as a better ingredient than synthetic fragrances, they can still cause skin irritation and allergies. So if you try Fresh Wave, keep an eye out for any irritation. While it’s not as likely, it can still happen.
Fresh Wave vs. Febreze
Both Fresh Wave and Febreze list all of their ingredients on their website, so you can compare them for yourself. What I noticed is Febreze has a lot of extra ingredients that make it appealing, but not necessarily as good for your health.
Febreze contains things like dye, fragrances, and perfumes. And what exactly makes up the fragrances and perfumes is not disclosed.
Fresh Wave does not use any of those ingredients. For the fresh scent, Fresh Wave uses plant oils, like lavender oil, lime oil, and cedarwood oil.
In addition, Fresh Wave Gel and Sprays have been recognized as EPA’s Safer Choice products, meeting stringent criteria for human safety and environmental protection.
Fresh Wave Odor Eliminating Spray Review
I was most intrigued by the odor-eliminating spray since that’s a product we already use in our home (Febreze).
One of the most common use cases in our home is related to our dog. He has a sensitive stomach, and he’s been known on occasion to throw up on our entryway rug. I apologize for this visual.
After we clean up the mess, I like to spray some odor-eliminating spray as a final attempt to get the area back to normal. I can confirm that the Fresh Wave spray does a fantastic job at making the space feel fresh and new again.
This product allows you to instantly freshen a space, though the lemon and lavender versions don’t linger in the air for long. In all honestly, that’s probably what you want.
Here are different areas and reasons you might want to use the Fresh Wave Odor Eliminating Spray:
- Pet odors, like a shedding dog or kitty litter box
- Smoke odors
- Musty basement smells
- Bathroom smells
- Trapped odors, like the inside of a china cabinet smelling like a funeral home
- Baby odors, like a diaper pail
- Kitchen odors, like inside your trash can
- Trapped smells in cars/vehicles
- Closets, shoe chests, or other small spaces
- College dorm room smells
- School or gym lockers/locker rooms
- A rental space, like an Airbnb
We have used the spray, and some of the other products offered by Fresh Wave, in many of these circumstances, and it has been a slam dunk!
Fresh Wave Odor Removing Gel Review
The product that completely blew me away unexpectedly was this odor-removing gel. I originally thought the spray would be a better product, but this gel is on another level!
If you have a trapped smell that you just cannot get rid of, this is the product that’ll eliminate it for good.
In our house, the trapped smell that we couldn’t clean away was the inside of an antique china cabinet. We recently purchased it from Facebook marketplace, and while it’s beautiful, the inside smelled like a funeral home.
We cleaned it, aired it out, and cleaned it again, and we just couldn’t get rid of the smell.
I decided to put the lavender odor-removing gel in one of the cabinets, and within one day, the funeral smell home was GONE. Completely gone. And as a bonus, the inside of the cabinet now smells like lavender.
If you have a lingering smell that just won’t go away – I’m thinking a shoe chest, a basement closet, a gym locker – this gel is the product to beat.
Fresh Wave Odor Removing Packs Review
The Fresh Wave Odor Removing Packs definitely piqued my interest for uses like inside the trash can and our baby’s diaper pail.
These are areas that harbor odors continually, and they would benefit from an odor eliminator being around all the time.
I tossed a pack in both of these places, and while garbage and diaper smells aren’t gone, they are definitely less harsh. Fresh Wave suggests using these packs in other small places like pantries, shoes, closets, drawers, cars, boats, and RVs.
Lavender vs Lemon vs Original Scents
I tried the three most popular scents: lavender, lemon, and original.
While I think the scent choice is very personal, my favorite of the three is definitely the lemon. It gives a fresh and clean smell, which I want when using odor-removing products.
The lavender is also nice, though I prefer using it in bedroom applications instead of the kitchen. And the original has a very minimal scent. If I had to describe it, I’d say it’s reminiscent of eucalyptus, but the scent is very slight.
The actual plant oils used in the original include pine, lime, anise, cedarwood, and clove. These plant oils are not necessarily used for their scent, but more for their odor-trapping abilities.
My Favorite Fresh Wave Products
When I purchase again, here’s what I plan to buy:
- Lemon Spray: I found myself using the spray in common areas and even the inside of our cordless vacuum (highly recommend!). The fresh, clean, kitchen smell of lemon fit well with how I was using this product.
- Original Packs: The odor-removing packs are perfect for trash cans, diaper pails, and small areas like shoe chests. I found I really preferred not having a stand-out scent in these applications. A fragrance-free option was perfect for absorbing the smells but not giving me a lemon-garbage or lavender-diaper experience.
- Lavender and Lemon Gel: The gel is an incredible product, and I liked having the scented versions. The gel truly eliminates odor in a space, but it also imparts the lavender or lemon scent in its place. I didn’t find these scents masked odors. Instead, they really replaced all odor. I prefer lavender for bedroom applications and lemon for common areas or kitchen applications.
FAQs
Where can I buy Fresh Wave products?
You can buy Fresh Wave odor-eliminating products on Fresh Wave’s website. You can also conveniently order refills.
How does Fresh Wave Odor Removing Gel work?
The Fresh Wave Odor Removing Gel includes Potassium acrylate acrylamide, a super-absorbing polymer. This polymer combined with the proprietary natural plant oil blend attracts odor molecules, surrounds them, and eliminates them with a chemical reaction.
How long does it take Fresh Wave to work?
In my experience, the Fresh Wave gel completely eliminated odors within one day. It could’ve been sooner, but I just didn’t check any sooner than that! The spray instantly neutralizes odors, and the packs continuously keep odors at bay.
How well does Fresh Wave work?
I am shocked and amazed at how well Fresh Wave works! The gel product is pure gold. We put the gel in an antique china cabinet we recently purchased. That cabinet smelled like a funeral home inside, and I had no clue how to get rid of the smell!
Just one day in that cabinet and the odor was completely gone. I quickly had everyone in our family do a smell check, and they were blown away! The spray is a nice way to instantly freshen up a space, and I love the packs for inside the trash can and diaper pails. I’m a firm believer that Fresh Wave works very, very well!
Conclusion
Odor-removing products that don’t contain dyes or synthetic fragrances are a true mom hack! Your home will be smelling fresh and odor-free with minimal effort, despite all the stink producers in your living quarters.
If you worry about stinky kid’s shoes, diaper pails, trashcan odors, musty basement smells, or a cabinet that’s always smelled like a funeral home (yep, that’s me), Fresh Wave is the way to go.
They have a product for every purpose. Let me know in the comments section if you try Fresh Wave!
