Make Your Own Fabric Refresher

September 17, 2004 7:40 PM

Is there a way to mix your own fabric refresher (like febreze, etc.)?

I like the stuff, but it's expensive. The active ingredient is some form of corn starch, which is readily available, does it require some complex process or is it just corn starch in a mix of water and alcohol.

posted by milovoo to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

I think the corn starch would be for stiffening the material and making it iron out nicely. I don't think it has much scent-killing ability.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:49 PM on September 17, 2004

Febreze is basically ring sugar molecules that surround smelly molecules and keep them from floating away, so you can't smell them. I don't think you can make it just by mixing corn starch into water.
posted by kindall at 11:17 PM on September 17, 2004

According to these kids, it's either water+vineagar or water+fabric softener.
posted by bachelor#3 at 11:43 PM on September 17, 2004

just so's you all know, mixing ammonia and bleach produces gases that will kill you by burning your lungs out. don't try this at home. or anywhere.
posted by namespan at 1:55 PM on September 18, 2004

Well, namespan's comment now makes no sense.
posted by kenko at 11:23 PM on September 18, 2004

I don't think you can make it just by mixing corn starch into water.

Yeah, wouldn't that mixture just provide food for bacteria, creating even more nasty smells?
posted by scarabic at 11:56 PM on September 18, 2004

Pudding. And MetaTalk.
posted by squirrel at 3:53 AM on September 19, 2004

Best answer: cheap vodka in water. in the nightclub/theatre circuit, people have been using it to get sweat and smoke smells out of clothes which are too delicate even for handwashing (or which take too long to dry) for years. i still use it instead of febreze because it doesn't smell like perfume (and no, it doesn't smell like vodka either, unless you don't dilute enough--don't add essential oils, however, as the oil will stain the fabric).
posted by crush-onastick at 6:56 AM on September 20, 2004 [3 favorites]