Why You Should Add an Air Freshener to Your Home Cleaning Toolkit
Even for the cleanest, most spotless house or apartment, you still don’t get a sense of a really clean space without fresh scent wafting through the air.
For professional maid services, homeowners, and renters, air fresheners can take an otherwise stale – or sometimes downright foul – smelling space and help clean it up.
It’s the first line of defense for bad smells in your space and the last element of a truly professional cleaning.
How Does an Air Freshener Work?
The main purpose of an air freshener is to remove and replace bad smelling odors. It does that by utilizing specific chemicals to (1) trap existing odors so that they can’t be smelled and (2) neutralize other odors by counteracting their pH levels.
The chemicals that are responsible for the “fresher” air are known as cyclodextrin and citric acid.
Cyclodextrin is an aerosolized starch that forms a ring when you spray it. Those rings “trap” odorous particles and prevent them from being inhaled and smelled by people.
Citric acid deodorizes by changing the pH of odorous particles to a neutral pH of 7.
Basically, when you spray an air freshener aerosol or plug in an air freshener plug, those particles take to the air trapping and neutralizing smelly odors and making your air smell and feel “fresher.”
What Are the Different Types of Air Fresheners?
Luckily, there are a ton of air freshener options on the market. Here are the most common ones:
Aerosol Air Freshener Spray
This type of air freshener is one of the most commonly used air fresheners on the market. You’ve probably seen Febreze or Lysol air freshener bottles. They’re designed to help you freshen up a room. Similarly, the Poo-pourri “Before-You-Go” spray is another aerosolized air freshener.
Plug-in Air Fresheners
Plug-in air fresheners are the next most popular form of air freshening. Most popular brands have some form of plug-in air freshener. They plug in to any outlet socket and will slowly release fresh scent over time. They’re great for long-term, hands-free air freshening.
Air Diffusers
Diffusers are a great way to release essential oils into the air that will neutralize bad odors. Often, diffusers have a set time that they release fresh scent into the air. These are usually good for a single room.
Electric/Automatic Air Fresheners
These are less common in households and more likely found in commercial environments like public restrooms, food and hospitality environments and more. These are industrial-grade air fresheners that often release spurts of aerosolized air freshener over time.
Air Freshener Gel
Air freshener gel works similar to plug-in air freshener packs – they store air freshening gel in a slow-release polymer shell that allows a little bit out over time. They’re great for single room air freshening over a long period of time where you don’t have an outlet nearby.
The Best Air Fresheners for Home
We scoured the internet for the most reputable and recent air freshener ratings. We looked at magazines and online periodicals like BobVila.com, TheSpruce.com, GoodHousekeeping.com, RealHomes.com, Reader’s Digest (RD.com), and saw some common brands listed among the top 10 selections.
Here’s how the rankings shake out.
BobVila.com’s Best Home Air Fresheners of 2023
- Fresh Wave Odor Eliminator Spray & Air Freshener
- Zero Odor Pet Odor Eliminator
- Poo-pourri Before-You-Go Toilet Spray
- Fresh Wave Odor Removing Gel
TheSpruce.com’s Best Home Air Fresheners of 2023
- Renuzit Gel Air Freshener
- Poo-Pourri Before-You-Go Toilet Spray
- Glade PlugIns Air Freshener Start Kit
- Glade Automatic Spray Refill and Holder Kit
- Caldrea Linen and Room Spray Air Freshener
- Moso Natural Air Purifying Bag
GoodHousekeeping.com’s Best Home Air Fresheners of 2023
- Febreze Fade Defy Dual Scented Oil Warmer
- Glade Air Freshener Warmer
- Febreze Air, Linen & Sky Air Freshener
- Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Scented Soy Aromatherapy Candle
- Fresh Wave Odor Removing Gel
- Poo-pourri Before-You-Go Toilet Spray
- Caldrea Linen and Room Spray Air Freshener
- Airboss Anywhere Dehumidifier
- Vitruvi Stone Diffuser
RealHomes.com’s Best Home Air Fresheners of 2023
- Febreze Air Freshener Spray Heavy Duty Crisp Clean
- Mrs. Meyer’s® Clean Day Room Freshener Spray
- Lysol Max Cover Disinfectant Spray
- Moso Natural Air Purifying Bag
- Poo-pourri Before-you-go Toilet Spray
- Glade Plugins Scented Oil Warmer
- Febreze Small Spaces Air Freshener – Peony & Cedar
- Yankee Candle Just Plain Clean Odor Eliminating Beads
- Diptyque Baies Scented Oval
- Monkey Business Chill Bill Refrigerator Deodorizer
Reader’s Digest’s Best Home Air Fresheners of 2023
- Febreze Air Freshener Heavy Duty Spray
- Better Life Natural Stain & Odor Eliminator
- Febreze Plug in Air Fresheners Warmer and 4 Gain-Scented Oil Refills
- Aera Smart 3.0 Fragrance Electric Diffuser
- wyewye Activated Bamboo Charcoal Air Purifying Bags
- Air Wick V.I.P. Pre-Poop Toilet Spray
- Caldrea Basil Blue Sage Linen and Room Spray
- Mrs. Meyer’s Honeysuckle Room Freshener
- Glade Blooming Peony & Cherry Aerosol
- Glade Cashmere Woods Automatic Spray Refill and Holder Kit
The Ultimate List of Home Air Fresheners for 2023
Now that you’ve seen the top selected air fresheners from reliable sources, we’re going to break it down. Here are the best air fresheners for home by ranking:
The Best Home Air Freshener Aerosol for Home
- Febreze Air Freshener Heavy Duty Spray (Best Aerosol)
- Mrs. Meyer’s Air Freshener Spray (Runner-up Aerosol)
The Best Bathroom Air Freshener
Poo-pourri Before-you-go Toilet Spray (Best Bathroom Air Freshener)
Best Plugin Air Freshener
Glade Scented Plugin Air Freshener (Best Plugin Air Freshener)
Best Air Freshening Gel
Fresh Wave Odor Removing Gel (Best Air Freshening Gel)
Best Air Freshening Bag
Moso Natural Air Purifying Bag (Best Air Freshening Bag)
Best Electric Air Freshener/Diffuser
Vitruvi Stone Diffuser (Best Electric Air Freshener/Diffuser)
Honorable Mention: Best Automatic Air Freshener
We found that a lot of you guys were looking for the best “automatic” air freshener and those aren’t generally used in homes. They’re the kind you’ll often see in public restrooms that let out a puff of scented air every few minutes. There are a lot of options out there for those who want an automated air freshening solution. The one that we like the most is the Glade Automatic Spray Air Freshener.
