Do you have a room in your house where unpleasant odors live, such as near a cloth or landfill (disposable) diaper pail? I was recently given a Brethe Air Revitalizer by Homedics to test out. This product uses “vortex cleaning action technology” to neutralize air. Not sure what that means, but it uses water and natural botanical solutions to freshen the air.

To use the Brethe Air Revitalizer, you simply add water and a few drops of “non-toxic and biodegradable botanical solutions”, then plug the appliance into an outlet. Ingredients are not listed on the botanical solution, but I think that you could simply use essential oils when the solution ran out. The Brethe Air Revitalizer traps and eliminates 99% of odor-causing bacteria, but is it worth the electricity it uses?

This product uses the same amount of electricity as a standard light bulb, which I assume is an incandescent and not a CFL; however, when I checked the UL listing, it says the Brethe Air Revitalizer uses 18 watts. Even though the power usage is low, I have to question the need for such an appliance. Living off-the-grid, every watt counts. Rather than use more electricity, I would rather do what I can to eliminate odors in my home. Even if you live on the power grid, I believe that you should consider every single appliance’s power draw that you plug into an outlet (see “Use Off-the-Grid Energy Saving Principles While Living On the Grid”), no matter how small, as well as consider your power source. As my alternative energy professor at Humboldt State University said many years ago, “Why would you split an atom to toast a piece of bread?” (He was also the only professor in the US to ever teach a class on decommissioning a nuclear power plant). In this case, why would you split an atom to freshen the air, when you could just wash the cloth diapers or take the garbage out?