Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Febreze. I have received product samples, and compensation from Febreze; however, all opinions are my own.

The holidays are a very joyful time of the year. But with them comes the colder weather. Yes, even in Miami. And with the colder weather comes colds, sneezing, sniffling, coughing, and germs, making colds inescapable as they pass from family member to family member. As luck would have it my entire family has been sick for practically the last two months. Just as everyone started to recover, bam, the coughing, sneezing, sniffling, and germs were back with a vengeance. First it was Preemie and I. Then Papa started to cough. And Em, being in preschool and constantly surrounded by germs, yeah, she got it too.

Except her cold wasn’t just any cold. After noticing that her breathing seemed extremely irregular one evening this week, I took her to the ER immediately. Needless to say she was admitted into the hospital, and ultimately diagnosed with RSV and Coronavirus. If not taken care of, RSV can become very serious, especially in babies. With all the germs running through our house I asked Papa to make sure we had someone come and thoroughly clean the house before I brought Em back home, especially the room the girls share.

One of the notes made on Em’s discharge papers was to reduce or remove any pet hair, pet dander or pets if possible, from the home. Ummm, no I can’t remove Poochi, the girls would be crushed! There had to be a better solution and I was determined to find it.

We had just received the Febreze Air Purifier and Papa had placed it near the entry into our home. As Em was being discharged I asked him to move it closer to the girls playroom (fortunately we have a very open floor plan in the living areas) so that the air would be cleaner for them. Poochi’s bed happens to be right across from the play area so my plan was to have the purifier act like a barrier. Poochi is a little skeptical of the new machine near his bed. Just as he is the new vacuum cleaner. We’ve repositioned it so that the air purifier is in a more central location between the open living area.

At night we move it into the girls room. We’ve always kept an air purifier in their room, but ever since we moved I haven’t been able to find it. The mini tower purifier is very lightweight which makes it easy to move from room to room. That evening I noticed that the baby monitor, which comes into a wake mode when noise is heard, was continuously operating all night long. Realizing it was the purifier causing this we had to make a decision, keep their room air clean at night and deal with the noise from the baby monitor or remove the purifier. I went with option C. I switched out the current monitor for a different one we used in another part of the house. Problem solved and the girls could continue to sleep in fresh air. No more diaper disposal smell from the canister in their room.

The Febreze Air Purifier not only eliminates odors but also captures up to 99% of airborne pollutants. Dust, pet dander and pollen stand no chance against the unique 4-stage system.

Stage 1: Dirty, stale, odor-filled air is drawn into the air purifier by a strong fan.

Stage 2: The Dual Action Filter has a specially formulated carbon pre-filter that traps household odors and larger airborne particles, such as pet hair, lint and dust.

Stage 3: As the air moves through the HEPA-Type filter, up to 99% of the microscopic particles, 2 microns and larger are captured.

Stage 4: Fresh Febreze linen & sky scent is added to the filtered air before it is released back into the room.

The Febreze Air Purifier is a breeze to use. Slip in the dualaction HEPA-Type air filter (which lasts up to 4 months) and the Febreze linen & sky scent cartridge (which lasts up to 1 month), choose a room or location for your purifier and plug it in. There are 3 levels of cleaning, from low to mid to high, and you also can set the level of scent you want released with your purified air. The purifier works best in rooms that are smaller than 85 square feet, in which windows and doors are closed. This will help circulate and clean the air better and faster, up to 5 times per hour.

Keeping the Febreze Air Purifier in the main living area of our home during the day is important. Especially with the holidays around the corner and the expectation of guests, I want my guests to focus on the delicious food I am cooking, not that we have a dog. Actually, the babysitter today told me that Poochi could really use a bath and she didn’t notice it until he jumped in her lap. Guess the purifier is doing its job of eliminating odors after all haha!

During Christmas Eve dinner the main focus will be the Honey Glazed Ham, not Poochi. The Febreze Air Purifier will make sure of that. No stinky pet smell is going to overthrow my holiday party!

Check out this video on Tips for Pets from Febreze Air Purifier

Here are some holiday tips from The Accidental Housewife

House Guest Prep. If you’re like our family, when the holidays roll around you find yourself with a packed house. Our basement and office are transformed into bedrooms for out of town guests. Before their arrival, I’ll turn on our Febreze Air Purifiers to make their rooms feel fresh and clean (without much work on my part!).  It’s an easy way to remove dust particles and odor from the air, plus the gentle scent of Febreze makes their make-shift bedrooms smell scent-sational.

Cinnamon and spice, but not all smells nice. As many a hostess will know, all of those hours preparing your holiday feast will leave some pretty overwhelming aromas in your kitchen. If you don’t want your guests to smell every ingredient before they even sit down to the table, run a Febreze Air Purifier in your kitchen a couple of hours before the party. The air purifier will trap odors like garlic, cheese, fish and other stinky smells in the pre-filter, helping to make your kitchen feel fresher and cleaner.

Get your home ready for the holidays with the Febreze Air Purifier and make your dinner the main attraction. If your house can dish it out, the purifier can clean it out! Febreze Air Purifiers are available in 3 sizes (and 2 colors – Graphite Gray or White): Tabletop, Mini Tower & Tower. It is Energy Star Certified and comes with a 3 Year Limited Warranty. Purchase the full line of Febreze Air Purifiers, replacement filters and scent cartridges online at the official Febreze website or at a retailer near you. You can connect with Febreze online via their Facebook Page or Twitter!

Stinky odors got you down? What kind of odors are you battling in your home?

Win A Febreze Air Purifier!