Customer Reviews

Homedics BRT-150 Brethe Air Revitalizer

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

If the price of the unit and scent accessories was lower I would have given five stars.

The supplied scents do a good job of 'freshening' (actually scenting) the air throughout most of my 1500 square foot house.

The fan noise is noticeable, I usually run it five or ten minutes at a time to achieve the same effect as spraying an aerosol air freshener. The blue lights in the tank are good for a 'mood' effect and can be switched off if desired. If you just want to 'tune out' for a few, this thing is excellent. My spouse smokes cigarettes several times a day and the BRT-150 does a good job of covering up the odor from a cigarette.

I would not say that this unit is a humidifier. It will run for three or four hours continuously and maybe only use a cup of water. I would also not call this unit an air cleaner as such. It is an effective air freshener. The air coming out just smells and feels good.

I, honestly, purchased the BRT-150 so that I could disburse essential oils without having to use heat, nebulizers just seem way too strange and complicated to me.

My wife thought the citrus scent was a little overpowering so I experimented a little and came up with a fairly good recipe for using essential (fragrance) oils. My recipe will only freshen up the air in the room it is in, not the whole house (I don't know how they get that strong of a scent from the supplied material).

I borrowed/modified this from a perfumers recipe for making a spray-able air freshener with essential oils.

1/4 teaspoon Polysorbate 80 (an emulsifier derived from natural oils). You can get this from a soap maker's supply store.

30-60 drops essential oils, some oils are stronger, experiment for the best amount for your choice. I used 30 drops of pine needle oil and that worked fine for me.

1 tablespoon of cheap vodka (for low smell alcohol). This is optional but I found the oil's scent was more intense with it.

Mix the ingredients with a few ounces of water and add to the water to the freshener's filled tank. You will see the familiar white bloom in the water as you add this mixture.

Have fun!

Ken

It works - I'm not sure why, but it does. The water will even appear dirty when you empty it. And it looks cool. The problems are...

- it's loud. not really loud, but somewhere between my computer and my dishwasher.
- the smell is too powerful when you first fill it and fades after just a few hours.
- it'll help oders for up to 24 hours. You have to dump and refill it (water + a few drops of the scent) every day and rinse every few days.

This unit does exactly what it says it will (+ humidifies), tho I use essential oils (as suggested by another reviewer) in mine instead of the not to pleasant smelling to my nose (plus expensive) scents Homedics sells ... In Autumn to Thanksgiving I use Clove, Cinnamon, Orange and Pumpkin Spice oils and the aroma is great ... I used Black Spruce oil during the Christmas holidays (3 drops in this unit will make your home smell like Canadian Balsam) ... The only drawback is the loudness of the motor (which is conciderably louder than a computer), but it does the job and so I'll keep it ... Oh, and it's also suggested that you use distilled water (not hard tap water) which is not mentioned in the commmercials ... (***ADDED NOTES: Tho essential oils provide a nicer room aroma, the dark oils (such as clove, cinnamom, etc) will chemically react to plastic resevoir and irrevocably mar/stain it ... If you don't care like me it's fine, if you do don't use them ... I also use fragrance oils as well and those (you can get from craft or dollar stores) used in soap stone warmers work also ... Liquid Smoke (from the grocery store) can be used in it also if you have a Gas Fireplace and you want a smokey smell).

I have had mine for about a week and a half now, I think it works great. The only problem I had was the scents. I read the directions included and it said to put 1-2 capfuls into the water and that was WAY too much. The scent was terrible and gave us all a headache. I experimented and now I put in 4-5 drops and it is much much better. The scents actually smell good, when used sparingly. It does keep the house fresh, we have a cat and a dog and of course I like to fry foods alot which is a hard smell to cover up sometimes. I don't really notice the noise, and we have had many nice comments on it. Overall I think it was a good buy.

I was at a Bed Bath and Beyond store and walked past a display where they had one of these working. They had the citrus scent in the machine and it was delightful. I decided right there and then that I needed one. I set it up in no time and loaded it with the citrus scent. It has made my house smell really nice and the water and scent mixture swirling gently in the clear plastic bowl combined with the blue light it is very relaxing.

After reading several reviews online, I bought one of these through Amazon (thanks for the free shipping, Amazon!). I'm very satisfied with the unit's ability to quickly neutralize a smelly room, and I'm amazed at how large an area it "treats". In fact, even though I used less than a teaspoon of the "revitalizing" scent when the directions called for two teaspoons, the effect was almost overpowering. From now on, I'll only use a few drops.

It runs quietly, but certainly not silently. If white noise helps you sleep, you'll love this unit, but, personally, I'm not sure I could sleep with this in my bedroom.

On the other hand, someone mentioned being bothered at night by the light always being on. Well, the manufacturer must've been listening, because you now have the option of running it with the light off! I love its blue glow, but I do agree that I wouldn't be able sleep with it nearby.

Whether the Brethe Air is actually filtering out the odors in my home, as claimed, or is just masking them, I couldn't say without scientific testing, but I hate perfumey air fresheners and this unit is definitely a much nicer way to deodorize my home. I'm glad I bought it.

I've had this for a day...I bought two in fact, one for downstairs, and another for the main bedroom. First, the scents. I LOVE IT!! Not a big fan of vanilla (guess it would be good for a party or something), but the citrus and lime are excellent. Hopefully they will come out with more choices in the future, although for now, these will suffice. As for the Lavender scent, I read somewhere that someone thought it smelled like "Pine-Sol" when they got home after the unit being on for a day...I think this is the lavender. I used that in the bedroom and the first thing I thought after thinking it didn't smell like a bedroom (you know what I'm talking about...that musty tell-tale smell of warm evenings, sweat, and closed windows), was that it smelled like, well, Pine-Sol. But, that smell is better than musty bedroom smell!!!

As far as the effects on the air quality, I have already seen and felt a marked improvement in the level of particulates and visible dust in the air; I assume this is a result of the humidifying effect. The air "feels" better, again, possibly the humidifier effect, and just gives off that "this house is ultra clean!" vibe. Now, I have read that commercial home scent products are somewhat toxic, or at least not good for you, so I'm taking a leap of faith and believing what they say about the scents, in that they're all natural. The label says "100% botanical", but these days, that can mean just about anything. Just look up the FDA definition of "organic" products meant for human consumption.

If you're on the fence about getting this, I would say jump, grab it, and use it for a day or two, and the effects will be quite noticeable. The only negative, or, reason for a four star rating would be the lack of an array of scents, but I assume that with time, they'll come up with more exotic scents to titillate the senses. But for now this means that if you don't like citrus, lavender, or vanilla, your SOL.

Ok Folks - here's my 2 cents worth. First of all, SHOP AROUND and you can get a better deal. Don't buy the scents from Homedics cause frankly - they suck. Personally - I use PURE ESSENTIAL oils of my choice in the unit, and I get the scents that I want, not what homedics put out. - Trust me - who know's what they're mixing in theirs! I think the unit is pretty good albiet a little ugly and large - BUT - bottom line, I'm glad I bought it. I don't have to worry about scented candles burning, the smoke from the candles, incense etc. Do I LOVE IT? - no - but until I afford exspensive fragrant floral arrangements in each room - I think this is a pretty good deal!

It serves it's purpose - eliminating odors, but the unit is too loud (more than white noise) that I cannot use it in the bedroom. Also, the unit sometimes leave a watermark at the base so don't put it on wood surface.

I live in an character flat in san francisco that suffers from stale air drafting in from other parts of the building. Tired of just 'covering up' this stinky air with air fresheners, etc., i decided to give this product a try based on what it claimed as well as the user reviews.

After using it for a few days, my verdict is - it's OK. Not great, not terrible, but OK. I don't know if its worth the $60 price tag, to tell you the truth (plus the cost of the scents going forward). It's kinda loud, and the whole glowing blue light thing is just kinda weird. (You can turn off the lights that glow into the water, but the main light stays on regardless). On the bright side, it does make the air smell better while it is on, but with its whirring motor and alien glow, you definitely know its in the room.