This is a basic explanation of how Febreze works! Febreze uses cyclodextrin, a sugar molecule shaped like a donut. That donut hole grabs onto stinky odor molecules and locks them up. These odors are not destroyed or broken down, but captured and hidden. Once captured, the now whole cyclodextrin molecule falls and awaits being cleaned up. The science goes way back to the early 1990s. P&G scientists discovered cyclodextrin’s odor-eliminating superpowers and finally launched Febreze 1998. Fun fact