Best car air fresheners of 2024

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When you first get a new car, it comes with the intoxicating and highly desirable “new car smell” (though it's true those odors are often the product of chemicals used in vehicle construction). Over time, pets, food, kids, and even normal use can leave behind strong odors that are hard to shake. The good news is that there are several excellent car air fresheners that offer much more effective odor elimination and control than the old-school green pine tree you had hanging on your rearview mirror in high school.

Febreze Gain Car Air Fresheners

Febreze built its house on eliminating odors, so it’s no surprise that its Vent Clip air fresheners are among the best products to freshen up your car. They’re available in various scents, last a long time, and stay out of the way thanks to the easy-to-use clip. People note that the scents aren’t overpowering, and most say that the scents are true to their names.

The company claims up to 40 days of use from the clips, but many reviewers state that they were able to get up to two months of scent before they ran out. If you’re a person that enjoys more subtle smells, the Febreze Vent Clips offer adjustable output settings that let you dial in the level of aroma.

Niyikow Nature Fresh Bamboo Charcoal Air Purifying Bags

This isn’t a spray or a scented pine tree to hang on your mirror. This is a bamboo bag filled with charcoal. Seriously. The charcoal in these bags absorbs odors, moisture, and other particles in the air. Leave one under the seat of your car, and people say it’ll be odor-free within a week. There are no chemicals and no scents, so the only thing you should notice using these bags is less odor overall.

The company says the activated charcoal in each bag is potent enough to last for up to two years and recommends placing it in direct sunlight for a few hours each month to “rejuvenate the charcoal block’s filtration capabilities.” Many buyers say they replace their bags more frequently than the company recommends, but even if they only last a year, that’s a significant value upgrade over traditional air fresheners.

Chemical Guys New Car Smell Spray

"New car smell" air fresheners are hit or miss, but Chemical Guys seems to have nailed the formula. The brand’s air freshener spray has tens of thousands of mostly positive reviews, and the company says its enzymatic formulation eliminates odors instead of covering them up. Chemical Guys says the spray is concentrated and can be diluted, but many say it works best straight out of the bottle. That said, there’s a fine line between too much and too little here, as people sometimes say they’ve overdone it, and many say the aroma faded after just a couple of days.

Scent Bomb

Sometimes, the best option available is the one that's easy to get. You'll find Scent Bomb air freshener sprays at all kinds of car parts stores, hardware stores, and gas stations all around the country. Scent Bomb offers more than just sprays, too, with scent cans, vent clips and little circles that hang from the rearview mirror. The brand also offers an odor eliminator product. Pretty much all of Scent Bomb's fresheners get good reviews, and they offer a lot of different scents.

Things to consider

We're not asking you to over-analyze your car air freshener purchase. We just want you to keep a few things in mind.