Freshcloz Garment Bag

very good

This thing worked -- better than I expected after reading some of the reviews. It has taken me awhile to review it because most things I purchase are washable. A couple days ago, I stumbled into the perfect test case: I had a bag of quilts, quilt tops, and new fabric which had been stored in a musty, stinky house. Although most of these won't be heirlooms, they are meaningful because they were made by a family member who recently died. The ozoning outcome was good. Here's the process I used: After putting the batteries in the ozone maker, I put the garment bag on the "ozone-hanger." The bag is like a plastic garment bag with a double zipper. In addition to the double zipper, this differs from a regular garment bag in the silicone that goes around the hanger hook area. This seems to form a "pretty good" seal. The seal on top and with a double zipper is important not only for the ozone to be effective inside, but to keep the ozone inside for safety reasons. Ozone is dangerous (I used to work in a place that used ozone machines in houses after fires/smoke damage. No humans or pets could be present when the thing was running or until the house was aired out. I haven't used the bigger accessory bag -- that is a big lightweight mesh thing with long handles that hang it on the ozone hanger. I wasn't sure where I was going to hang it when it was working. So, I started by putting the quilts on hangers. I attached the smaller accessory bag (for shoes) and stuffed some of the small pieces of loose fabric in that. Then I hung it on a closet rod near the front door. I wanted to be able to air out the house easily after using it. Then I hung 4 hangers (one of the hangers had the little scent bag on it) on a small rod on the ozone hanger in the garment bag. My closets are weird, and the bar didn't hit in the right place. I considered hanging it on the garage door brackets, but wasn't sure if they would hit in the right place either (I may try that before I use it again). I decided to hang it on the shower rod. That's not the brightest move because my bathroom is small and not well ventilated. But I really wanted to try to de-stink the quilts and fabric. Aaaahhh! The shower rod was flat on top, but I decided to make it work by putting the handle of a fork under the hanger. By the time I had gotten the ozone contraption in the bathroom, 3 of the hangers had fallen off the ozone-hanger and were laying on the bottom of the garment bag. The photo in the instruction showed the scent thing hanging on a tubular plastic hanger, so I used plastic hangers. They were a pain to get on the ozone hanger when it was hanging. The instructions said it would run for 40 minutes -- I didn't time it the first time because I was doing something else. I ran it on high. When I opened it, I tried not to inhale -- and I also didn't want to take a whiff of the fabric right after pulling it out of the garment back. So, I grabbed a few pieces, ran outside, and waved the fabric around. I was surprised. Rather than smelling musty, it had the new fabric smell. Well, I couldn't resist and did take a whiff of one piece right after I pulled it out of the garment bag. It smelled like the scent bag -- which smelled like some spray sweet floral air freshener (yuck). I haven't figured out if the purpose of that stuff is cover-up or if there is something in there that kills stinky stuff. I hope to try it with out the scented stuff. The second "load" just finished. I plan to take the whole thing outside to open it -- so that the stuff I inhale is diluted by fresh air. The ozone-hanger did have a temporary warning sticker on it -- but it probably doesn't have enough of a warning. It's hard not to breathe in some of the ozone. Even if the seal is adequate (and I think it may be), you have to open the bag to get the stuff out! And curious minds want to know if the items stink when they come out. It's probably not smart to inhale before airing out the items. I do wish the packaging would have contained info about how much ozone is produced. Ozone itself is toxic and it is reactive --- i.e., it can attach to other particles to form other toxic stuff (ok, it's been awhile since my chemistry courses). I already can feel that I inhaled something not so good -- not enough exposure to do permanent damage, but enough to remind me that I don't want to breathe in more than I already have. I forgot about a portable clothing rack I have; when I use this again, I will use it outside or in the garage. Would be nice to be able to have the option of plugging this in, but batteries definitely are convenient. And it came with batteries that last through at least two cycles on high. Despite potential danger of breathing ozone and who knows what else, I am giving this 4 stars because IT WORKS. It's perfect for items you don't want to wash or dry-clean. However, it is somewhat of a nuisance to use & I don't see myself using it often. Instead, I will "save up" stuff. The garment bag seems as if it will last awhile if I am careful. I probably will use duct tape before purchasing a new one. And right now, I don't care if I run out of those scented packets. I would recommend this for smelly fabric family heirlooms, although I'd do some investigation first to see how ozone impacts fragile fibers. I purchased this at a discount in exchange for an honest review. It definitely is worth what I paid, and if you have very specific uses, it is a good purchase even at full price (especially if you don't use it in a living area of the house). I likely wouldn't purchase it just to delay dry cleaning though.