Clearing the Air with Natural Air Fresheners

That linguini with garlic butter sauce was incredibly yummy last night and the smell from the kitchen filled your home.  Everyone wanted to know what time dinner would be ready.

This morning that heavy garlic and butter smell in your home is not so appealing.  So how can you get rid of that smell without reaching for a can of toxic chemicals that will pollute the air or burning a candle that will only make the air quality worse?

Natural Air Fresheners Ingredients

Head back to the kitchen.  Almost all the natural ingredients you need to freshen up the air in your home are already there.

Citrus.  Start with citrus.  Lemons, limes, and oranges have the freshest aromas.  But, in a pinch tangerines, tangelos, and grapefruits will do as well. 

Herbs. Next, see what fresh herbs you have on hand.  Woody herbs are best.  Fresh herbs always have more essential oils than dried, so go with fresh when at all possible.  Rosemary, bay leaves, lemon grass, and any of the mints are great choices.  While technically a spice, fresh ginger is also a great addition.

Spices. Dried spices pack an aromatic punch.  Star anise, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice are all great choices.

Extracts and Essential Oils.  Look at your bottles of extracts.  Vanilla, orange, almond, coconut, and peppermint pack a powerful punch.  Just a little will go a very long way.  If you have essential oils you can use a small amount of that as well.

Flower Petals and Heads. Talk a walk through your garden.  Rose petals, plumeria petals, and lavender will bring a hint of sweetness to your mixture.  Cedar twigs and mulch are also great additions.

How to Make Your Own Natural Air Fresheners

Now, put two cups of water in a saucepan and add your aromatics.  Bring to a boil and then quickly turn down to simmer.  You can simmer from an hour to two or all day long, just replenish the water.  When you are done, allow your mixture to cool and pour it into a clean jar and place in the refrigerator.  You will be able to use it 2 or 3 times at least.

Let your favorite smells be your guide.  For example, I love a mixture of lemon and rosemary.  Some people only use the peel of the lemon, but I like to use slices or quarters.  Some other great combinations are:

• Lavender and vanilla;                
  
• Orange, ginger, and cinnamon
• Lime, mint, and lemongrass
• Coconut extract and plumeria petals
• Orange and vanilla
• Lemon or lime and coconut extract
• The only limit is your imagination.

 Give Natural Air Fresheners as Gifts

If you are crafty, you can place the aromatics in a jar, fill with water, tie with pretty ribbon and give as gifts.  Be sure to attach a tag with the simmering instructions.  Or, you can keep the secret to your pleasant smelling home to yourself!

all images courtesy of  Serge Bertasius Photography FreeDigitalPhotos.Net

Clearing the Air on Air Fresheners

If you watch almost any TV channel long enough you will see a commercial for an air freshener.  Whether it is Febreze or Lysol telling you they remove odors or Glade telling you they create a “more tranquil atmosphere” in your room someone is going to try to sell you something to clean your air.

The Problem With Chemical Air Fresheners

The problem is these products do not clean the air; they actually pollute the air.  Therefore, when you buy an air freshener you are spending money to decrease the air quality in your home when what you want is the exact opposite!

If you know anyone with asthma (or if you have asthma yourself), you already know that these toxic products are tough on the respiratory system.  Consider yourself lucky.  Many people spray, plug in, and burn wax melts or candles in hopes of making the air fresher. 

According to the EPA, these air fresheners are made of ingredients such as formaldehyde, petroleum distillates, dichlorobenzene; and the aerosol sprays contain propellants.  So if you have musty smells, do you really think the answer is formaldehyde?  Formaldehyde is used as an embalming fluid.  Spraying air freshener is like embalming your family while they are sill alive!  Dichlorobenzene is a known respiratory irritant.  OSHA has even set limits of exposure to this chemical in the workplace.  That is what you want to spray in your air?  The solid fresheners, candles, plug-ins, and wax melts mostly contain the same ingredients.  If you care about your indoor air quality, you will stay away from these products and take a different approach to controlling odors in your home.

Go to the Source of the Odor

The most common sources of odors in the air are mold spores, bacteria, and cooking/smoke odors.  If you have a musty smell, it is probably molds or bacteria causing the smell.  To get rid of the smell, treat it at the source.

If the bathroom is musty because of mold, increase air circulation and do not throw wet towels in a pile on the floor. If you re-use a towel, make sure you hang it up. If possible, add an exhaust fan to the bathroom or open a window when taking hot showers.  If you have poor air circulation in the bathroom and cannot add a fan to the room, do not keep a laundry hamper in that room. In the bathroom, eliminate smells by cleaning with vinegar and baking soda.  Sodium percarbonate is great for getting rid of mold and mildew and it will not pollute the air.  Most of the products with this ingredient have something like “Oxy” or “Oxygen” in the name. Look for this ingredient on the label.

Natural Options for Air Fresheners

 

If you have cooking odors or smells from smoke, you can place a bowl of vinegar in the room.  The vinegar will get rid of the smell.  If it is especially strong or in a large room, you can put several bowls out.  Vinegar has a strong smell at first but it dissipates quickly and when it does, it takes odors with it.

If you need to deodorize your sinks, drains, and garbage disposals just grind up ½ a lemon with a cup of ice cubes.  You will get rid of the odor and sharpen the blades at the same time.

You can sprinkle baking soda on the trash to get rid of garbage smells.  If your trash can smells, wash it out!  Just use soap and water; and the smell will be gone.

 If you want fragrance in a room, you can do this without adding chemicals to the air.  Just simmer a few spices in a small amount of water or orange juice.  For a fresh smell, just simmer ½ a lemon in a small amount of water.

If you like floral fragrances, you can purchase essential oils (be sure to get the real thing) and just put a drop in water and simmer.  If you want to spread the aroma through the house, transfer the warm oil and water to a bowl and sit out in the room for an hour.