Air freshener

[Jude's Mama]

Does anyone know of any safe air fresheners? I'm in desperate need
between the baby and the dog I can't stand it anymore :LOL

TIA
Michelle

[HollyBearsMom]

We have 2 dogs so I can relate!!

I found in my local natural food/supply store this stuff called "Moth Away” by a company called Richards. It is an all herbal moth repellent made of dried peppermint, rosemary, thyme and cloves and it is in little paper sachets. I loved the way it made my closet smell so I started putting a few under the seats of my car, in each one of my closets and I stuffed a few into the dog beds. I don't know if it keeping the moths away but it is sure making the house smell better!

Of course if I was really industrious I could have bought the herbs myself and made up my own but theses days it all I can do to get showered and dressed!

[Cynthia Mosher]

Essential oils in a diffuser or a burner are nice.

I cook fragrant things in my crock pot just to send the fragrance through the house. In the winter orange or tangerine rinds, cloves and cinnamon smell wonderful. I eat two tangerines for breakfast, chop the rind and throw it in the crock pot with about ten cloves and a few sticks of cinnamon with about two or three cups of water. Set on low I can leave this going all day adding water if necessary.

If you don't have a crock pot you can do the same with a pot on the back burner of your stovetop over very low heat though you'll have to watch it more carefully.

[3boysmom]

I make my own air freshening spray with a bit of baking soda, water and some yummy smelling essential oil (geranium is my current fave). I just mix some up in a spray bottle and keep it handy. For real problem areas (for us, this is the rabbit cage area - PU!) I bought some volcanic rock in a mesh bag at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It absorbs odor from an entire area and you just need to sit in in the sun for a day when it needs recharging - about every six months or so. Seems to work great! We can't even smell Hannah anymore!

[LaLa]

You should email shannon at
BeanTreeSoap

I don't know if they are on her site or not, but she made us an awesome air freshner that is all natural with lavender and citrus! I adore it!

[EnviroBecca]

I use essential oils just by flinging a few drops onto something they won't stain. We have mostly hardwood floors, so I put a few drops on the floor, usually right in front of the heat vent so the aroma will get circulated. In summer, I put essential oil on a scrap of paper and put it on the back of a fan (where it's held on by the air pulling in) for similar distribution. When vacuuming the one carpeted room, I put essential oil on a cotton ball and suck it up right at the beginning; the vac's exhaust then smells nice. I use cinnamon, lavender, lemon, or peppermint oil. When we had steam heat, I would drip it on the radiators.

There's a natural odor-absorbing mineral called zeolite that you can buy in mesh bags (Refresh-a-Closet is one brand name) from environmental catalogs and sometimes at stores like Home Depot. It has no scent of its own but absorbs odors pretty well.

A similar trick is to put a little white vinegar in a dish and set it WHERE NOBODY WILL DRINK IT! That's especially good for burnt-food odors.

[Seeking Refuge]

I use essential oils in a diffuser and I have also used a variation of Cynthia's method. I also put a few drops of pine oil, lemon oil or whatever else strikes my fancy into my spray cleaner solution. It is very basic. I am sure La La has something similar but I use 1/2 apple cider vinegar 1/2 water and several drops of tea tree oil which I like the smell of but dh hates so I put lemon,pine or orange oil in also. Which may also give it's cleaning power a little boost, I am not sure. I also put a little cinnamon and clove oil in the water I used to scrub the floor over the holidays. I have a lot of the essential oils on hand though because I make my own candles. They also help make a room smell nice.

Hey Becca would the vacuum thing work on a bagless vac?

I think I will try.

Take care,


Steph

[Jude's Mama]

Thanks so much Ladies! Such great ideas!


Michelle

[momto l&a]

What about the lava stone stuff? I cant think of the name of it now: Home Depot has it, and when the stuff needs to be recharged you set it out in sunshine. Works really well for me I have one in the laundry room as thats where the cat box is.

I learned about the stone thing from the healthy home board here, so somebody please tell me what the name of it is . PLEASE LOL

Erin

[EnviroBecca]

The "lava stone stuff" is zeolite which I mentioned earlier.

I'm not sure about bagless vac--I don't understand how they work! Steph, let us know the results of your experiment!

[Seeking Refuge]

So I tried the cottonball thing in my bagless and it works great, Becca

Thanks for a good idea.