Request: Homemade Air Fresheners
Archived on 10/15/2009
Everyone wants to have pleasant smelling home. Commercial air fresheners are usually pretty expensive and they often only mask odors and don't eliminate them. Some commercial air fresheners even go as far as to dull your sense of smell so that you can't smell much of anything. The best air freshener is a clean house; especially in the bathroom and kitchen. Once that is accomplished you may find some of the following recipes helpful to complete the job. In this article we have a compilation of air fresheners that have either been written by us or submitted to ThriftyFun by our readers.
Dryer Sheet Air Freshener
I am not willing to pay for those air fresheners and then again for the refills. So in the summer months, when we have the fans in the windows, I stick a dryer sheet in with the fan
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cups baking soda
- 4 cups warm water
- 2 teaspoons ammonia
- 1 teaspoon scent of your choice (Example: lemon extract, vanilla extract, almond extract, pine oil or eucalyptus oil)
Mix water, soda and ammonia, add extract and put into a clean spray bottle (one that sprays a fine mist). Bottle up the rest to save for later. Don't spray on furniture or pets.
Disinfectant Room Spray
Ingredients:
- 15 drops lavender oil
- 8 drops orange or lemon oil
- 2 drops eucalyptus oil
- 1/4 cup water
Combine all in a spray bottle; shake well before each use. Mixture can be sprayed into the air.
Submitted by Jennifer R.
Lemon In Your Vacuum
To achieve fresher air in the house without paying a fortune for canned spray, squeeze a few drops of fresh lemon into the bag of your vacuum.
By Randa from TX
Cinnamon
The best homemade, environmentally safe "air freshener" I have found is cinnamon. If you sprinkle the bottom of a pan with some cinnamon and let it warm on the stove (medium heat), it fills your house with the scent of baking. It's not overpowering, yet you can't smell much of anything else. You don't have to warm it too long for it to last, so there isn't much over-heating of your home or a high electric bill.
By VMargret
I've done the cinnamon thing as well. I sprinkle some in the bottom of my coffee pot, then just run clean water through it. It heats up nicely and smells great.
By Nervarah
I like to keep some eucalyptus around. I purchase it from the craft section. Not only does it have a wonderful aroma, but it lasts for months. The odor may be a little strong at first, but does settle down to a clean, pleasant smell. Also, I like to burn a candle before company arrives. I find the Cranberry scent is a great scent to burn.
By Carol
Vanilla
I put a little bottle of vanilla and water in the bathroom and use it as an air freshener. I add a little vanilla and water and shake. Keep adding vanilla until the smell is just as strong as you like.
By Racer
Last night I helped an 82-year-old woman deep clean her kitchen after she burned something in her microwave. The place was really bad. After we scrubbed everything in sight and out of sight with soapy water and I convinced her to ditch the offensive microwave, I put a fancy little bowl with a little water and some almond extract on her sparkly clean countertop. It made the place smell so beautiful and fresh. Thank you for this very inventive tip.
By Jayne
I am a huge clove fan, (in moderation). I placed the water and vanilla as racer suggested into a spray bottle, it smelled wonderful. I wanted a more vivid aroma. I decided to place the water in a saucepan, add vanilla (approx. 1 Tablespoon of (pure) vanilla extract) and approx. 8 Whole cloves. I brought the mixture to a boil. Removed from heat. Let stand until cool enough to pour into my plastic spray bottle. When I sprayed the result, Oh my gosh. I can not wait to go to the store to get cherry extract to add to my mix. How awesome will that be. This is without a doubt the best smelling airfreshner I have ever smelled, ever. Thank you racer for your help in this.
By Zoey Lee
Vinegar Air Freshener
Would you like to save money on expensive air fresheners that only cover the odors not neutralize them? Get a spray bottle and fill it half with vinegar and half with water and spray away the smoke filled rooms and the odors.
By Henrietta
A small container of plain old white vinegar on the stove eliminates even fish odors like you never even prepared it.
By Diane
Fabric Softener
I read this somewhere on this site before. Use your favorite fabric softener. Put two caps full in a spray bottle and add water to fill. Then spray away. You choose the scent, so you know you'll like it. It is inexpensive and goes a long way. Works like a charm. You can even spray it on furniture, fabrics, just like Febreeze.
By Jackie
Simmer Pot
I have a simmer pot that I fill with water and sprinkle in cinnamon and cloves. Makes the whole house smell wonderful.
By mselp
I also have 3 small potpourri simmering pots. I place water, approx 6-10 shakes of cinnamon and 6 whole cloves (I like a strong essence) in the pot and plug it in. The aroma is awesome. My house feels very tranquil, warm and inviting. I have read a few articles regarding not to use cinnamon and or cloves to scent your home. I certainly do not agree. The result of this fragrance is almost like a friendship. Everlasting.
By Zoey Lee
Citrus
For the kitchen, I put a lemon, lime or orange peels in the garbage disposal and turn on the hot water for a few seconds while the disposal is grinding up the peels and them the whole kitchen smells really good.
And for the microwave, I put a cut up lemon or lime in a bowl of water and set the microwave for 3 minutes. After the 3 minutes, the microwave smells good.
By Charity
Essential Oils
The very best in essential oils can be found at the following web site: http://www.youngliving.us. Lavender oil, for example, which is also the best oil for everything (it will stop the pain and blisters from forming when you burn yourself and it works like aspirin to relieve all sorts of pain), costs about $25 for a bottle that will last for years. Essential oils rather than fragrance oils are best for Berger-type lamps because they mix with the 90% alcohol better and last longer. Also, when you inhale essential oils, their many healing properties work wonders.
By Kathryn M.
If you are looking for some great essential oils and fragrance oils go to The Body Shop they have a huge selection and they are not pricey. I use them mixed with 91% alcohol in my catalytic lamp and they work great. In fact right now they have the oils on sale for 3 for $16. If you don't have a Body Shop store go to the website bodyshop.com
By PC
A co-worker told me if you mix an entire bottle of 91% alcohol and one bottle of essential oil (like you use in fragrance rings), shake well, and voila. I tried it, it seems to be the same as you buy already prepared. Just make sure you shake the products every time you use.
By Kristen
Fragrance Lamp
I have found that the best way to fragrance your home and purify etc. is by using a catalytic fragrance lamp. They are kinda pricey for the lamp, but they work so well, you will not be disappointed. I got one for Xmas and I am so in love with it, you can find them online at lampfuelandmore.com
or
courtneyscandles.com
You can also try at Hallmark. It is very effective.
By Kittybean
Recipe for Catalytic Diffusion Lamp Oil
- 1 bottle 90% alcohol (do not use weaker strength)
- 9 cc's essential oil (not fragrance oil)
Drip the essential oil directly into the bottle of alcohol. A syringe works best. Shake and enjoy.
By Susie
For more discussion of Fragrance Lamps, follow this link: Making Lampe Berger Fragrance
What are your favorite homemade air fresheners? Submit them below.
Feedback:
RE: Homemade Air Fresheners
Whenever I have citrus peels or apple cores leftover from something, I make a simmer pot. Just fill a saucepan with water, add the peels or cores and whatever else you might like (I usually put in cinnamon, cloves and allspice). Boil to release the oils, turn down to simmer and enjoy.
I prefer doing it on the stove to one of those little potpourri simmerers because I don't feel they disperse the scent enough. (01/14/2008)
By Lyss
Homemade Magical Air Freshener and Dewrinkler Spray
Of the many different recipes for homemade fabric/air freshener I have tried in the past, this is what I have come up with as my own recipe. I don't use very much fabric softener because most commercial grade fabric softeners (Bounce, Snuggle, Downy, etc.) contain chemicals that have been found to cause cancer, nervous system disorders, and brain damage, as well as reduce the effectiveness of flame resistant materials. So, be safe and avoid exposure to harmful chemicals when possible.
- One 16oz fine mist sprayer (an old Febreeze/Downy Wrinkle Releaser bottle will do)
- 2 Tablespoons of white vinegar (cheap and available at grocery store)
- 2 Tablespoons of your favorite fabric softener (preferably a natural/organic softener which can be hard to find locally, but can be ordered online)
- 6 to 10 drops of your favorite essential/scented oil (you can also use any scented extract available such as vanilla or almond)
- Fill the remainder of the 16 oz. container with distilled water (cheap and available at grocery store. You could also boil some tap water and let it cool a bit before handling, but please don't use impure water straight from the tap.)
- Shake and spray to "eliminate" undesirable odors or release wrinkles.
NOTE: If you are concerned about chemicals from using fabric softener, you could leave fabric softener out of the recipe and use a little more white vinegar and scented oil/extract. There shouldn't be much of a vinegar smell at all and if there is it will be gone when dried. White vinegar works very well against odors by absorbing them and neutralizing them instead of just covering them up. It's also a safe and effective alternative to using fabric softener in your washing machine, helping to release wrinkles, clean and brighten clothes, as well as making your clothes last longer instead of chemically destroying them. Additionally, vinegar kills 82% of mold spores on contact. (11/14/2008)
By Die Hard
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