Nasty odours around the home are unfortunately a fact of life, particularly if you live in a houseful of kids or pets, but you don’t need to turn to synthetic fragrances to remove these scents – homemade air fresheners are easy, cheap and really do work!
Often the air fresheners you can find in the shops just mask the odours rather than actually removing them, and they are replacing a not so great scent with a chemical one, which isn’t actually that much of an improvement! Thankfully you probably have all you need in your cupboards already!
Baking Soda
Baking soda really is a miracle ingredient – it’s the basis of most homemade cleaning products and it is also an effective homemade air freshener as well! Simply sprinkle a little baking soda in areas where you need to remove the odour, including:
- In the bottom of rubbish bins
- Mixed in with your cat’s litter box
- In your shoes
- In your carpet
- In a small bowl in your fridge
If you’re using it in your carpet it’s best to let it sit for a few minutes then just vacuum it up so the bad scent should be gone and make your home clean! Despite the home remedies, I would still advice you to use a carpet cleaning company as carpets are what complete your home and make it look beautiful thus they need to be cleaned thoroughly which can only be done by using industrial carpet solvents. Enjoy the carpet cleaning process with real professionals!
Coffee Grounds
As I mentioned in my post on uses for coffee grounds, your leftover, dried out coffee grounds are a great air freshener – as long as you like the smell of coffee of course! I keep some in my fridge, but it’s also a great way to remove all kinds of other smells too. If you have smokers around putting some coffee grounds in the bottom of an ashtray is an excellent way to absorb the lingering smell. Just be sure to change the grounds every week or so!
Vinegar
Vinegar is another staple of your homemade cleaning cupboard but it can be excellent to neutralise smells as well. Leaving a cup of vinegar in an area that needs some air freshening will absorb all kinds of nasty smells (just be careful if there are kids or pets around), and whilst the vinegar smell might not be amazing to begin with, it dissipates pretty quickly so don’t let that put you off!
Lemon Juice
Most ‘natural’ air fresheners and cleaning products on the market gravitate towards lemon scents and with good reason, but you can skip all the other ingredients you don’t need and get the same results with just straight lemons! Lemon juice can help remove strong kitchen scents like garlic and fish from chopping boards (and your hands!), just rub half a lemon on your chopping board and you’ll be set!
Essential Oils
There are many ways you can use essential oils as homemade air fresheners, and the best part is you can choose whichever scent you personally like best! A simple option is to mix a few drops of an essential oil like lavender in a spray bottle with some water and baking soda, give it a shake and spray around rooms that need a little freshening up. You can also use it on fabric like cushions, couches and even clothes, but just be sure to test it on a small patch first.
You can also use essential oils to make your own oil diffuser by combining 1/4 cup of a carrier oil like sweet almond oil or jojoba oil with 15-20 drops of the essential oil (or combination of oils) of your choosing in a small glass bottle. Pop some bamboo skewers in the bottle and let them sit and the scent will travel up the skewers and should be noticeable. A much cheaper option than continually buying oil diffusers!
An even cheaper way is to buy yourself an oil burner, then all you need is some candles, water and a few drops of essential oil and you’re off and running!
There we have it, all you need to make your own homemade air fresheners! What do you use to absorb not-so-nice odours around the home?
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I Spy Plum Pie is Liz, an early 30s kiwi-born, Melbourne raised girl who is passionate about the environment and sustainability, food, exploring and learning new things. Join me on my journey to a happy, sustainable life!
merilyn
April 15, 2015 at 8:00 am (10 years ago)right up my alley thanks liz!
love diy! … into all of that and vanilla too! … I must get some jojoba oil!
enjoy your day! love m:)X
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
April 18, 2015 at 10:03 am (10 years ago)I’m a big fan of vanilla scented things as well!
Nicole - Champagne and Chips
April 15, 2015 at 8:04 am (10 years ago)Great advice. I particularly like the baking soda tip- I hadn’t heard that before
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
April 18, 2015 at 10:03 am (10 years ago)Baking soda really is a magical ingredient! So handy!
Bele @ BlahBlah
April 15, 2015 at 9:10 am (10 years ago)I’m always amazed by how well bicarb works. I have little pots of it everywhere – in the fridge, bathroom and even the bedrooms. Great tips. Thank you x
Bele @ BlahBlah recently posted…A chrysanthemum body scrub for Mother’s Day
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
April 18, 2015 at 10:04 am (10 years ago)It’s so handy isn’t it! xx
Kate
April 18, 2015 at 8:29 am (10 years ago)Perfect. My husband has bought a house and a car air freshener and they are so sickly sweet I beg him not to spray them! These will be just perfect.
Kate recently posted…Because I love him
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
April 18, 2015 at 10:04 am (10 years ago)Excellent, glad to hear this will be helpful for you! I can’t stand the sickly sweet scent of those things either! Plus, this is a much cheaper option too!
Mrs W
April 19, 2015 at 5:02 pm (10 years ago)Great post, thank you! Continually buying candles can also be very expensive, so this is a great alternative.
Mrs W recently posted…15/52 – A portrait a week
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
April 23, 2015 at 8:25 pm (10 years ago)They really can get pricy (especially for nice ones!), but they’re definitely still lovely from time to time!
Reema Marquez
May 4, 2015 at 4:52 pm (10 years ago)I love this DIY air freshener because it is safe and all natural. I tried it at home and my mom love it she replaces our commercial air freshener with this one. Love it!
Bound for Style
February 26, 2016 at 5:15 pm (9 years ago)Wow! Awesome post.
Aca Baranton
February 10, 2022 at 8:33 pm (3 years ago)Great post! I have read a lot about the way we are merely replacing the bad odors in the house with the chemically created artificial pleasant fragrance. Liked the idea of using essential oils and fragrance of lavender has always been my favorite.