Natural Remedy for a Fresher Home
It rained a lot in southern Alabama over the past week. I actually enjoyed the rain, but after several days everything in the house began to feel damp. Before long our whole house smelled like dog. Our dogs were clean and didn't actually stink themselves, but nevertheless, the smell in the house was undeniable. Maybe it was my pregnancy nose, but I was determined to get rid of it.
You can find some carpet fresheners in the cleaning supplies, but most of them are only available in powder form. We've tried that before and our vacuum cleaner didn't want to pick it all up. And it actually discolored the carpet a bit. So, I was looking for something in liquid form that I could spray. Other than Febreze, there really wasn't anything. I like Febreze okay, but when too much of it is sprayed it makes me sneeze a lot and irritates the animals as well. So, I began looking online for home remedy recipes. There was quite a lot of information out there about the subject. After reading lots of forums and reviews on the success of many of the recipes, I decided to use the ingredients people reported to be most successful and concoct my own creation.
This is really simple. This post is just long because I love details.
What you will need:
a spray bottle
apple cider vinegar - or white, I suppose
lemon juice - fresh or concentrate
essential oil - lavender, citrus, or mint
salt
water
As far as measurements, I didn't actually measure anything. It's really not that critical. The contents of my bottle went something like this: half full of vinegar, half full of salt water, juice of 1 lemon (or 3-4 tablespoons), and a few drops of oil. I'm sure these measurements can be adjusted to personal taste (or smell, rather).
To begin, you will need an empty spray bottle with an adjustable nozzle that has an option to spray a mist. I have one that I use on plants, but I recommend buying a separate one for this solution because any residue left behind could be harmful to your plant friends. I found one in the cleaning supplies at WalMart for about a dollar. It's smallish... Holds about 2 cups of liquid. I recommend getting the larger one if you're planning on spraying multiple rooms. One of my bottles was enough for just about one room, so I had to make multiple batches.
Begin by dissolving the salt in water. I brought the water to a boil in a small pot and stirred in my salt. My bottle held about a cup of water. Honestly, I just poured some salt in until I felt satisfied. It was probably about half a cup. The salt portion of this recipe could be optional, depending on whether or not you have pets. The main purpose of the salt is to kill any pesky fleas living in the carpet. The salt dries out their exoskeleton and kills them all (bwahaha). There are some sprays that are good for killing fleas on your carpets and also safe for use on your pet. This isn't one I recommend. The salt will likely dry your pet's skin out. A good spray for your pet involves steeping lemon slices in water for several hours, then putting the lemon water in a spray bottle and just dampening your pet's fur. Fleas hate citrus and it won't harm your furry friends. I read several recipes where people incorporate vinegar for extra sheen, but I haven't tried that personally. Anyhow, once the salt has completely dissolved set water aside to cool.
Fill your bottle about half full of vinegar. I added my oil at this point so I could determine exactly how much I wanted in relationship with the vinegar smell. The purpose of the oil it to both repel any future fleas and to smell lovely. You don't have to use lavender oil. You can also use a citrus oil or a mint oil, like peppermint, spearmint, or even citronella. All three of these repel fleas. I have found these oils at two different places in WalMart (2 different locations). At one I found the oils in the craft department near the potpourri and synthetic flowers. At another location I found the oils with the candles and wax warmers. The small bottles are only $0.97 (!!) and they smell really good. If you want essential oils for your skin I recommend getting something a bit higher quality, but for this the assortment at WalMart works fine. Most of the recipes I saw online that used vinegar didn't use oils, so that's an option if you don't want the extra smell. Vinegar is wonderful for getting rid of odors and the vinegar smell only lasts about a day. The first batch I made I only used about two drops of oil and the vinegar smell was still pretty strong. After using up that bottle on our office I decided to add more oil to the second batch and it was much more pleasing to the senses. However, the vinegar smell in the office did go away in about 24 hours, leaving things smelling fresh and clean. The lavender scent lingered in the other rooms and I really enjoyed that. So, experiment!
At this time I add the lemon juice. You can use the juice of one lemon if you prefer fresh juice, or 3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice from your kitchen stock. Whichever is most convenient.
Now make sure your salt water is cool enough to pour in your bottle and top her off! Give it a quick shake to ensure that everything is mixed well and go to town. I sprayed the carpet until it was fairly damp. My cat was high-stepping on it, but it didn't take long at all to dry. I also sprayed the curtains and any cloth furniture. I waited about 24 hours and vacuumed and now the whole house just smells fresher. It smells really clean (thanks to the magic vinegar) with a hint of lavender.
The best thing about this, in my opinion, is that it is completely safe to use around your pets and children. There's no crazy chemicals that you have to worry about. I had all of the ingredients already, except the oil. But even if you have to purchase them all, none of the ingredients are expensive and they will go a long way.
You can find some carpet fresheners in the cleaning supplies, but most of them are only available in powder form. We've tried that before and our vacuum cleaner didn't want to pick it all up. And it actually discolored the carpet a bit. So, I was looking for something in liquid form that I could spray. Other than Febreze, there really wasn't anything. I like Febreze okay, but when too much of it is sprayed it makes me sneeze a lot and irritates the animals as well. So, I began looking online for home remedy recipes. There was quite a lot of information out there about the subject. After reading lots of forums and reviews on the success of many of the recipes, I decided to use the ingredients people reported to be most successful and concoct my own creation.
This is really simple. This post is just long because I love details.
What you will need:
a spray bottle
apple cider vinegar - or white, I suppose
lemon juice - fresh or concentrate
essential oil - lavender, citrus, or mint
salt
water
As far as measurements, I didn't actually measure anything. It's really not that critical. The contents of my bottle went something like this: half full of vinegar, half full of salt water, juice of 1 lemon (or 3-4 tablespoons), and a few drops of oil. I'm sure these measurements can be adjusted to personal taste (or smell, rather).
To begin, you will need an empty spray bottle with an adjustable nozzle that has an option to spray a mist. I have one that I use on plants, but I recommend buying a separate one for this solution because any residue left behind could be harmful to your plant friends. I found one in the cleaning supplies at WalMart for about a dollar. It's smallish... Holds about 2 cups of liquid. I recommend getting the larger one if you're planning on spraying multiple rooms. One of my bottles was enough for just about one room, so I had to make multiple batches.
Begin by dissolving the salt in water. I brought the water to a boil in a small pot and stirred in my salt. My bottle held about a cup of water. Honestly, I just poured some salt in until I felt satisfied. It was probably about half a cup. The salt portion of this recipe could be optional, depending on whether or not you have pets. The main purpose of the salt is to kill any pesky fleas living in the carpet. The salt dries out their exoskeleton and kills them all (bwahaha). There are some sprays that are good for killing fleas on your carpets and also safe for use on your pet. This isn't one I recommend. The salt will likely dry your pet's skin out. A good spray for your pet involves steeping lemon slices in water for several hours, then putting the lemon water in a spray bottle and just dampening your pet's fur. Fleas hate citrus and it won't harm your furry friends. I read several recipes where people incorporate vinegar for extra sheen, but I haven't tried that personally. Anyhow, once the salt has completely dissolved set water aside to cool.
Fill your bottle about half full of vinegar. I added my oil at this point so I could determine exactly how much I wanted in relationship with the vinegar smell. The purpose of the oil it to both repel any future fleas and to smell lovely. You don't have to use lavender oil. You can also use a citrus oil or a mint oil, like peppermint, spearmint, or even citronella. All three of these repel fleas. I have found these oils at two different places in WalMart (2 different locations). At one I found the oils in the craft department near the potpourri and synthetic flowers. At another location I found the oils with the candles and wax warmers. The small bottles are only $0.97 (!!) and they smell really good. If you want essential oils for your skin I recommend getting something a bit higher quality, but for this the assortment at WalMart works fine. Most of the recipes I saw online that used vinegar didn't use oils, so that's an option if you don't want the extra smell. Vinegar is wonderful for getting rid of odors and the vinegar smell only lasts about a day. The first batch I made I only used about two drops of oil and the vinegar smell was still pretty strong. After using up that bottle on our office I decided to add more oil to the second batch and it was much more pleasing to the senses. However, the vinegar smell in the office did go away in about 24 hours, leaving things smelling fresh and clean. The lavender scent lingered in the other rooms and I really enjoyed that. So, experiment!
At this time I add the lemon juice. You can use the juice of one lemon if you prefer fresh juice, or 3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice from your kitchen stock. Whichever is most convenient.
Now make sure your salt water is cool enough to pour in your bottle and top her off! Give it a quick shake to ensure that everything is mixed well and go to town. I sprayed the carpet until it was fairly damp. My cat was high-stepping on it, but it didn't take long at all to dry. I also sprayed the curtains and any cloth furniture. I waited about 24 hours and vacuumed and now the whole house just smells fresher. It smells really clean (thanks to the magic vinegar) with a hint of lavender.
The best thing about this, in my opinion, is that it is completely safe to use around your pets and children. There's no crazy chemicals that you have to worry about. I had all of the ingredients already, except the oil. But even if you have to purchase them all, none of the ingredients are expensive and they will go a long way.
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