DIY Non-Toxic Air Freshener: 3 Ways
DIY Home Cleaning Green Living Healthy Home Natural DIY
Naturally scent your home and improve indoor air with these three non-toxic DIY air freshener recipes. They’re a great, simple, and healthy alternative to those store-bought, so-called “air fresheners” that actually pollute indoor air with unhealthy chemicals — ironic, right!?
After dating for nearly four years, I thought I knew everything about my boyfriend when we moved in together.
Goodness gracious, was I wrong! Turns out the man is a fiend for fragrance, totally obsessed with air freshener. (Hey, of all the strange things I could have uncovered, I’ll take it!)
Now this posed just the teensiest little bit of an issue with me considering everything I know about fragrance…
Artificial or chemical fragrance is basically a chemical sh**-storm made to smell like a bouquet of roses.
And by “basically” I do mean “literally.”
Though it appears as a single ingredient, “fragrance” is actually a catchall term used to represent some combination of over 3,000 chemicals that companies are allowed to conceal as trade secrets. This means that we’re really not sure what chemicals are being used to scent products – and this is very troubling!
That being said, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has stated that a third of the substances used in the fragrance industry are toxic and harmful to human health.
And one common chemical use in fragrance, styrene, has been labeled “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen” by the National Academy of Sciences’ Research Council.
Chemical fragrance is also known to trigger allergies, dermatitis, and respiratory issues, and may cause hormone disruption.
Needless to say, it’s best to avoid chemical fragrance (this extends to personal care products as well!).
But it’s so incredibly simple to make your own air fresheners!
And fun!
All you need are a few simple ingredients, a few minutes, and voilà! You can have yourself your very own natural, non-toxic air freshener.
The key to homemade air fresheners? Essential oils.
Essential oils provide natural, super concentrated scent.
The best part? You can mix and match and customize the scent to your liking!
I personally get all of my essential oils (and just about all of my DIY skincare and beauty materials like carrier oils, butters, and clays) from Mountain Rose Herbs — most are certified organic so there’s no guessing as to the quality or purity.
Some delicious scents and combinations you may want to try:
- Ylang ylang (my personal favorite!)
- Lavender
- Lavender and lemon
- Lemon and orange
- Rose and lavender
Alright, now let’s get to it!
Non-Toxic DIY Air Freshener #1: Classic Spray Air Freshener
Materials:
- A small spray bottle
- Water
- Rubbing alcohol (80-90% alcohol)
- Essential oils of your choice
Directions:
- Combine 1/3 cup water with 2/3 cup alcohol
- Add 15-25 drops of essential oil of your choice (depending on how strong you want the scent)
- Shake the mixture before spraying.
NOTE: The alcohol will help the spray evaporate more quickly, but be careful: the floor may be a little wet for a minute or so after spraying.
Non-Toxic DIY Air Freshener # 2: Essential Oil Reed Diffuser
Materials:
- A small glass bottle or bud vase
- 5-10 bamboo kabob skewers (more skewers = more scent)
- A carrier oil (sweet almond, safflower, or jojoba oil are light and can easily travel up the skewers)
- Essential oils of your choice
Directions:
- Put 1/4 cup of carrier oil in the bottle/vase
- Add 15-25 drops of essential oil of your choice
- Stir the oils together with a skewer
- Place the rest of the skewers in the bottle/vase
Within a couple of hours, the oil should have traveled up the skewers and the scent should be noticeable!
Non-Toxic DIY Air Freshener # 3: Baking Soda Odor Eater
This air freshener is great since it constantly emits a light scent while the baking soda works to absorb any unwanted scents. When you need more scent, just give it a little shake! This air freshener may or may not have found its home in the bathroom.
Materials:
- A small glass canning jar
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- A piece of cloth or sturdy paper to cover the jar (which will allow the scent but not the contents to escape the jar)
- Essential oils of your choice.
Directions:
- Add 1/2 of a cup of baking soda and 15-25 drops of essential oil to the jar and stir them together.
- Place the lid and jar covering (cloth or paper) on top and you are ready to go!
- Give the jar a little shake whenever you need to release a bit of scent.
Hi. Is there another option for people with severe MCS? Even essential oils make me sick and give me a horrible headache. Thanks.
I just got my own place together, but with a lot of 2nd hand (smelly) furniture. It is also a studio so when I cook the food smell really goes everywhere. I was only planning to make a spray but your recipe for the Baking soda shake air freshener caught my eye. I didn’t have a mason jar so I improvised using a regular glass jar. Racking my brain I finally remembered that I have cute cupcake holders! So I covered the jar with that and put an elastic around it to keep it in place! It looks really cute, even if I am planning to put it in my closet to keep my clothes smelling fresh! Thank you for the recipes I will definitely use them again!
LOL awesome! Hope you enjoy 🙂
Can’t wait to try these! I have two small dogs and a cat. Can’t tell you how smelly the house can get from them, especially my kitty. Thanks for the ideas!!
You could use either — vodka or rubbing alcohol.
You mention the ingredient alcohol, do you mean some for of liquor or the stuff you buy at the pharmacy of different percentages, i.e. 70%, etc.? Please advise. Thanks D
Essential oils should be used and kept with caution. Some can be harmful if ingested or applied to skin. It is important to educate people about their proper use before advising them to use essential oils in their home. Think about young children and poisoning. We have to approach DIY products the same way we approach commercial cleaning products and air fresheners- with caution. http://www.poison.org/poisonpost/thirdedition2014/essentialoils.htm
Hi,
I tried the baking soda shaker (I used thin cotton fabric for the top instead of paper) but it failed to emit any fragrance. Much like Carmen’s comment, I can smell it if I put my nose to it but as far as freshening the air, the scent is undetectable. I even tried adding more drops of the EO, but that did nothing. Any suggestions?
Thanks so much for the kind words, Cathy! And wow – so amazing how EOs have helped your pup 🙂 So happy to have you as a new reader!! (P.S. I’m on vacation in CO right now. SUCH a beautiful state!!)
Wow Nadia, I love you site!
I am just starting to use essential oils and am very happy to find your site.
trying to get away from chemical face care products, and home product that are hazardous to family and our puppies.
My puppy is so afraid of thunder and lightening, I use lavender around him when it happens and he calms right down…of course i have to cuddle with him also 🙂 Thank you for all the info on going back to Natural!
your site is in my favorites list and will send it to my daughter.
Thank you so much
Cathy/ Colorado
Awesome idea!
I love this! Great job! I put my air freshener in a small gift bag (the kind you use for jewelry) and placed it in a repurposed candle holder.
Would a bit of alcohol help disperse the fragrance of the diffuser?
Enjoy 🙂
Thanks for the great ideas
ArE the fraGrance same. As essential oil?
I tried the diffuser in my room, but I can’t smell it and I’ve had it sitting on my shelf for months. I used jojoba oil and some lavender oil, lots of lavender oil, but nothing. When I sniff the opening of the bottle I can smell the lavender and on the skewers, but the smell isn’t in my room. 🙁 I love the smell of lavender and would love to have it in my room.
A variation on the baking soda theme: my husband loves those dangling air fresheners from Yankee Candle, but they make me sneeze, so I had to come up with a substitute. SI fold an envelope of lovely paper and fill it with baking soda mixed with EO’s. Then I poke a few holes with a pin to let the scent out and hang it with twine from wherever the Yankee Candle things hung before. A shake every now and then redistributes the fragrance and freshens it up again. I know it seems like the baking soda would spill out the holes but it doesn’t. I just make them with stick pins so they are tiny.
Hahaha I start singing that in my head 4/5 times I see it sitting on top of the toilet LOL!
Eye-iiiiii know you like to think to your….. don’t stink, but lean a little bit closer. Roses really smell like poo poo pooooooo. You a outkast for sho. Love it!!! I’m totally taking these ideas to the bathroom and a few other places!