DIY Air Fresheners Part 2

 

Lately we’ve had so many customers ask about ingredients and how to make room, linen and bathroom sprays that we thought we would do a blog dedicated to just this. We do also have another blog,  DIY Non-toxic Air Fresheners, which elaborates further on the non-alcoholic air freshener bases that one could use. In this part 2, we’ll chat about how you can use alcohol to make versatile air fresheners.

 

Scent Inspiration

The key component of any air freshener is the scent. We will be using essential oils for this purpose, and there are many to choose from. Here are a couple of blends which you may like.

Floral Flutter -  geranium,  clary sage,  rose,  lavender

 

Bedtime Calm -  chamomile and  lavender

 

Citrus Fresh -  lime/lemon,  grapefruit,  sweet orange,  bergamot

 

Chai Spice - any combination of the following:  sweet orange,  nutmeg,  cinnamon,  black pepper,  clove bud,  vanilla/benzoin

 

Minty - spearmint,  peppermint,  lemongrass,  lime,  rosemary

 

Deodorising, Cleansing & Antibacterial -  tea tree,  lemon,  eucalyptus

 

For concentration -  rosemary,  basil and  peppermint

 

Great on their own: classic  lavender, refreshing  grapefruit,  ylang ylang,  patchouli, intoxicating  jasmine,  rosemary and  vanilla, or any of your favourite scents.

 

Specially for cats, but also calming and useful for anxiety, insomnia and as an insect repellent:  catnip essential oil.

 

Tip: what I do is make up my essential oil blend separately before adding to the alcohol base. This way I can make the scent up just the way I like it. It may be necessary to adjust the scent a little once it has been added to the alcohol, but let your air freshener sit and rest while the scents mingle together before making changes.

 

The Base

During these Coronavirus times, one thing many of us do have access to is 70-90% isopropyl or ethanol alcohol, which is used in sanitisers and cleaning products. This type of alcohol is strictly not for ingesting so please don’t try to!  But it is perfect for making air freshener for a number of reasons. You can use either isopropyl or ethanol alcohol, there isn’t much of a difference between the two when it comes to making an air freshener.

 

Alcohol dissolves oils so it is an ideal base to use when using essential oils. The essential oils dissolve seamlessly into the alcohol leaving no sticky or oily residue when sprayed. Alcohol also dries very quickly, so you aren’t left with any dampness. This ideal if you plan on using your spray as a linen spray.

 

An added advantage of alcohol based sprays is that they can act as surface sanitisers in addition to being an air freshener. This might be a nice function to have in a bathroom or toilet spray where you want to keep things hygienic. Make sure your alcohol is at least 70% of the total concentration; this will allow it to effectively kill germs, viruses and bacteria. If you aren’t too worried about having a dual purpose air freshener like this, then you don’t need to worry about your alcohol concentration being 70% or above.

 

When you use alcohol as the base you also won’t need to worry about including a preservative in your formula, as the alcohol will cover this job.

 

RECIPES

Alcohol based air fresheners make ideal room sprays, linen sprays, bathroom sprays and even body mists. They are multifunctional and very easy to make. Let’s find out how.

 

I’ve seen various formulas that use anywhere from 10%-50% alcohol and then the rest water, but I prefer to use a higher alcohol concentration so that my air freshener can act as a germ killer too. You may see some separation of the essential oils and water if you are only using such a small amount of alcohol; a higher alcohol percentage will mitigate this entirely.

 

If you are using 70% isopropyl or ethanol alcohol:

100ml  isopropyl/ethanol

40 drops essential oils - you can add more or less depending on how strong you want the scent to be

Spray bottle

 

Blend together in a spray bottle, shaking well to combine. This will yield a 70% alcohol concentration (100ml of 70% alcohol = 70% total alcohol) so will be suitable for sanitising purposes too, if desired. If you don’t want it as a sanitiser you can do 75ml alcohol and top up with 25ml water.

 

If you are using 85% isopropyl or ethanol alcohol:

 

At least 82ml  isopropyl/ethanol

18ml water (to make 100ml)

40 drops essential oils - you can add more or less depending on how strong you want the scent to be

Spray bottle

 

Blend together in a spray bottle, shaking well to combine. This will yield a 70% alcohol concentration so will be suitable as a sanitising spray too, if desired.

 

Juliette’s Signature Air Freshener

I love the smell of roses and geranium and the two go very well together. It’s a sweet, floral, gentle scent that makes me happy!

20 drops  rose geranium essential oil

15-20 drops  rose blend essential oil

100ml  isopropyl alcohol

Spray bottle

 

Blend everything together and shake well. Simple as that. You can use 75ml alcohol and 25ml water if you don’t want it as a sanitiser.

 

Try experimenting with your favourite scents - there's no excuse to use chemical laden air fresheners when making your own natural ones is this easy!