Do you love to use air freshener? It smells great, but can be bad for your health. Learn to make all-natural homemade air freshener that will leave your home smelling sweet.
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I love a fresh smelling room and used to be a store-bought room freshener addict. A quick spritz after cooking a meal, before company came over, or as a last step to housecleaning made me feel like my home was clean and fresh. I was spraying it ALL THE TIME…
Until I began to learn more about the toxic chemicals in many household products. I checked out my favorite Febreze’s ratings on the Environmental Working Group consumer guide and found out that most of their products score a D or F for “significant hazards to health or the environment.”
I was shocked to find out what was I spraying around my home and decided to never use commercial air freshener.
Dangerous Homemade Alternatives
Online recipes for homemade fresheners usually contain a dangerous mixture of fabric softener and water. This mixture replaces one health hazard with another health hazard!
Both commercial air freshener and homemade air freshener with fabric softener can:
- Act as hormone disruptors.
- Cause asthma to develop in healthy people.
- Cause cancer in humans.
How to Make Room Freshener with Essential Oils
The best homemade room refresher is simple: water, vodka, and essential oils.
I often use vodka to clean around my house (it's in my homemade Window Cleaner and natural Lemon Disinfectant Spray Cleaner). Vodka is a great cleaner because:
- It leaves no scent when used in natural cleaners.
- It leaves no residue (like the baking soda found in some homemade refresher sprays).
- It is naturally antibacterial, anti-fungal, and it's a natural deodorizer.
- Alcohol emulsifies essential oils into an evenly diluted spray that does not need shaking.
- Cheap generic vodka cleans as well as more expensive brands.
Homemade Air Freshener Recipe
Mix together in a glass spray bottle mix:
- 1 cup distilled water
- ½ cup vodka (use a bottom shelf, cheap version)
- 10 drops to ½ tsp. essential oil of your choice
Shake to combine.
Room Freshener Scent Combinations
Start with 5-10 drops of essential oil and add more until the desired level of scent is reached. My favorite scent combinations:
- Zen Spa – 10 drops eucalyptus essential oil, 5 drops lavender essential oil
- Sleepy Time/Relaxation – 10 drops lavender essential oil, 5 drops vanilla essential oil
- Floral Dream – 8 drops ylang ylang or lavender essential oil, 8 drops jasmine essential oil
Free Printable Labels
Dress up your homemade cleaner with a free printable label or vinyl sticker (see the 2 options below). Both DIY versions are available to download in my free printable library.
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Nikki p
HI could you substitute a flavored vodka?
Bren
Nikki, I’ve never use flavored vodka so I’m not sure how it would work. Let me know if you try!
Michelle Leemhuis
What is the shelf-life on your fabric spray? Thanks – can’t wait to try it out!
Bren
The vodak/water spray will last months and months (I’ve never had it go bad). The cornstarch spray will last about a month if stored in a cool place. Hope you enjoy!
reem
hi Bren,
we are non alcoholic family and i want to use an everyday disinfectant spray on kitchen n bathroom counter tops which are of granite.could you please suggest an alternative for vodka good on marble / granite tops as well.
Thanks & best regards,
Remeen
Bren
Reem, you can use rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide in place of the vodka.
Abby
Can fragrance warming oil be used in place of essential oils?
Bren
Yes, but I do not recommend using artificial scents in your home because they can damage your health.
Doreen
I made air freshener but it is staining my tiles so what can I do so that it will stop staining the floor
Bren
I’m not sure what would cause the staining. I’ve never had that problem. I would check your ingredients.
Dee Free
Hi! One of our cars smells like some kind of Febreze or cheap, scented air freshner. I think it has penetrated into the fabric seats. I’ve tried airing the car out, to no avail. The smell makes me feel sick. I’d like to eliminate it, not just spray a cover-up odor on top of it. Do you think this fabric freshener would work on that?
Thanks very much!
Bren
It might help. I would try spraying the fabric with a mix of 1 cup white vinegar and 1 cup rubbing alcohol (unscented, no additives) and let it dry overnight with the windows open (if possible) before adding more scent. Hope this helps! You can also buy charcoal odor neutralizers that can help absorb some of the odor.
Karen
What strength vodka do you use?
Bren
I generally use 80 proof. You can use everclear (which can be purchased at 95% alcohol by volume) or rubbing alcohol if you want the spray to be stronger. I have been happy with the 80 proof.
Donna Young
I’m so happy that I found your recipe! I made some this weekend and it works brilliantly! I was fed up with the strong, chemical-like fragrances of the commercial products. This does a perfect job of freshening my home with a lovely, subtle herbal fragrance. (I made mine with lavender and thyme oil.) I will definitely pass this recipe along to my friends who want to go natural. Thanks again, Bren!
Bren
I’m glad it was a success, Donna!
Patricia
I want to try your Febreze recipe, but do you know any essential oil combinations that are safe for cats that still smell good?
Bren
Patricia, I would check out this site for suggested EOs: http://www.animaleo.info/cats.html
Katelin
I’ve read your article about making your own glass spray bottles, but where did you get the blue glass bottles?
Bren
The blue glass bottles are from Amazon. You can get them here.