If your goal of 2018 is to live a more holistic lifestyle, it’s time to reexamine the products that you use around your home. Toxic, irritating chemicals can be found in everything from your all-purpose cleaner to your air freshener spray. Essential oils, however, are completely natural and safe to use. A wide variety of essential oils are capable of both killing germs and fighting odors. Plus, many of these oils possess unique cleaning abilities that can make housework a breeze.
1. Use Lemon Essential Oil to Fight Stains on Whites
The citric acid in lemon essential oil is capable of bleaching stains on white clothing. When exposed to light or heat, the acid activates, allowing it to strip unwanted colors from a variety of fabrics. As an added bonus, you’ll enjoy the invigorating scent that lemon oil gives to your clothes!
How to Use
Simply twist off the cap of your bottle of lemon essential oil and shake a few drops out and directly onto the stain. Very lightly dab the oil into the stain and leave it there for about thirty minutes. The oil’s bleaching abilities will work more effectively if the stain is exposed to heat or bright light. When the thirty minutes have passed, rinse the fabric with warm water.
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2. Use Tea Tree Essential Oil to Clean Your Bathroom
Tea tree essential oil has incredibly high antibacterial, antimicrobial, antiseptic and anti-fungal properties. In other words, it can kill a wide range of germs that are often found in the home. That’s why this oil is great for cleaning germ-ridden areas like bathrooms. The oil’s anti-fungal properties will take care of that unsightly mold that grows around the shower. Meanwhile, the antibacterial properties will kill germs. Plus, the oil’s fresh minty scent will mask odors.
How to Use
Purchase a spray bottle that can hold around twenty ounces of liquid. Into the bottle, pour about 20 drops of tea tree essential oil and equal parts water and white distilled vinegar. Shake the bottle and use it liberally around your bathroom.
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3. Use Cinnamon Essential Oil to Clean Your Garbage Cans
Cinnamon essential oil has powerful antibacterial properties as well as strong deodorizing powers. That’s why it’s the perfect product for cleaning the inside of your garbage cans throughout the home. Many people don’t think about cleaning their garbage cans. However, over time, rotting food particles and bacteria can build up, causing deeply unpleasant odors that can be smelled from across the room.
How to Use
Into a small bowl, combine ten drops of cinnamon essential oil and about two tablespoons of water. Then, dip a paper towel into the mixture, allowing it to become fully saturated. Squeeze the towel of excess liquid and thoroughly clean every inch of your garbage cans.
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4. Use Grapefruit Essential Oil to Deodorize Carpets
Grapefruit essential oil, with its stimulating citrus scent and its incredible germ-fighting abilities, is the perfect oil for cleaning and deodorizing carpets. The oil is not loaded with tons of toxic chemicals, making it completely safe to apply liberally for those who own indoor pets. While the oil kills bacteria and fungus, its lovely scent will uplift your mood.
How to Use
Place about one cup of baking soda into a bowl. Then, add about ten drops of grapefruit essential oil. Stir these two ingredients together before sprinkling the mixture onto your carpets.
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5. Use a Variety of Essential Oils to Keep Bugs Away
Are you tired of creepy critters invading your home? Few things work as well as essential oils when it comes to deterring bugs. If you’re used to using chemical insect repellent sprays in your home, it’s time to switch to these natural oils that repel bugs without exposing you to toxic chemicals.
How to Use
Into a spray bottle that can fit about twenty ounces of liquid, pour about five drops each of lavender, peppermint, frankincense, lemon, grapefruit and rosemary essential oils. Then, fill the rest of the bottle with water. Give the bottle a good shake. Then, spray your home liberally with this mixture, concentrating on entryways such as window sills and door crevices. Between these six essential oils, you’ll end up with a product that can kill almost all household insects.
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6. Use Eucalyptus Essential Oil to Clean Windows and Glass Surfaces
Do you ever wonder what chemicals are in commercial glass cleaners? If you’ve ever sprayed a lot of this type of cleaner onto a surface of your home, you know how much it can irritate your throat and sinuses when inhaled. These cleaners contain tons of chemicals that aren’t so great for your health when inhaled frequently.
Fortunately, you can make a safe and natural glass cleaner using just eucalyptus essential oil and distilled vinegar. As a bonus, the invigorating scent of eucalyptus oil will stimulate your brain, giving you the mental energy that you need to get through your day.
How to Use
Purchase a spray bottle that can contain about twenty ounces of liquid. Fill the bottle with distilled white vinegar. Then, add about twenty drops of eucalyptus essential oil. Use this spray as you would any commercial glass cleaner.
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7. Use Lavender Essential Oil to Give Your Mattress a Fresh Scent that will Help You Sleep
If you want to freshen up your mattress, use lavender essential oil! Many people neglect their mattresses, allowing them to develop odors that result from small amounts of sweat seeping through the sheets each night. Lavender essential oil has strong deodorizing abilities. Plus, it can kill fungus and bacteria with ease, keeping your bed free of germs. Best of all, lavender oil is renowned for its calming effect on the mind, helping you fall asleep more easily. By infusing your mattress with this wonderful scent, you’ll feel calm and relaxed when it’s bedtime.
How to Use
Into a small bowl, pour about one cup of baby powder. Then, add about eight drops of lavender essential oil. Give this mixture a quick stir before sprinkling it all over your bare mattress.
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8. Use Lavender and Cedarwood Essential Oils to Give Your Car a Fresh and Stress-Reducing Fragrance
Road rage isn’t a joke. Neither is a car that is full of awful odors. When you spray your car’s interior with lavender and cedarwood essential oils, you’ll reap the benefits of their stress-fighting abilities while masking any unpleasant odors inside of your car. The calming effects of these oils will help reduce your stress levels when you’re on the road while giving your car a fresh scent.
How to Use
Fill a small spray bottle with about ten drops each of lavender and cedarwood essential oils. Then, fill the rest of the bottle with water. Spray this mixture all over the interior of your car. You can also add a little bit of this mixture to the insides of your air conditioner vents to allow the wonderful aroma to fill the air.
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9. Use a Variety of Essential Oils Instead of Commercial Air Fresheners to Give Your Home a Wonderful Aroma
Now that many commercial air fresheners have been found to contain toxic ingredients that can harm one’s health over time, countless people are turning to essential oils to give their homes a lovely scent. You can combine a large variety of essential oils together in order to develop a fragrance that suits your home perfectly.
While mixing essential oils to freshen the scent of your home, keep in mind that different oils can trigger different moods when inhaled. For instance, scents like lavender and chamomile act as gentle sedatives, relaxing a person and possibly making them feel sleepy. Meanwhile, citrus and mint-based scents can stimulate the mind, boosting energy levels.
How to Use
Fill the tank of an oil diffuser with water. Then, add about four drops each of a variety of essential oils of your choosing. Plug the diffuser into an outlet and turn on the power to fill your home with a refreshing scent.
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10. Use Lemon Essential Oil to Clean Grout
Lemon essential oil possesses both the ability to bleach stains and the ability to cut through dirt and grease, making it a marvelous product for cleaning grout. The oil’s citric acid breaks down dirt and grease quickly, meaning that you won’t have to scrub nearly as hard. Plus, the oil can kill germs of all kinds and give the floor a fresh, lemony aroma that will permeate the air.
How to Use
Pour about a half of a cup of baking soda into a bowl. Then, add about ten drops of lemon essential oil. Stir these two ingredients together and sprinkle the mixture onto your grout. Use a scrub brush to work the mixture into the grout’s porous surface. Leave the mixture on the grout for about twenty minutes before wiping down the area.
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11. Clean Your Shower with Orange Essential Oil
Orange essential oil has anti-fungal properties as well as a unique ability to cut through oil and soap scum. A simple solution of white vinegar and orange essential oil is the perfect shower cleaner. Just a few sprays after each shower will keep your tub and shower walls looking clean and shiny!
How to Use
Fill a large spray bottle with distilled white vinegar. Then, add about twenty drops of orange essential oil. Shake the bottle well. You can apply this spray to your tub and shower after each use.
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12. Clean Greasy Pots and Pans with Lemon Essential Oil
As we have already stated, the citric acid in lemon essential oil allows it to break up grease and dirt. When combined with salt, lemon essential oil can tackle those tough grease stains as well as the dreaded buildup of food that develop on your pots and pans. The lemon oil will also kill germs and eliminate any lingering oil smells.
How to Use
Combine one half of a cup of coarse salt and ten drops of lemon essential oil. Sprinkle this mixture into your dirty pots and pans. Allow the mixture to sit for ten minutes before scrubbing it with a scrub brush.
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13. Create an All-Purpose Cleaner that Smells Amazing
As you know, so many essential oils boast germ-fighting abilities that can kill bacteria, viruses and fungus. Plus, most essential oils improve one’s mood when they’re inhaled. Instead of relying on cleaners that have questionable ingredients, make your own cleaning spray that can tackle everything from greasy counters to bathroom mold.
How to Use
Into a large spray bottle, pour six drops each of peppermint, lavender, rosemary, tea tree, lemon, grapefruit, cinnamon and clove essential oils. Then, fill the rest of the bottle with distilled white vinegar. Use this mixture in place of a commercial all-purpose cleaning spray.
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Summary
It’s truly amazing how essential oils can kill germs and mask odors just as well as commercial cleaning products. Best of all, you can use these products generously without worrying about breathing in toxic chemicals. These thirteen hacks will keep your home smelling and looking great!