With all the commercial air fresheners being marketed these days, I thought it was a good time to cover some basics about conventional air freshener and green alternatives found in natural air fresheners. Using natural air freshener doesn’t have to be a pain either, there are just as many handy applications and methods of diffusing natural fresheners. But first,

A look at conventional air fresheners

Some of these chemicals have even been banned by the FDA, but these bans are unenforceable due to trade secret laws that protect the chemical fragrance company.

• Formaldehyde – known carcinogen
• Phenol – skin and nervous system irritant
• Limonene – skin, throat, eye irritant
• Methylene Chloride -Prolonged skin contact can result in the dichloromethane dissolving some of the fatty tissues in skin, resulting in skin irritation or chemical burns. It may be carcinogenic, as it has been linked to cancer of the lungs, liver, and pancreas in laboratory animals.
• Acetone -Acts as a central nervous system depressant
• Terpinolene – Highly irritating to mucous membranes, has been known to cause hypothermia, CNS and respiratory depression, and headache
• Methoxybenzaldehyde
• Butanoic acid
• and the list goes on…

The thing about conventional air fresheners is that these chemicals tend to build up over time, mostly on carpets and surfaces where kids play and other areas that we come into regular contact with. We track them outside where they end up contaminating the soil. They don’t even work for getting rid of odors and cleaning up the air. Conventional air fresheners just cover up odors for a short period of time, while leaving all their unknown chemicals laying around.

Natural air fresheners not only make the air smell good and fresh, but actually kill germs without killing friendly bacteria. What’s more, putting together your own unique scent combinations can be a lot of fun. There are hundreds of fruits, trees and herbs essential oils from which to choose. Below we’ll look at some of the most well known essential oils for natural freshening and anti-bacterial traits.

More recently there have been more conventional air fresheners marketed as being natural room fresheners. While many of these products are improvements on conventional air freshener, such as soy candles or truly natural non-aerosol sprays, yet in most of these ‘natural’ air fresheners are still scented with chemical fragrances rather than essential oils and other natural plant materials.

The Benefits of Natural Air Fresheners

As we talked about above, the disadvantages and risks of using conventional room fresheners are many, but can natural air fresheners really measure up in terms of ease of use like the popular automatic air fresheners sold in many stores -what exactly are the benefits of using natural air fresheners?

One of the very unique aspects of natural air deodorizers is that you’re not just covering up an unpleasant smell, but you can actually deodorize and clean the air this way, by dealing with the source -and add a pleasant natural aroma while you’re at it. I’m particularly fond of eucalyptus and cedar combinations for neutralizing odors and freshening a room.

One general purpose spray recipe that I love because it can be used on counter tops or as an air freshener:

For some households you may decide to avoid sprays for freshening the air. I like to use eucalyptus, pine, lavender and/or cedar in sprays because these can also be effective in inhalation therapy for asthma or cold related nose and chest congestion. If you want to have more exotic aromas without spraying them into the air, there are several natural diffuser options.

Where to Get Natural Air Freshener Supplies

There are plenty of great natural herbal and essential oil supply stores online. After doing a lot of research, comparing prices and trying a handful of other herbal stores online, I found Liberty Natural. I’ve just been so happy with the selection of items and low prices I have to pass along the info. They have a minimum order of $50 and their site is a little old fashioned, but the quality, selection and prices cannot be beat, so it’s easy to meet  the minimum. You can get very small sizes of essential oils and great discounts on every size upgrade. Oh, and check out the cosmetic bases section (it’s under ‘botanical ingredients‘). You can get bases for natural lotion, shampoo, conditioner, etc, that you can combine with the essential oils you’re getting to create your own natural beauty/bathing items. My favorite is, coincidentally enough, the same oils listed above (eucalyptus, cedar and grapefruit) added to their all-purpose body gel / shampoo base.

How to Diffuse Natural Air Fresheners

We talked about sprays above. These can be fast ways to neutralize odors and add a nice aroma, but what are the other ways to diffuse natural scents?

Candle Diffusers

These can be a nice effect for night time or parties, or daily air freshening. Use essential oils, but be sure to fill the oil warmer with water and then drop the essential oils onto the water. Start with 10-20 drops and adjust.

Electric Diffusers

There are several high-end aromatherapy diffusers, but there are also very basic and small diffusers that you can plug into a wall outlet or car lighter/power. You can get these for about $6 each from Liberty Natural . Be sure to get replacement pads (look for refill items under aromatherapy).

Wand Diffusers

You can use regular wand diffusers if you add some alcohol or witch hazel to your essential oil blend. You’ll want about 1 part essential oil to 4-6 parts vodka or witch hazel. this will allow the essential oil aroma to be carried up and diffused by the wands.

Stay tuned for more on natural fragrance and personal care using essential oils in coming articles…