I have the best carpet deodorizer and DIY air freshener tip for you. This is so easy to do and inexpensive and it is totally nontoxic and green cleaning. So you don’t need to buy tons of sprays and plug ins and such in order to get your home smelling fantastic!
The process is very simple:
– You take baking soda and add a few drops of your favorite essential oil or you can use cooking vanilla or cinnamon straight from your spice rack if you don’t have any oils on hand. I really like Peppermint, Rosemary, Lavender or Lemon myself. I find Peppermint has a very pronounced fragrance and citrus or lavender can be more subtle.
You can also get one of these little sprinkle jars from Target or Walmart for about $1.00. Those make it a bit easier to sprinkle around the house. You can find jars at the Dollar Store that are intended for powdered sugar and those work perfectly or just take a Mason Jar and use a piece of cardstock to replace the inside circle for the lid. Puncture a few holes and that will work!
Fill it with baking soda and then add about 10 drops of fragrance and shake well.
Sprinkle this like crazy throughout the house- about an hour before you want to vacuum. Sometimes I will sprinkle this in the morning before work and then vacuum when I get home- it is especially nice to give the fragrance a chance to take hold in the closets and such.
You can also use this in the car before you vacuum- I sprinkle it everywhere in the car. On our children’s carseats, the upholstery, the carpet etc…
Oh and if you happen to have stinky shoes inside the closet- well sprinkle right inside those too and the baking soda will neutralize the odor and absorb any moisture. We live in California and wear loafers often without socks so I do this frequently. Once you are ready to vacuum just tip the shoes over so any excess falls out onto the carpet and you can vacuum it right up!
Here are a bunch of other uses for baking soda:
- Sprinkle this on cleats and inside shoes for an odor issues.
- Sprinkle a little baking soda in vases to keep flowers fresh longer.
- Baking soda helps to remove odor on stinky shirts too (baby spit up, sweat and other issues best left unsaid).
- Sprinkle it on a hairbrush if you skip a day of washing your hair or sprinkle it on the dog’s hairbrush to add a little excitement to their grooming.
- Dump about a cup into the toilet as a cleaner and to absorb any odors.
- Put a little at the bottom of the trash can to absorb odors.
- Sprinkle on car seats and jogging strollers and all those other things you might have for the kiddos.
So really the possibilities are endless and I have found this to be so useful all over the house. The great thing is that baking soda is so incredibly cheap- you can really be generous sprinkling this all over the place. A 4lb bag is $6 at Costco or get little boxes for about $.50 at Target and Walmart. That little box should get you through several cleaning sessions.
Here are a few other DIY cleaning recipes you might consider:
Easy DIY Glass Cleaner (and wait till you see the difference with our windows!)
Just 3 ingredients to clean your bathroom from top to bottom
How to Clean a Front Load Washing Machine
And once you are all done with that- try this amazing 2 ingredient sugar scrub for your hands. You really will be amazed at how soft they feel! Priceline Pharmacy catalogue can offer a wide range of deodorants for everybody at fair costs.
See my Pinterest board for more DIY tips and easy homemade cleaners!
I like this idea! I am not a fan of air fresheners like Glade, too strong for me. And I actually cleaned my toilet with baking soda today! I was out of Comet. Thanks!
Cute idea! Do you replace the baking soda and oil every couple days since the fragrance doesn’t last or just add oil to the existing baking soda?
I love baking soda for cleaning the kitchen sink. I use an old toothbrush with baking soda to clean the drain which can get pretty gross. And I also add it to the diaper pail.
Rachel,
Personally I gave up on the air freshener aspect of it. Like I wouldn’t make these just for that reason because I found a nice fragrance in the car for just a day and then that was it. As a carpet deodorizer and shoe de-smeller and stuff the fragrance holds perfectly fine for ages. I made this maybe 6 weeks ago and I have refilled it once. I don’t refill it all the way to the top- about 1/4 of the way.
Does that make sense? It would be nice to have handy in the bathroom though because you can just sprinkle away in the toilet or for the laundry room to sprinkle away on stank clothes.
Where do you find these jars? What size/capacity are they?
Yellow,
This looks like the one I used:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VTSYA8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=myfrugadve-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000VTSYA8
And I am not sure where they have that size. Walmart using has a pretty good selection of canning stuff, the craft stores like Hobby Lobby and Michaels.
This is bad for your vacuum. You’ll have to clean this put of your vacuum regularly or it builds up and causes it to lose suction.
Thank you for posting this! I have recently decided to start making my cleaning supplies! This is a great start!!
Is this harmful to a Dyson Pet vac? I have cleaned both the filters, but after cleaning them and wiping out the cannister, we now have less suction and a really bad smell coming from the vac while in use.
Hi Kathy- do you have your manual for your vacuum? That might help you figure out what the smell is from. I have a Dyson and have not had any issues with ours for the past 3 or maybe 4 years.
To clean my stainless steel sinks; fill sink with about 3″ of hot water. Add a few squirts of Dawn dish soap and use a scrubber(I use Scrub Daddy), scrub and rinse, they are squeaky clean!
Doesn’t the essential oil stain the carpet?
Hi Ann- if you poured it directly on carpet I think it would for sure. I just use a few drops and mix well into baking soda and haven’t had any issues.
Please don’t use those laundry pods, especially if you have children. Children don’t realize they are not candy and put them in their mouths, bite down and bam, they can’t spit it out. Children and pets have died from eating these. They should be banned but of course the big conglomerates are fighting against it (that’s why warnings have suddenly appeared on boxes, saying to keep out of reach of children.)
Please be careful with essential oils if you have pets, some are toxic to dogs and cats. They are walking and laying on the carpets and then licking their paws. It could make them sick. You can find lists online of which ones are toxic to dogs or cats.