Uses for Essential Oils in the Home

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Use Scent as a means of personalising your living space and creating a new sensual dimension.

The Scented Home

A great way to get a sample of a variety of essential oils is to buy a sampler set

The Scented Home: Living with Fragrance

Home Page > Kitchen and Cuisine

"Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains" - Diane Ackerman

When guests first enter your home the first thing that greets them is the aroma. Essential oils can be used to create a homely atmosphere throughout the home.

• Add 6-8 drops of your favourite scent to water in a diffuser or place the drops directly into a bowl of boiling water.
• Put a drop or two of oil onto a cold light bulb in a lamp so the fragrance fills the room as it heats up.
• Saturate cotton wool balls and place in the corners of a room, in cupboards or out-of-the-way places to fragrance kitchens and living areas throughout the house.
• Use scented candles and potpourri fragranced with essential oil to impart a fragrant ambience and aroma throughout the home.

More ways essential oils can be used around the home include...

Add a few drops of essential oil to water in a spray bottle to freshen linen or spray on garments before ironing. Lavender, white tea or rose essential oil are all popular fragrances.

Lavender has a pleasing scent, is anti-bacterial and deters insects such as moths. Place cotton wool balls fragranced with lavender in drawers and linen closet.

Pine is inexpensive and clean smelling. It is effective as both a disinfectant and deodorizer. Put 4 drops of oil onto a cotton wool ball and place behind the heater or radiator in winter. Drops can also be used with the humidifier. Sweet orange, lemon and your favourite spice oil are especially good when diffused during the winter months for a refreshing, warming aroma and atmosphere.

As an air-freshener put 6-8 drops in 600 ml of water in a fine spray bottle and spray into the air and towards carpets and curtains. Do not spray onto velvet of silk and avoid spraying directly onto wood.

Essential oils are used to clean the air rather than mask smells in the home. To rid a room of stale tobacco or cooking smells use cinnamon, eucalyptus, lavender, lemon, orange, tea tree, rosemary or lime for their ability to freshen and cleanse the air of stagnant smells throughout the house. Grapefruit has a clean and uplifting aroma that eliminates even strong pet odours.

Hallways are the place where we greet our guests. Use lemon, lime, bergamot or grapefruit. Lavender or geranium can be mixed with any of these. Lavender is uplifting in the morning and geranium has a calming effect and good for afternoons when you may need to wind down at the end of the day.

Tea tree oil has a sharp, spicy scent and is a good disinfectant and deodorizer. Keep tea tree oil in your first aid kit for cuts, burns and head lice.

For an inexpensive carpet freshener mix 15 to 20 drops of any essential oil into a cup of baking soda and let the mixture stand overnight so the oil can be absorbed. Sprinkle the powder onto your carpet then vacuum.

Clean the fridge with a one drop of orange, mandarin, mint, lavender or lemon oil added to the final rinse water.

When washing down surfaces in the kitchen 1 drop of lemon, thyme, cypress, lavender or Palma Rosa placed directly on a cloth or alternatively 7 drops in water. Lemon is fresh and clean smelling. It's also acidic, providing antibacterial and antiseptic cleaning properties.

To make a quick and easy disinfecting toilet bowl cleanser by combining one cup of water, one-quarter cup of liquid castile soap and 20 drops of white thyme, lavender or lemon essential oil in a 22-oz. spray bottle.

Kitchen and Cuisine