2-oz distilled water or hydrosol of your choice spray bottle (PET) You can either use single essential oils to prepare a room
spray, or use a blend that you’ve created first. The first step is to prepare your aroma concentrate by adding 10 drops of your es- sential oil or essential oil blend to 2 teaspoons of alcohol, Ever- clear6, or vodka. Blend together in a bottle and shake.
To Make a 2 oz. Room or Body Spray Mix your aroma concentrate with 2 ounces of distilled water
or witch hazel hydrosol. You can choose another complemen- tary hydrosol if you prefer. Shake well. Spray upward into the air and walk underneath. If the aroma is not strong enough, add more concentrate in 5-drop increments and test again. This for- mula is ideal for freshening potpourri, diffusing throughout your home, or using to make a body spray.
Our Favorite Essential Oils for Spring Cleaning
Bergamot (Citrus aurantium var. bergamia): • Bathroom cleaner, room spray, or surface cleaner: Use 2-3 drops undiluted on a damp cleaning cloth to wipe surfaces; add 5 drops to 2 cups of white vinegar to make a surface cleaner; or make a paste with ½-cup of baking soda, add enough water to form a paste then add 8 drops of bergamot and use to clean bathroom surfaces.
• Carpet cleaner: Add 8 drops of oil to ½-cup baking soda. Sprinkle on carpet. Wait 10 minutes, and then vacuum thor- oughly.
• Clothes dryer: Add 2 drops to a small cloth and add to dryer. Avoid highly flammable essential oils, including citrus.
• Washing machine: Add 2-5 drops with softener or in the final rinse.
• Refrigerator: Put 1-drop on a wet cloth, and then wipe down the interior surfaces to deodorize your refrigerator.
• Dishwashing liquid: Because it is an antibacterial (also called a bactericide), bergamot (Citrus aurantium var. bergamia) is useful added to dishwashing liquid. Add 8 drops to a bottle of dishwashing liquid and shake before use.
Eucalyptus (radiata or E. smithii) • Dishcloth disinfectant: Soak cloths in a bowl with 2 drops of eucalyptus and warm water.
• Cleaner: Use undiluted to dissolve the sticky remnants of tape on furniture, floors, and appliances. It can, however, lift the varnish and finish from wooden furniture, so use with care.
• Sanitizer: Fumigate rooms or make a spray and use to steril- ize toilet and bathing areas.
• Floor cleaner: Add 3 teaspoons to a bucket of boiling water when scrubbing floors.
• Spot and stain remover: After carrying out a test on a hidden 14th Anniversary Edition April 2018 11
piece of the fabric, apply directly to oil based stains. Leave a few minutes then wash carefully as usual.
• Toilet deodorizer: Place 2 drops in the inner cardboard roll of toilet roll. Or use 2 drops of eucalyptus on a light bulb ring in the bathroom.
• Shoe deodorizer: Impregnate blotting paper and leave in sports shoes overnight.
• Trashcans: Add 1 drop directly in trashcan or add 3 drops to hot water and use the mixture to wash out the trashcan.
Geranium China or Rose (Geranium Pelargonium graveolens) • Drawer liner: Impregnate drawer liners with strips of blotting paper or perfume testing strips soaked in the oil.
• Room cleaning: Use in a diffuser or light bulb ring, and add five drops to the water when wiping down wood, metal or plastic venetian blinds.
Lavandin Super or grosso (Lavandin Lavandula intermedia) • To repel insects: The aroma of camphor repels moths and other insects, so lavandin (which, unlike true lavender Lavan- dula angustifolia, is high in camphor) is great in pillows and sachets to store in linen cupboards and chests of drawers.
• In your closet: Soak perfume blotter strips or cotton balls in lavandin and place on the shelves.
• To clean carpets: Add 8 drops of lavandin oil to ½-cup bak- ing soda. Sprinkle over the carpet, wait a few minutes, and then
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