How to Make Room Deodorizer Sprays

The cat litter hasn't been dumped. The baby's room? Diaper Geni® must be full. Then there are the teens who believe that there's nothing to recommend a clean room if it requires taking time to tidy up. What's a mom to do when she's being pulled in multiple directions and the house gets neglected? Turn to Fabreze® or another pricey room deodorant found on store shelves? Here's an idea: turn the teens loose on formulating deodorant spray using recipes in this article. Put their name on the bottle and they might even start keeping their room neat without being asked.

Things You'll Need

• Spray bottles with nozzle pumps
• Alcohol
• Essential oils
• Distilled water
• Polysorbate or other emulsifier

Instructions

1. Keep spray bottles away from the recycling bin so you have a supply of dispensers and nozzle inserts to make your room sprays rather than spending money to buy empty ones. Sanitize the containers and drop-in sprayer elements with alcohol to remove smells and residues. Dry them thoroughly.

2. Mix 8-ounces of distilled water with 10 drops each of lavender and lemongrass essential oils to create the base of a pleasant room deodorant spray that will mask a variety of smells. Add 1-teaspoon of polysorbate to the mix to bind the water and oils together. Pour the combined solution into one of the dispenser bottles you've recycled and shake well. Allow the formulation to settle for awhile before spraying the room with this soothing mix of fragrance.

3. Combine 8-ounces of distilled water with ¼-teaspoon each of sweet orange essential oil and vanilla extract (check the pantry) for a fruity room deodorant spray. Add 1-ounce of polysorbate as a binder and shake vigorously to produce an orange/vanilla room spray that works just as well outside the kitchen as it does inside. Morph the recipe into an apple spice combination by substituting 6 drops of cinnamon essential oil and 3 drops of clove oil for the orange and vanilla.

4. Solve more serious room odor problems by whipping up sprays with the following oil combinations added to 8-ounces of distilled water and 1-ounce polysorbate in each spray bottle: 1) 6 drops of bergamot essential oil, 1 drop of eucalyptus oil and 2 drops of lemon oil or 2) 6 drops of cedar wood essential oils and 3 drops of tea tree oils. Expect to make inroads on that cat litter problem by mixing up the second recipe.

5. Apply the following formulation rules to your room deodorant project so all of your recipes are as easy to use as they are to make. Allow your sprays to sit for a few hours after all of the ingredients have been combined to allow them to merge together. Keep the spray nozzle setting on fine mist if you've got options and you'll be assured of getting better coverage when the spray is dispensed into the air.

6. Feel free to experiment with more or less oil than the amounts recommended in this article and test out other oils to come up with your own signature fragrance mixes, but don't skimp on the polysorbate or use anything other than distilled water for your room spray mixtures or you could wind up with ingredients that separate or perform poorly.

References

• Snowdrift Farms; spray recipes
• Thrifty Fun; make room deodorizer spray
• Recipezaar; recipes for oil-based room sprays