Creating A Healthy Environment With Essential Oils | By Danielle Sade
This Earth Day, we're looking beyond our skincare to the ingredients in our household cleaners. Many brand-name cleaners contain ingredients that can be irritating to your skin, eyes and respiratory system, as well as draining into our water systems and possibly damaging their fragile ecosystems.
Try switching to these all-natural, essential oil based household cleaner recipes from Danielle Sade, founder of Healing Fragrances School of Aromatherapy.
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The facts that have been imposed on us in the last 30 years about cleaning agents just don't seem to fit the theory of having a clean home. These hard facts need to be replaced with old age remedies that were used to clean homes effectively."
Vinegar: A solution of acetic acid. Most vinegar contains 5% acetic acid in water. This cleans and deodorizes your home with anti-septic antibacterial properties with no streaking or residue build up.
Baking Soda: A white solid crystalline that appears as a fine powder. It is a phenomenal deodorizer for carpets refrigerators, upholstery drains, It polishes aluminum chrome and jewelry. Baking soda softens the water in your laundry and the bath tub. An excellent toothpaste and safe under arm deodorant.
Liquid Soap (Fragrance & SLS free Soap): Clear liquid soap that does not have any harsh chemicals. It can be used as a detergent, dishwashing liquid, hand and body soap.
Essential oils: Pure natural essential oils are a wonderful alternative to using artificial room fragrances and they also have the ability to remove airborne bacteria and infections that may effect the household. Keeping in mind that even though essential oils are natural and derived from pure botanical sources, over exposure to them may also have their contraindications.
Photo: Oksana Berda
Listed below are essential oils that I highly recommend to use in your personalized cleaning products:
Lemon Citrus limon
The lovely citrus fragrance is uplifting and refreshing. It is always a compliment to any personalized cleaning product. Rejuvenating and refreshing, while contributing to the anti-septic and anti-bacterial effect of the environment. This oil may also be used as a bleach to lighten or remove stains. Lemon will have a 1 day shelf life when mixed in water. It is advisable to make small amounts for immediate use.
Rosemary Rosemarinus officinalis:
A wonderful herbaceous fragrant that is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. This is an oil to use when air is infested with mildew and infections relating to respiratory tract, also it is insecticide. I would recommend spraying a mist of rosemary in cabinets, drawer, bathrooms, bath tub, garbage cans and other areas in the home that may accumulate mildew or fungus.
Eucalyptus Eucalyptus radiata
The freshness and the openness of the Eucalyptus essential oil will refresh the air. Leaving your home with the feeling of open space. This age old remedy has been used for medicinal purposes, cleaning agent to cleaning sticky grime and even removing adhesive glue. Now there is a vast amount of research that indicates that it is capable of killing dust mites, the number one cause of allergies.
Tea Tree Melaleuca alternifolia:
Tea tree strong anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, antiseptic properties reduces the spread of infections and disinfects the areas of applications. Tea Tree will inhibit mildew build up in the home especially in bathroom and toilet bowls.
Lavandin Lavendula X intermedia
The fresh floral fragrant of Lavandin is a wonderful fragrant is highly anti-septic, anti-bacterial; decongestant. Relieves any room with stagnant air circulation. Highly recommended when with a feeling contributing to an uplifting and clean aroma in your home.
Pine Pine Sylvestris:
A fresh pine aroma leaving your home smelling like an alpine forest: Pine essential oil disinfects bacteria, cleans the home environment from dust and grime. Allows easy breathing. Recommended for colds and flues allowing easy breathing. Pine will have a 1 day shelf life when mixed in water. It is advisable to make small amounts for immediate use.
Shop essential oils HERE
Shop essential oils HERE
A few of my homemade cleaning products
(Please note even though I use natural ingredients, I highly recommend to use gloves while cleaning to prevent dry chapped skin)
Lavandin & Pine All Purpose Cleaner
10 drops of Lavendin E.O
8 drops of Pine E.O.
1
tbsp of liquid soap.
1 litre of water.
Add to bucket and clean areas such as bathrooms and kitchens.
Lavandin Glass Cleaner Spray
250 mls Vinegar
100 mls of water
20 drops of Lavandin
Pour in spray bottle + shake to mix.
Rosemary & Lemon Disinfectant & Deodorizer
10 drops of Lemon
8 drops of Rosemary
1
tbsp of grain Alcohol
50 mls of water.
Blend in small beaker the lemon and rosemary. Add 1Tbs of alcohol to essential oil blend and gently stir with glass rod. Pour into brown amber bottle for storage. When you are ready to clean with the blend. Drop 15 drops of prepared blend into a 50 mL atomizer bottle then fill the remainder of bottle with filtered water.
Lemon, Pine & Eucalyptus Carpet & Mattress Cleaner
15 drops of lemon essential oil
10 drops of pine essential oil
3 drops of Eucalyptus essential oil
2 cups of baking soda.
Add baking soda to mason jar. drop the 15 drops of lemon, 10 drops of pine 3 drops of Eucalyptus into the jar. Place lid and shake the jar well and to allow the essential oils to evaporate into the powder. Sprinkle the powder into carpets and mattress and leave for one hour. Then vacuum thoroughly. (While doing this make sure you do not have animals around)
Liquid Laundry detergent
1 litre of fragrance-free sulphur free soap
25 drops of Lavandin essential oil.
Add ingredients together and put this in the soap section of your washing machine. For extra scent add a few drops of Lavandin to your rinse cycle. (There have been reports that essential oils are precursors to fires in dryers if not rinsed out properly from clothing or the temperature of the water is to low). Use this formulation with caution and read report: Report
Cleaning Paste (For cleaning sinks & bathrooms)
10 drops of Lemon essential oil
5 Drops of Tea Tree essential oil
5 drops of Rosemary essential oil
1 cup of baking soda
1 tbsp of Vinegar, 5
tbsp of water.
Start by creating a paste with the baking soda, vinegar and water. If mixture is too liquid-y, add more baking soda. If it is too dry, add 1tbsp of water at at a time. Add essential oils to paste. Apply the paste to surface and let sit for 15 minutes. Wipe and rinse thoroughly.
Precautions:
Even though essential oils are natural - they can be hazardous
Make sure you ventilate the area you are cleaning.
Store them in safe place away from children.
Ensure animals and babies are not overly exposed to essential oils.
Wear protective gloves.
Do not mix essential oils with other chemicals - see list below.
Household & personal care products that may have synthetic chemicals and may create an unhealthy environment. Try to find products that do not have these chemicals in them.
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References:
1. Zock J-P, Vizcaya D, Le Moual N. Update on asthma and cleaners. Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2010;10(2):114-120. doi:10.1097/ACI.0b013e32833733fe.
2.Zota AR, Aschengrau A, Rudel RA, Brody JG. Self-reported chemicals exposure, beliefs about disease causation, and risk of breast cancer in the Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment Study: a case-control study. Environmental Health. 2010;9:40. doi:10.1186/1476-069X-9-40.
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Danielle Sade B.Sc. & CAHP
Danielle Sade B.Sc. in Nutrition & CAHP is a published author of The Aromatherapy Beauty Guide and founder of
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