Make An All-Natural Air Freshener With These Two Common Kitchen Ingredients

If you've noticed foul odors in your home, your first impulse might be to go to the store and buy an air freshener. However, before doing this, you might want to check whether you have two common household ingredients on hand: baking soda and vanilla extract. These ingredients are all you need to reduce odors and freshen the air in your home. While baking soda does an excellent job of deodorizing the air as-is, it can make the air smell even better when used with vanilla. Vanilla works well for neutralizing odors and has a great natural, sweet scent. As an alternative, you can also mix baking soda with one of your favorite essential oils to really freshen up the room and make it smell its best.

To prepare this all-natural, DIY air freshener, simply pour half a cup of baking soda into a mason jar. Then, add eight to 12 drops of an essential oil or a few drops of vanilla extract to the jar. Leave the air freshener in any room where you need freshen up the air. You should find that the room starts smelling much better after a little time has passed.

If you want to get the most use from this all natural air freshener, be sure to place it in the spots that need it the most. You can leave a jar anywhere you need to freshen up the air a bit, but you'll typically need to put the most effort into deodorizing your smelly kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room. These rooms often suffer from poor air quality and can usually use some extra help. You may want to put together a few different air fresheners and place each jar in a different room to ensure every part of your home smells great.

In addition to using these natural ingredients for a mason jar air freshener, you may also want to consider putting them in a spray bottle. Simply add one tablespoon of baking soda and five to six drops of an essential oil or vanilla extract. Then, fill the bottle the rest of the way with water. You can then spray the mixture anywhere that you notice foul smells.

While there are various hacks to control gross smells in your home after the air has already declined in quality, it's best to prevent air quality and odor problems in the first place. One of the main keys to this is to clean regularly. Ensure you're vacuuming and mopping your home regularly and disposing of trash quickly once a bin fills up. Also, ensure bathroom drains and other odor-prone areas are kept as clean as possible.

Additionally, ensure there's great air ventilation in your home. Turn your HVAC system on regularly — it can help control odors and remove contaminants from the air. Consider replacing HVAC filters to ensure they'll keep doing their job. Open windows regularly to enable adequate airflow, especially when you're cooking. If you have a range hood for your home, be sure that you're using it. You should also avoid using chemicals in the home as much as you can. Appliances, fireplaces, and items such as glue and paint can cause air quality to decline when used. After using these, arrange adequate ventilation and take steps to reduce humidity in the air.