We all know those commercials about the cleanest home ever. About the whitest white laundry and the most –well fragranced dwellings…you know. BUT those commercials force you to use different kinds of freshening the air stuff, most of which are chemical based. And since we do love nature and we rather use more reliable and in the same time natural ways to improve the quality of the air at home. This is pretty important especially during the winter months when we open doors and windows as rarely as we can, cause no one likes chilling house after all.
So there are some ways of freshen up the atmosphere indoors without using artificial means.
Another thing is that most of those “artificial” ways are based on chemistry and are harmful to animals and nature and some ways.
Most air “fresheners” that are on the market today contain an array of toxic chemicals, most notably including phthalates. Phthalates have been directly linked to cancer and hormone disruption. The other thing is that plug-in type fresheners coat the nasal passages with an oil film called methoxychlor, which eventually harms the nerves in your nose over time, inhibiting your ability to smell.
There are some pretty good news though. And they consist of different ways for you to have some clean, fresh and cozy air at home.
1. Open windows have been considered already, but we should say that this is the best way to have some healthy air at the premise. It is one of the simplest, most effective ways to remove stale or smelly air from your home. Open windows as often as possible and literally let your house air out. It helps to have windows at the front and back open to create some air flow and move stagnant air away. This will create something like a fan effect and will also assist in this process. This is an especially useful tip while cleaning and cooking your favority „smelly” meal.
2. As we are still on the cooking theme, let’s emphasize on the need to circulate the air when you are making some twisted Indian meal at home. This is necessary especially when deal with particularly pungent food. When doing this be sure to use your range hood fan and consider leaving the windows open.
3. Please, do clean with natural cleaning supplies. The products you use to clean your home end up in the air and on your furniture, ultimately making their way into your lungs. You should also leave the windows open while cleaning, regardless of what cleaners you use.
4. Use an essential oil diffuser if you use such at all. They can be rather expensive, but hey… they are worth the investment. Diffusers allow you to safely scatter the smells from natural and often therapeutic essential oils throughout your home, not only making your house smell great but also providing healing through aromatherapy. At least smart people say so. Those oils relieve stress, clear congestion, improve the mood, and calm the mind and spirits. If it happens that such essential natural oils are too expensive you can simply add a few drops of them into boiling water and they will fill up the air at your home right away.
5. Carpets and rugs collect most of the odours at your home. And hence they do emit them later in the air. This is a process which lasts long time after you have cooked your meal for example. So deodorize carpets regularly. It’s rather easy- simply sprinkle baking soda on any carpeted area or rug and see that magic happen for 20 minutes. After that vacuum it up.
6. Vinegar is a simple and natural way to get rid of the odours at home. To neutralize smells in the air or on upholstery, mix three parts white vinegar and one part water. With the help of a spray bottle cover the surface or directly spray into the air. The vinegar neutralizes the odours naturally. Relax- that vinegary smell will fade away eventually.
7. Very important! – Use citrus. It’s simple, it’s fresh, and it’s natural. How? – Simply slice few lemons, limes, or oranges and leave them out on the table. You can just use leftover peels as well. Give them a little twist first to help release the lovely smelling oils!
8. Baking soda- as simple as that. “Hide” few open boxes of baking soda around your home in areas that tend to hold more odour- it’s your choice. Such places are the entrance way, coat closet, litter box, bathroom, kitchen etc.
9. Please do avoid using anything artificial to cleanse the air. Plenty of them can be found easily in the stores. These “air-fresheners” generally just mask underlying odours rather than cleansing them, and pollute the air with toxic chemicals in the process.
10. It’s not pretty much of a big secret, but there is that thing called Himalayan salt lamp. Sounds a bit magical, but still- there is such thing and as faster you find one, as sooner you will get that good-fresh air results you are searching for at home. Himalayan salt lamps purify the air in the same way that beeswax or soy candles do, emitting negative ions. Plus- you get some simple and neat romantic look.
11. Put some house plants. Real ones! Houseplants do a great job of detoxifying the air in our homes. They breath in carbon monoxide and breathing out oxygen to purify the air. Your local botanist will give you the best advice for easy maintained and useful for the purpose plants.
