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Learn how to make air fresheners yourself.

Many commercial air fresheners are available in different scents and fragrances. These air fresheners are effective but are only a temporary solution for common household odors.

These air fresheners will only mask odors. Some of these commercial air fresheners have even been known to work on your nasal passages and coat them with an oily scent. Some even add a nerve deadening agent to them so that it appears that the scent is gone when it actually lingers.

A sure fire way to know that your air freshener is safe and effective is to make it yourself. Although this may sound like a long and tedious procedure, it is not, and the rewards are many. Some of the safer alternatives to air fresheners are so simple that anyone who can open a window can freshen his/her home.

Ventilation is the best and really the most effective method. If you open windows and leave doors open for a short amount of time daily, you will be sure to reap the rewards of an odor free home. This method will also reduce the chance of toxic fumes building up from a slow leak in a furnace or a gas range.

Vinegar is a safe and environmentally friendly air freshener. Vinegar is most effective in killing those stubborn cooking odors left over from fish and strong meats. It is advised that you boil one tablespoon of vinegar with one cup of water to freshen the air in your home. For long-term air freshening with vinegar, partially fill small cups or saucers, and place them in corners of each room of your home.

You should not worry about children or pets getting into the vinegar because it is completely safe and non toxic, plus it packs a wallop not soon to be forgotten when it is placed in the mouth of a pet or small child. You can almost guarantee if they taste it once, they will not go back for seconds.

Making your own potpourri for boiling is not only safe, but it is simple and fun to do. Cloves and cinnamon are effective and very simple to gather for boiling since almost every home has these two items stashed away in the pantry. To use these items for air fresheners, you should gather two cinnamon sticks and break them in half. Place the cinnamon sticks in a medium piece of cheesecloth along with three tablespoons of coarsely ground cinnamon. Tie the cheesecloth together with string. Gather a small saucepan and pour in four cups of tap water.

Bring your water to a boil and add the cheesecloth bag containing the spices. Reduce your heat so that your water is now simmering and continue at this heat for one hour and a half. Be sure to watch the water as it boils. It could spell disaster and cause horrible smells if the water evaporates and the potpourri scorches.

Another option in the house is to make your own potpourri for your tabletop or bathroom area. Gather all your ingredients including cinnamon sticks, dried flower tops from your garden (roses work really well), and dried fruit. The flower tops as well as the fruit can be dried safely and quickly in any food dehydrator. Another alternative to drying is to assemble items on regular kitchen foil and place in a sunny location for a week or so.

Once you have all the items you wish for your potpourri, arrange the items attractively in a nice basket and sprinkle with household vanilla. The scent is delicious and the cost minimal at best. Food odors can be stubborn and also lingering. If you are faced with food odors, there are many things you can do to eradicate them once and for all. By placing saucers of vanilla-soaked cotton balls over the furnace or air conditioning vents will allow the smell of vanilla to remove the odors. This sounds so simple but at the same time is very effective, and the best part is, it is natural and non toxic. One warning about vanilla: it does have alcohol, so keep it away from children and pets.

Baking soda placed in refrigerators to remove odors is a classic cure all for odor ills. Another good use for baking soda is to place a half cup in your garbage disposal and allow it to churn the odor away.

A sure fire way to remove stale odors from garbage cans is to clean them with Borax. Borax usually comes in powder form and is easy to use. For every gallon of water, add four tablespoons of Borax. Once the mixture is made, pour it into the garbage can and allow the solution to sit for one half hour. Then dump the solution and rinse the can with warm water. You can also place a tablespoon of Borax or baking soda in the bottom of the garbage can to allow continual freshening.

A celery stalk is a great method to remove that onion smell from your hands as well as your refrigerator. Remember that by rubbing a celery stalk on your hands, you can effectively remove the onion, or even garlic, odor from your skin.

Eating a celery stick after onion or garlic will act as a natural breath freshener. By utilizing these methods listed, you are not only saving dollars, but saving the environment as well.

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