9 Best Natural Air Fresheners to Try at Home

Essential Oils

Many essential oils have antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties to help freshen and purify the air. Simply boil a pot of water, take it off the heat, and add a few drops of your favorite essential oil. You can blend drops from one oil with another to find your favorite scents. The scent of the oils in the released water vapor will infuse the whole room. You can also use various types of diffusers to disperse essential oils into the air through misting.

Feel free to experiment with mixing oils for your home's signature scent. Try mixing a floral with citrus essential oil or tea tree with eucalyptus and rosemary essential oils for luscious air-freshening scents. Some of the best essential oils to use for natural air fresheners at home include: 

• Lavender 
• Eucalyptus 
• Rosemary
• Tea tree
• Spearmint
• Peppermint
• Lemongrass
• Lemon
• Grapefruit
• Orange
• Rose
• Jasmine
• Ylang-ylang
• Geranium

Coffee

Wake up to the idea of using coffee to combat odors. Whether you grind it, brew it, or bake some beans in the oven, its smell is sure to enliven your senses and absorb odors, such as those from onions and garlic. Try setting out a few bowls of fresh ground coffee. Or, before offensive smells, like the trash, affect the whole room, place coffee grounds in the bottom of a new garbage bag.

Dried Herbal Potpourri

Create a pleasing homemade potpourri mix with a blend of beautiful dried flowers, fragrant herbs, and essential oils that are sure to fragrance any room. Discover the secrets by reading up on how to make herbal potpourri.

Fresh Herbal Bouquets

Lend a herbaceous scent to any room by placing freshly snipped herbs, such as geranium, peppermint, rosemary, and lavender, in tied bouquets or small bud vases. They are especially attractive when placed in odd-numbered groupings (e.g., three or five) on a dining room table.

Houseplants

What could be greener than houseplants that fill the air with delicious scents? In addition to scented kitchen herbs, here are some popular houseplants that are easy to grow but also have the added benefit of a fragrance:

• Plumeria
• Scented geranium
• Vining jasmine
• Orange jasmine
• Gardenia
• Stephanotis
  
• Freesia
• Hyacinth

Pomander Balls

Get creative and discover the fun in making this age-old, room-freshening technique of hanging cured, dried oranges studded with cloves. Homemade orange pomanders can also be hung in the pantry or closet as pest deterrents due to the chemical constituents in the clove buds.

Simmering Potpourri

This homemade air freshening idea has long been used by real estate agents, holiday party hosts, and cooks as a quick and easy way to freshen the whole house with an uplifting, spicy-citrus scent and to combat cooking odors, such as fish and onions.

Simply fill a small saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Add the ingredients you've chosen and allow them to boil for three minutes. Reduce the heat to low and let the brew simmer. Check the level of water every 30 minutes or so and add more as needed. As the essential oils are released from the citrus and spices, their antiseptic properties will naturally disinfect the air, and the recipes are simple.

Vinegar

Zap bacteria and disinfect the air naturally with vinegar. Fill an empty spray bottle with 1 part white vinegar to 4 parts water and spritz it into the air to freshen any room. Or, place a bowl of vinegar in the kitchen to remove cooking smells. Any lingering vinegar smell will quickly dissipate.

Natural Candles

A candle made with only natural ingredients can leave a cleaner, fresher scent in your home than a petroleum-based wax candle made with artificial fragrances. For example, 100 percent soy, beeswax, rapeseed, and coconut wax candles are typically scented with essential oils.