Everybody wants a clean and great smelling home, which is why air fresheners are such hot selling items in hardware stores and supermarkets. Be careful though, commercial air fresheners are filled with VOCs (volatile organic compounds) that put toxins into the air.
There are plenty of natural, healthy ways to keep the air that circulates in your home as fresh and sweet smelling as possible.
Here are some tips and ideas:
* Open the windows.
Assuming weather conditions and outdoor air quality permit it, just open the windows to optimize ventilation.
* Sprinkle baking soda.
Baking soda absorbs odors. Sprinkle a small amount on stale carpets and vacuum. Or put a box of baking soda in your fridge to eliminate food smells.
* Decorate your home with plants
Potted houseplants help take VOCs and carbon dioxide out of the air as shown by research done by Dr. Bill Wolverton for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). (http://www.nasa.gov/) Boston ferns are especially good for removing formaldehyde and the Peace Lily is ideal for reducing acetone.
* Use aromatherapy.
Burning a few drops of essential oils such as lavender, lemon and verbena in a diffuser with hot water will do wonders for ‘cleansing the air’ and imparting a wonderfully natural fragrance. You can also make your own aromatherapy room spray by mixing 8-10 drops of essential oil(s) with 2 ounces of water filled in a spray bottle.
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Great stuff! Baking soda is very smart. I would also recommend an air filter, frequent house cleaning and use an exhaust fan when cooking and bathing (pushes out carbon monoxide when cooking and help mold being produced when bathing). Go green!
There’s a lot of doubt surrounding which methods/products are truly sustainable and which are just green washing. Check out our myth-busting video “What’s Your Big Green Lie?!” which gives a taste of the widespread ignorance of green issues including those surrounding indoor air quality at http://www.biggreenlies.com