TipNut (via Lifehacker) has four recipes for Homemade Febreeze. They mainly involve mixes of water fabric softener and maybe vinegar, baking soda or rubbing alcohol. Some of the commenters pointed out what a toxic dump fabric softener is (and undoubtedly so is fabric deodoriser too), so some healthier suggestions from the site included a number of recipes for Lavender Vinegar which could be used as a deodoriser. I’ve collated a few more from TipNut…
Easy Homemade Deodoriser: Fill a spray bottle with water or vinegar with around 12 drops of essential oils.
Multipurpose Herb Vinegar: Take a glass jar and put into it, 1 cup of chopped herbs (eg mint or basil – she also suggests chives and parsley). Heat 2 cups white wine vinegar and pour over the hebs. Seal the jar with the lid and leave to sit for 3 weeks. Shake the jar every other day. When the three weeks are up, strain and decanter into a spray bottle for deodorising goodness! As a bonus, apparently it can also be used on pets, in salads, to clean glass and for sunburns. Talk about multipurpose.
One of the readers also recommended a 1:1 mix of water and cheap vodka. I think adding some helpful essential oils like lavender or tea tree (if you’re not allergic to it!) would make that even better.
Tipnut also has some very nifty Homemade Herbal Cleaner Recipes. I’m going to have to try out at least one of them because the last time I used the commercial cleaner at work to clean my desk, it gave me such a painful headache, I was knocked out for the night.
