11 Homemade Air Fresheners to Make Any Space More Inviting

Commercial air fresheners are expensive and laden with chemicals. Get rid of those harmful chemicals by making your own air fresheners. Whether you want a spray air freshener or a jar freshener, your house will smell amazing in no time.

Ingredient List to Make Your Own Air Freshener

When it comes to making your own air freshener, there are a few different ways you can do it. Therefore, having a solid supply list has you well on your way to getting rid of those chemical air fresheners.

• Essential oils
• Rubbing alcohol
• Spray bottle
• Baking soda
• Gelatin
• Salt
• Glass spray bottle
• Mason jar
• Water beads
• Plastic wrap
• Pin
• Rubber band
• Vanilla extract

Homemade Spray Air Freshener

Commercial air fresheners are filled with chemicals that are meant to neutralize or mask odors. They can be expensive if you use them often, and sometimes the scents used to mask odors can be overpowering. Making your own homemade spray air freshener is simple, costs much less, and allows you to control how much fragrance you use.

Simple Essential Oil Recipe

If you are looking to create some simple homemade air fresheners to spice up your living space, then you need to grab some essential oils, rubbing alcohol, and a spray bottle.

1. Add 1 cup of distilled water to a glass spray bottle.
2. Use 20 drops of your favorite essential oils. It can also be fun to mix scents.
3. Remember that you can always add more if you prefer a stronger scent, so proceed with caution.
4. Shake well to mix.

You can try any combinations you want to find the perfect scent. For example, you might add lavender and chamomile to create a calming scent. You could also use vanilla and cinnamon for a more holiday feel.

Lemony Zest Spray Air Freshener

You can also liven up your living room with lemon. For this recipe, you need to grab a lemon and baking soda.

1. Dissolve 2 tablespoons of baking soda into 2 cups of hot water.
2. Add ½ cup of lemon juice to the mix.
3. Pour it into a spray bottle.
4. Shake, spray, and enjoy.

Quick Baking Soda Recipe

This air freshener contains baking soda to help neutralize odors rather than just covering them up. And once the odors are gone, you can add your own pleasing fragrance by adding essential oils.

1. Put the 1 tablespoon of baking soda in a small bowl or dish and add as much essential oil as you desire.
2. Mix the baking soda with the essential oil until the oil has been absorbed by the baking soda.
3. Pour the baking soda into a spray bottle and fill the bottle to the top with distilled water.
4. Shake, spray, and enjoy!

Vodka and Essential Oil Recipe

If you are looking to give your air freshener a bit of disinfecting power, you can add vodka to the air freshener mix. This also works well to diffuse the essential oils into the water.

1. Add a cup of water to a spray bottle.
2. Pour in 2 tablespoons of high-proof vodka.
3. Shake 15-20 drops of your favorite oils.
4. Shake well before spraying.

Rubbing Alcohol and Essential Oil Recipe

Don't have any vodka lying around. Don't worry about it. You just need to reach for the rubbing alcohol.

1. After adding a cup of water to the spray bottle, drop in 2-3 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol.
2. Add 15-20 drops of your favorite essential oil.
3. Cap and shake the mixture well before spraying.

Again, this recipe opens up the possibility to create custom scents by using different essential oil ratios.

Vanilla and Essential Oil Recipe

If you're a big fan of vanilla, then you might not be getting your air freshener as potent as you like. In that case, it's time to bring out the big guns with vanilla extract.

1. Fill a spray bottle with about a cup of water.
2. Add 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract.
3. Add up to 15 drops of lavender or citrus essential oils to round out your scent.
4. Shake and spray your space.

Disinfecting Air Freshener

Alcohol and some essential oils are known to have disinfecting properties. When used together, they can freshen your home and get rid of germs. To disinfect while freshening, follow this recipe.

1. Add about 5-10 drops of white thyme, tea tree, and clove essential oils into a glass spray bottle.
2. Add 2-3 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol
3. Pour in ¾ cups of water.
4. Shake well before spraying.

DIY Air Freshener With Fabric Softener

Do you love the scent of Downy? Why not create a fabric freshener using the scent? For this method, you need to grab your fabric softener and baking soda.

1. Pour 2 tablespoons of baking soda into a spray bottle.
2. Add ¼ cup of fabric softener.
3. Fill with hot water.
4. Shake well to mix.

When reusing this homemade air freshener, you need to remember to shake it to mix before each spray since the baking soda can settle.

Mason Jar Baking Soda Air Freshener

Not everyone wants or needs an air freshener that you can spray. Maybe you aren't too keen on breathing that stuff in. Well, you don't have to. Instead, you can create a mason jar air freshener with baking soda and essential oils.

1. Fill a mason jar halfway up with baking soda. (This is going to absorb bad odors.)
2. Put 10-20 drops of essential oil into the baking soda.
3. Put plastic wrap over the top and secure it with a rubber band.
4. Use the pin for popping holes in the plastic wrap to release the scent.

Homemade Air Freshener Beads

Water beads are attractive decorations and can be used to make little scent jars. You need some water beads, a jar, and scents.

1. Allow a tablespoon of water beads to soak in water overnight, more for bigger jars.
2. Drain the water and add them to the mason jar.
3. Sprinkle 10-20 drops of your favorite essential oils over them.

If you want to make your beads colorful, you can add a bit of food coloring to the water you soak your beads in. If your beads shrink, you can rehydrate and add more scents.

How to Make Gel Air Fresheners

Gel air fresheners release a constant scent that can help to freshen nearby air. These homemade gel air fresheners last about 6 weeks; place them in the bathroom, the car, near a litter box, or anywhere you want a pleasant scent.

1. Pour 1 to 2 teaspoons of essential oil into a mason jar.
2. Boil one cup of water and dissolve the four packets of gelatin in the boiling water.
3. Add one cup of water and 1 tablespoon of salt.
4. Mix well and remove from heat.
5. Pour the gelatin mixture into the jar. You may wish to use a funnel to help direct the liquid without spills.
6. Stir the mixture in the jar to get an even mix of the scent.
7. Let the jar sit undisturbed for 24 hours to allow the gelatin to cool and set.

You can choose to add food coloring to make the jar look more decorative.

Freshen Your Home

Homemade air fresheners can be as strong or as subtle as you want them to be. Experiment with making your own air fresheners using your favorite scents and see how easy and inexpensive it is to freshen your home.