Even More Ways to Use Essential Oils
4:22 PM Posted by jo
Topical application and inhalation are the most common ways of using essential oils. There are other ways to incorporate essential oils into your life than just applying them on the body or inhaling the oils.
Here are some more tips so you quickly can get into the habit of using the essential oils in your daily life.
Cleaning and disinfecting
Add a few drops of oil to the dishwasher to help disinfect and purify. Essential oils can also be added to the sponge or the cloth for extra freshness. Common oils to use are fir, lavender, Melaleuca Alternifolia, pine, spruce, bergamot, orange and lemon.
Dishwashing Soap
Add several drops of essential oils like orange, tangerine, pine, lemon, and peppermint to a bottle of liquid soap. Use un-scented or natural soap if possible. Liquid castile soap can be used too.
Laundry
You can add essential oils to enhance the cleanliness and fragrance of the laundry. Recent research shows that eucalyptus oils kills dust mites. Add 25 drops of eucalyptus oil to each load for an effective dust mite control. You can also add 1 tablespoon to a bottle of liquid laundry detergent.
A few drops of oils like spruce, lavender, fir, juniper, rosewood, wintergreen/birch, cedarwood and juniper can also be added to the rinse cycle.
Use a dampened wash cloth with 10 drops of lavender, bergamot, lemon, or melaleuca instead of a softening agent in the dryer.
Carpets and floors
Make your own non-toxic aromatic and cleaning products for the carpet and floors.
Non-carpet floors
Add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to a bucket of water.
Add 5-10 drops of pine, spruce, melaleuca, or lemon.
Add several drops of dishwashing soap if the floor is especially dirty.
Carpet floors
Add 16-20 drops of essential oils
1 cup of baking soda
Mix well and put in a covered container overnight. Sprinkle over the carpet and then vaccum the powder.
Room deodorizer
Make a room spray to deodorize, freshen, and disinfect the bathrooms, work areas, sinks, tiles, woodwork, carpets, cupboards etc.
Mix:
Rosemary CT cineol 2 drops
Lemon 4 drops
Eucalyptus globulus 3 drops
Lavender 4 drops
1 cup of water
Add it to a spray bottle and shake well since essential oils separate easily from water.
For more natural cleaning recipes and tips check out my post, Cleaning with Essential Oils
Spiders, fleas, dust mites, ticks, ants and more
Repel these nasty little bugs with natural essential oils instead of with toxic chemicals.
Peppermint, lemon, lavender Eucalyptus globulus, citronella, basil, thyme,cinnamon, cypress, and lemongrass are insect repellents.
For
moth repellents for your linens and woolens use essential oils like
citronella, lemongrass, lavender instead of toxic moth balls. Rosemary
and Red Cedar may also be effective. Make a sachet by placing essential
oil drops on a cotton ball. Wrap and tie this in a small handkerchief or
similar. Hang in storage areas or add to the linens.
The sachet can also be put in the drawers. Switch out the essential oils for something pleasing like lavender or rose.
Roman
chamomile is very soothing and relaxing for children's sleepwear. Add a
scented cotton ball to an envelop to scent stationary.
The post the Chistmas Essential Oils provides some tips on how you can use essential oils during the holidays.
Hot Tubs and Saunas
Jacuzzis,
saunas and hot tubs are favorite spots for germs. You can disinfect the
water using essential oils like cinnamon, lavender, clove, lemon,
thyme, grapefruit or Eucalyptus globulus. Use 3 drops per person.
Add several drops of thyme, pine, rosemary
or lavender to a spray bottle with water and spray down the surfaces in
the sauna. You can also use scented water to splash down the hot sauna
stones.
Some oils may damage plastic sauna/spa filters or hoses.
Painting
Add
1 teaspoon of your favorite essential oil to one gallon of paint. Mix
well. The oil will counteract the unpleasant smell of the paint. The
essential oils ware not fatty oils so there is no need to worry about
leaving spots on the wall.
Before you leave:
I recommend that you always perform a skin patch test when you try a new oil.
Check out my safety page to make sure you are aware of any contrindications before you use essential oils. Some oils are not suitable when suffering from certain conditions. Also, Read this Before You Start Using Essential oils. Some oils should not be applied prior to sun exposure so make sure you check this list before spending time in the sun.
Not sure how to apply the oils? Visit these pages to learn how to apply the oils:
- Topical Application
- Inhaling Essential Oils
- Are You Diffusing the Oils Correctly?
- How to Dilute Essential Oils
- Vita Flex Technique
If you're new to essential oils you might want to check out my Getting Started Guide.
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