There are recipes all over the internet for making your own natural Fabreeze/air/fabric freshener spray. Here is a super simple one that I found, like and actually use:
1 cup plain water
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vegetable glycerin*
1/2 teaspoon essential oil (for scent)
Put vinegar and water into 16oz spray bottle, mix glycerin and essential oil, pour into spray bottle; shake. You can double the recipe to make more, of coarse.
I have not made this without scent, but you could try it plain if scents bother you, using purely as an odor neutralizer. If you do, let me know how it works. I do notice that when you first spray it, you can definitely smell the vinegar. But after about 20 minutes the vinegar smell dissipates and the fragrance remains. The blend I’ve used is lavender EO (Essential Oil) and vanilla FO (Fragrance Oil) — leftovers from soapmaking (the vanilla oil I used was synthetic).
I use vinegar in place of liquid fabric softener (YES IT WORKS), and I also used the glycerin/fragrance oil combo in my vinegar. To use vinegar as a fabric softener, you do not add water, but just use straight, white vinegar. I haven’t found any scent combo to have much “staying power” when using the vinegar as a fabric softener. I’m guessing that synthetic softeners have a boatload of fragrance in them. I’m a bit skeptical, thinking that adding that much fragrance to vinegar could damage the clothes somehow. But I may try it on some old towels. Maybe. I just wouldn’t waste oodles of quality EO in my vinegar rinse. It would be rather costly.
*The glycerin works as a “carrier” for the EO, helping it to emulsify with the water/vinegar solution.
But does the essential oil stain fabrics or is it just so dilute it doesn’t matter? Also, where might one find vegetable glycerin? Thanks for the recipe, you rock!
Starr, I have not had a problem with staining; my guess is that, yes, it is too diluted to be a problem. Of coarse, as with anything, it is never a bad idea to spot-test.
I found vegetable glycerin at Hobby Lobby. I found glycerin at Wal-Mart, but it was not specifically labeled “vegetable” glycerin, so I did not get it. You can get it from Whole Foods (and probably other food stores). A little goes a long way.