A few weeks ago I took a box of produce over to a neighbor’s house and I smelled their house.
From the mat outside their front door, I could tell that their house smelled good. Not like they were cooking something or baking something or anything like that. And it wasn’t even the scent of air freshener or a plug-in.
It just smelled clean. Fresh. And inviting.
It made me wonder what MY house smelled like. And honestly, I didn’t have high hopes.
I should clarify that under normal circumstances, we’re not a messy or dirty family. Sure my daughter sometimes leaves her crayons and coloring book on the floor. And my son sometimes leaves his recent LEGO creation on the kitchen counter. And there’s almost always a pile of shoes by the door and jackets on the stairs.
But that’s life, right? I mean, the house is usually no more than a quick 10 minute pick-up away from “company ready” and I promise there’s nothing gross growing in the kitchen.
But the house doesn’t every really smell “good.”
The days we’re baking rosemary olive oil bread or have homemade spaghetti sauce in the crockpot are an exception. Of course the house smells good on those days!
But what about all the other non-baking days? Does it smell like reheated leftovers and stinky feet?
Wow. I hope not!
I read last week that every home has a natural odor footprint – the way it smells because of what’s inside. It could be from garlic and onions and rosemary, it could be from harsh chemicals and cleaners or it could be from pets.
In any case, that book and the visit to my neighbor’s house gave me pause to consider what my own home smelled like. It made me want my home to smell inviting and welcoming to anyone who happened to be at the door.
More importantly, it made me want to look forward to a great smelling house when I opened my own front door!
Since 90% of our home is covered in carpet, I started there. If the carpet smells good, then there’s a good chance the rest of the house will smell good too.
As a kid, I remember mom using carpet deodorizer. She would shake this white stuff on the floor, let it sit and then vacuum it up later.
But we’re slowly upgrading the products we use in our home and while the base of the carpet deodorizer is likely safe, I’m not sure of the other stuff inside those containers that make the nice smell.
Not to mention that carpet deodorizers are expensive!
So I came up with a very easy DIY for homemade carpet deodorizer that uses just two ingredients. It’s simple, it’s fast and it really works!
DIY Homemade Carpet Deodorizer
Supplies
- 1 cup baking soda (we buy ours in bulk to save money)
- 30-40 drops essential oils of choice (see notes below)
- complementary herbs (optional)
- glass jar with measuring spoon OR a glass jar with a lid (see notes below)
Note: I know there are a lot of essential oil companies out there and I’ve certainly tried my fair share of brands. But after testing and researching and more testing, only one is worth spending money on (in my opinion). For a couple years now I’ve been committed to Young Living oils, and you can read more about their oils and my decision HERE.
However if Young Living is out of your reach, I’ve heard great things about Plant Therapy on Amazon.
Method
If you’re using herbs, grind them in an old coffee grinder or in a blender.
Combine ingredients in a container, cover with the lid and shake to combine well. Allow the ingredients to sit overnight so the essential oils can permeate the baking soda.
When you’re ready to use, sprinkle lightly over carpet using a measuring spoon or a shaker container (see notes below). Allow to sit for 15 minutes and then vacuum normally.
Note: Be sure to check with your vacuum manufacturer instructions to ensure baking soda won’t clog the filters and/or harm the machine.
Which Essential Oils Should You Use?
If you own pets, this is a great graphic that explains how to use essential oils around pets. Also, citrus essential oils naturally dissipate more quickly than other oils, so I’d avoid those if you want a long-lasting scent.
Bugs tend to steer clear of lavender and cinnamon scents. If you prefer blended scents, Purification and Thieves are both great. Another option is using essential oils that have purifying and cleansing properties too.
As for the herbs, matching the herb to the oil will give you the most powerful scent. For example, combining dried lavender with lavender essential oils.
You can also mix/match herbs and essential oils for fun, unique scents. Maybe citrus rind with peppermint essential oil? Or dried rosemary with lavender essential oil?
Really, it’s up to you as to what you want your house to smell like and what essential oils you have on hand at the time. That’s the beauty of making it yourself!
Additional DIY Tips
I found this shaker jar at the dollar store, but in the past I’ve used a glass mason jar with a measuring spoon (to avoid dumping the whole jar in one spot). Here are a few other creative ways to make your own shaker:
- old spice jar (the bigger ones from bulk purchases would be excellent!)
- Kraft parmesan cheese container
- make your own: trace a canning lid onto a piece of construction paper and cut out. Punch holes in the circle using a hole puncher. Place the circle and canning ring on the glass jar for a DIY shaker jar! I did this for a flour shaker and it works great!
Since baking soda absorbs odors, you can mix this up and allow it to sit on a bookshelf and it will also help to naturally freshen the room!
I’ve never been a big fan of cleaning, but let me say this – using homemade carpet deodorizer sure does make the vacuuming experience a whole lot more pleasant!
Are you ready to detox your home?
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How do you mix the oil and the baking soda? It becomes all wet !!
Shake it well then allow it to sit and dry overnight.
How do you make the smell long lasting.?
Which baking soda ? I found one on the bakery side called bio carbonate soda and found one on cleaning side called the same. But both had different textures.
The baking sodas are the same just different grains. Add essential oils for a better smell.
Just saw this post and loved the idea of making my own carpet deodorizer. I love using essential oils to make the house smell good. I have three teenagers and 7 dogs…. yes 7…. 4 are rescues that were with us to be re homed and they got re homed with us. Thanks to a broken pipe last spring I now only have carpets in the bedrooms. Always looking for ways to keep them fresh between steam cleanings. I mixed up my first batch tonight and can’t wait to try it out tomorrow. I had a good quality cinnamon oil so used it and right now I am still using winter scented wax melts so figured that would be a good fragrance to try. I have it sitting in my kitchen and it smells so good. Can’t wait to try it tomorrow on the carpets.
We have a very old cat (also called Tiffany!) who unfortunately is becoming incontinent and leaves puddles and worse on the floor! What oils should I use to deter her from using the carpet? She seems happy and although has an overactive thyroid, kept at bay with pills, we couldn´t possibly have her put down, unless she was suffering. We are the ones who suffer, having to clean up after her! She is 19, the oldest cat we have ever had.
Your blog is beautiful and very inspiring
Thank you! ♥
hi i want to get rid of the smell at my cars matting,spilled with coke and dried up and has a bad odor. Do you just drop the essential oil and mix it with baking soda?tnx in advance.
Hi Richard – per the instructions in the tutorial above, you mix the essential oil with the baking soda first, let it sit, and then sprinkle on the carpet.
Can you use fragrance oils instead
Felicia, I don’t see why not. =)
I used an empty jam jar, didn’t have a lid so I made a homemade one ☺️ made up the recipe which was so easy now I shall let it settle for 24hr and looking forward to using it.
You’re very welcome!
Could i use this with Vanilla extract? Love the smell of vanilla. Thoughts?
Hmmm… my first instinct is I wouldn’t do it, BUT if you let it sit and blend really well (so there’s no liquid whatsoever), then it might work.
Wow wow and wow. Lovethe simplicity of all the recipes.
I am very curious to know why your neighbor’s house smells so good, too! Wonder what they might say if you asked?? They would probably be honored.
Your blog is well written, concise and stands out above the others. When you described your neighbor’s house fragrance, I understood the exact impact of freshness that so impressed you. Thanks.
Iam wondering how long the effects last with this method. Looking forward to your response. Thanks.
I used this on a weekly basis Kim. 🙂
I use this very same formula (with Lavender and baking soda) on our mattresses twice a year. Also as MaryBeth mentioned, I use the lid from the Parmesan Cheese on my mason jars.
The lid from the parmesan chess should fir your regular mouth mason jars.
Yet another fantastic use for baking soda! Have the essential oils left any residual oil on the carpet or is there not enough added to make that much of a difference? Thanks, for experimenting with so many diy’s and sharing them
There isn’t enough added to make any difference, even when you shake and don’t wait overnight (like I did once, lol), so you should be good to go Ruthie!