DIY Carpet Freshener with Antibacterial Qualities

Oh my goodness, I would give anything for smell-o-vision right now! My house smells AMAZING!

Let me catch you up on the last 24 hours to see what inspired this post!


So yesterday, my mother-in-law who is taking such good care of me and the three kiddos while hubby is at work (and now out-of-town) came down with a HORRIBLE cold/sinus thing and was so sick all day. Then after my son's nap, he woke up with the croupy cough! UGH! My 3 month-old baby girl has a thick, nasty nose now...so it is time to disinfect EVERYTHING!

I had already written a post about cleaning with rubbing alcohol and we went to town with that! But then I noticed my baby on the floor playing. She was on the fluffy, germ-catching rug putting toys in her mouth and smiling. Eeeew.  I needed to do something about that.



I am pretty lucky because my brother-in-law is a chiropractor and has an endless supply of natural ingredients and essential oils. Here is what we did to make a carpet freshener/cleaner that would help combat bacteria and help with the congestion that many in the house are experiencing!

Here is what we did , it is so simple!

 
First, measure 1/2 cup each of Borax (it's all-natural) and 1/2 cup of Arm & Hammer baking soda into a small mason jar.  Joann.com had a bunch for sale. I got both of the ingredients at Walmart and had some left from making my laundry detergent. See HERE how I made it...awesome!

Then, just drop 25 drops of essential oil (peppermint here) into the mix. I stirred it with a knife to break up the clump where the oil went in. It worked like a charm!



Now, if you had an old parmesan cheese container, that would be handy to use to sprinkle it on the carpet. But, it is not necessary. Just carefully shake the bottle or sprinkle with your hands liberally onto the carpet.  Make sure you wash your hands after as you shouldn't leave the oil on your skin...some people are sensitive to it.


Then, leave the mixture on for 20 minutes, then easily vacuum it away! It smells AMAZING! And, I can already feel my airway opening!


*Now, I am not a doctor and haven't studied peppermint qualities for myself. However, there are several articles like this one that tend to support the idea that peppermint and other essential oils have an antibacterial quality.  Therefore, I chose to use it in this mixture. You could certainly omit it if you didn't feel comfortable using it. The baking soda will help take out any of the odors you may have in your carpeting.

VARIATION:  You can also switch out the essential oil for a teaspoon of cinnamon. Although you usually need to ingest cinnamon to reap the benefits, some reports show that it also has an antibacterial effect. However, I would be cautious when using it on a pretty light carpet. I am not sure how much it would stain, but it does freshen the carpet.

I am SO excited about this recipe! It is so much more practical than the junk you buy in the big plastic containers! Artificial this, that & the other thing! :)  Try it out and let me know what you think!  I think I am going to camp out in the living room with the peppermint rug! Now, if only I could use the vacuum myself! 3 more weeks! :)

Don't forget to share this on FB to keep it on your timeline. AND Pin this and tweet! I would really appreciate it!  God bless!

Other DIY Cleaning Posts:
 - DIY Antibacterial Body Wash
 - DIY Antibacterial Hand Soap
 - DIY Laundry Soap
 - Unclog Your Shower Head

1 comment:

  1. Hi, I've never seen do-it-yourself antibacterial cleaners for carpets before, so I am going to give your mixture a try. We too have young children, so our carpets have been vomitted on and have had food spilt onto them. I highly recommend though using a professional carpet cleaning company when you have young children. The carpets are deep cleaned!

    Bennie Dixon @ Safeclean Wandsworth

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