Using Aromatherapy for a Healthy Home

Read this article about lesser-known uses of aromatherapy and use of essential oils in home care, for driving off bugs and mice, in bath and take care of furniture.

Aromatherapy refers to the use of selected fragrant substances as oils, lotions, inhalants and other forms to affect the mood of an individual and promote his or her health. In home, we can make use of these tips while bathing in bathrooms and feel fresh for the whole day and even get rid of all those bugs, insects and cockroaches in hidden corners of our homes. Today, fragrant aromatherapy candles or a bag of aromatherapic potpourri is quite in vogue and are known for their calming and stimulating effects and are quite effective as energizers too. Make sure that you are not allergic to any of the substances used here before you make use of them. Here are some aromatic therapeutic solutions you can use for your home:

Aromatherapy uses essential oils extracted out of fragrant plants by compressing them. They are either inhaled or mixed with bath water to affect the mood as desired. They are also used to keep away insects, freshen up clothes and polish furniture.

Essential oils get absorbed through our skin in our body and can heal us by stimulating specific areas of our brain, whether they are mixed with bath water or used for massaging our body.

A healthy spray that protects your houseplants and garden can be prepared by adding 6 to 8 drops of the mixture in a gallon of water prepared by mixing together lavender and thyme oils. Thyme oil in water helps to grow healthier cabbage and cauliflower while basil oil favor growth of broccoli, potatoes and tomatoes. Yarrow oil for cucumbers, chamomile for onions and carrot extract for lettuce are a blessing for your kitchen garden.

Add 2 tablespoons of soap dissolved in 2 cups of boiling water to two cups of turpentine and one cup of melted natural beeswax and then add 10 drops of cedar wood, cypress or sandalwood oil to make a great-looking furniture polish that can be used for all wood finishes.

For the fresh smelling clothes, throw a cloth with two drops of bergamot, lavender, neroli, cedar wood, petit grain and sweet orange oils in the dryer with them.

Mix about 6 drops of lavender, lemongrass, citronella and peppermint oils in one cup of water to prepare a room spray that can rid us of mosquitoes, ants and cockroaches.

Mix together citronella oil, cedar wood oil, garlic and clothes freshener and put a couple of its drops in the collar of your pet without diluting it. It gets rid of the fleas in the fur of your pets and do not harm them a bit.

Mix together eucalyptus, thyme, rosemary, tea tree, lemon and marjoram oils. To immune yourself and your family against colds, make a room spray by adding six drops of the preparation per cup of water or adding 4 to 9 drops of it in the water of a humidifier.

Mix together lemon, bergamot, lavender, sweet orange, oregano and thyme oils and mix 8 drops of it in a liter of warm water to use a bathroom freshener. You can also use it as a cleaner by pouring 2 to 3 drops of undiluted mixture on a wet sponge and wipe down all surfaces using wash water. Add more oil to the sponge when necessary.

Pour a few drops of undiluted peppermint and spearmint oils near the living areas, edges of the ceiling and other holes to drive off mice and other bugs from the home.