gel air freshners?

surfsister

jlw wrote:

After reading the book thought I would attempt to make the gel air freshener on page 59. Any ideas where I can buy distilled water, essential oils and glass containers to put the gel in. Any help gratefully appreciated.

#

Just spend ages looking through the wron martin's book for the gel freshener!!! still; found some good tips. Off to buy some gelatin.

surfsister

vivw wrote:

Mine also all went mouldy after a couple of days and I was wondering what I did wrong.
Do i give up or is there something i should have done?

Did you use tap water and not distilled water?

Gingernutmeg

I *think* that even using distilled water (which is water that has been boiled and condensed to remove impurities - it's not the same stuff that come out out of driers, freezers, ices cubes etc) will cause mould to grow eventually - after all, the jelly stuff that is used in petri dishes is more or less similar stuff (in fact if you use the vegetarian gelatine (agar agar) then it is the same stuff lol). Having a warm, moist jar of this provides perfect conditions for mould to grow ...

I want to have a go at these but I don't fancy having jars of mould around the house, and so I was wondering whether there was any way to make these more acidic, and so inhibit the mould growth ... maybe adding some vinegar? Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is used as a preservative in food ... maybe adding a little bit of this might help? I'm just thinking here - might have to go and do some kitchen science lol

Gingernutmeg

Roz_V wrote:

Would the same principle work for making that "water" stuff you see in vases of fake flowers?

I've got some posh looking fake flowers and some lovely vases and was wanting to get that "water" effect in the vase... would I use the same mixture but without the essential oil and the colouring??

I'm not sure that this would work ... The water stuff in the vases is resin, not jelly. Having the stems in this might damage your flowers, especially if they're the kind with a metal core. They might end up going quite rusty ...

spl2nh

Does anyone know if I wrap them in tin foil will I be able to use them at a later date or will they have evaporated? I don't fancy having twelve around the house all at once so would like to preserve some.

Thanks

Spendless

Gingernutmeg wrote:

I *think* that even using distilled water (which is water that has been boiled and condensed to remove impurities - it's not the same stuff that come out out of driers, freezers, ices cubes etc) will cause mould to grow eventually -

I bought distilled water from halfords and didn't have a problem with mould, but mine weren't strong smelling enough and I did get rid before they had shrivelled up.

Holly_Golightly_2

I have found some information on the internet that suggests using salt as a mould inhibitor for homemade gel air fresheners. One website I found suggests either 1-2 tablespoons of salt OR potassium sorbate OR a splash of vodka! Click here.

echo

i bought a box of gelatine from Sainsbury's a few mths ago and only realised last week that there weren't individual sachets inside.i've been to tesco's and asda's and they only sell the boxes.so i haven't a clue how much gelatine i need to weigh out.can anybody help???

echo

anybody????

Pink.

Hi echo,

I'm afraid that I don't know the answer, but the replies on this thread might help?

how many sheets of gelatine= 3 tbsp?

Pink