Any Chemical Buffs out there? DIY Plug-in refill for air freshener

shelleywa

Hi all,

After finding many recipes online, I have recently been experimenting with refilling those nasty chemical air freshener plug-ins with my own (safe) scents, using essential oils and water. Damn site cheaper, too!

But the wick inside them doesn't like water. At all! It poofs out, like some people's hair in extreme humidity and only really works for one refill. The next time, it's so soggy, I can't get it back in the bottle. I'm guessing the liquid inside the "official" manufacturer's refills aren't water because they don't behave like that :think: There has to be another way!

I make DIY air freshener for spray bottles and they contain Vodka. I wonder if something similar would work here. But I don't really want to blow the house to Kingdom come in the process. The ingredients for Air Wick Plug-in refill are this:

Parfum
Butylphenyl Methylpropional
Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone
Citronellol
Limonene
Citral
Cinnamyl Alcohol
Eugenol


I'm no Chemistry buff but I can certainly see a few words in there that would suggest I could use Vodka. Are there any Chemistry Pros out there that can help me please?

Fire_Fox

Biology is highly relevant in formulation, not just chemistry. If you don't know what you are doing please leave well alone.

Using water as your carrier without an appropriate preservative but with gentle heat leaves you wide open to microbial growth (bacteria/ moulds).

Vodka is not a neat alcohol, it contains water. It is not a safe carrier or solvent nor a preservative. Essential oils are not safe either. They contain numerous allergens and irritants, some of which become much more so when exposed to light/ air/ heat.

That is not the complete ingredients list, as you might find on a skincare, cosmetic or pharmaceutical product. It is a list of the common fragrance allergens present in the proprietary 'parfum' blend, as required under EU law. The solvents/ base is not listed.

HTH.

shelleywa

Fire Fox, thanks for your input.

The essential oils I would be using are antibacterial/anti-fungal/antimicrobial. Also, I have found these DIY ones last only for 1-2 days when plugged in, hopefully not long enough for anything nasty to grow. The oils are 100% pure and natural, not the cheaper synthetic ones.

Ref the carrier, I am at a loss, if the manufacturer does not (and does not have to) list the carrier they use. Whatever it is, it doesn't have the same effect on the wick that water does.

Looks like it's back to the drawing board (oil burner), if that is the lesser of the 2 evils.

Thanks for your help.

suki1964

here'sa radical idea

Open a window or three

EssexExile

Agreed, open windows. Why replace one unpleasant odour with a new unpleasant odour?

Fire_Fox

shelleywa wrote: »

The essential oils I would be using are antibacterial/anti-fungal/antimicrobial. Also, I have found these DIY ones last only for 1-2 days when plugged in, hopefully not long enough for anything nasty to grow. The oils are 100% pure and natural, not the cheaper synthetic ones.

Given the right conditions, bacteria can double in number every twenty minutes.

If you don't know what you are doing please leave well alone, or take an accredited course on formulation. Or follow properly formulated recipes from one of the many reputable suppliers of pharmaceutical-grade and cosmetic-grade ingredients.

Many allergens, irritants, toxins and poisons are completely natural. All bar one of the EU fragrance allergens are isolated from 'pure' essential oils. Many 'pure' essential oils are unsafe for pregnant women, babies/ young children and animals, even when well diluted.

Essential oils are not a substitute for proper broad spectrum preservatives. Any anti-bacterial or anti-fungal properties are dependent on the concentration, distribution, pH of the finished formula, solvents/ diluent and other ingredients, the storage container ....

HTH.

rach_k

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Given the right conditions, bacteria can double in number every twenty minutes.

If you don't know what you are doing please leave well alone, or take an accredited course on formulation. Or follow properly formulated recipes from one of the many reputable suppliers of pharmaceutical-grade and cosmetic-grade ingredients.

Many allergens, irritants, toxins and poisons are completely natural. All bar one of the EU fragrance allergens are isolated from 'pure' essential oils. Many 'pure' essential oils are unsafe for pregnant women, babies/ young children and animals, even when well diluted.

Essential oils are not a substitute for proper broad spectrum preservatives. Any anti-bacterial or anti-fungal properties are dependent on the concentration, distribution, pH of the finished formula, solvents/ diluent and other ingredients, the storage container ....

HTH.

Exactly this!

If you believe that essential oils are powerful enough to be beneficial (e.g. antibacterial), then you must also believe that they are powerful enough to do harm. Reading random bloggers sharing recipes doesn't count as doing research, because 99% of the time they're just repeating rubbish they've read from another blogger.

stragglebod

Get some houseplants - Aloe or spider plants are especially good for getting rid of odours.


And yes, windows open.

shelleywa

suki1964 wrote: »

here'sa radical idea

Open a window or three

Well yes, that is very obvious. But I want to keep the nice smelling aromas INSIDE the house

shelleywa

rach_k wrote: »

Exactly this!

If you believe that essential oils are powerful enough to be beneficial (e.g. antibacterial), then you must also believe that they are powerful enough to do harm. Reading random bloggers sharing recipes doesn't count as doing research, because 99% of the time they're just repeating rubbish they've read from another blogger.

Totally agree with this. I think the idea of DIY plug-in refills is a great idea because I find plug-ins to be more effective than any other home fragrance method. But those commercial plug-in refills are SO toxic. I find essential oils to be wonderful for so many things and feel that there must be a way to utilise them safely for plug-in refill recipes. I spent a few hours yesterday, trying to find a more reliable source but, as you said, just found many regurgitated recipes on different non-expert blogs. So I instead bought a plug-in specifically designed for just essential oils and water. It may not be the perfect solution but it's a good start, until I have more time to look into this subject more thoroughly.

shelleywa

EssexExile wrote: »

Agreed, open windows. Why replace one unpleasant odour with a new unpleasant odour?

What makes you think I want to get rid of an unpleasant odour? I like the different aromatherapy smells.