DIY Cinnamon Lavender Carpet Freshener Spray
I love natural carpet freshener spray!
Carpets collect things like dust, dirt, allergens, fungal spores, and germs like bacteria and viruses. And some carpets even start to smell bad over time.
Vacuuming is key! (And vacuums work best when they’re regularly cleaned.)
Misting with a DIY natural carpet freshener can help you keep it inviting, too!
I like using Cinnamon hydrosol to freshen my carpets. It makes the entire room smell sweet, spicy, and inviting! Adding a few drops of Cinnamon Leaf essential oil helps reduce the potency of those unwelcome microbes, too.
How Cinnamon Leaf freshens carpet: eugenol!
Cinnamon leaf oil is rich in eugenol.
Studies on eugenol show this little molecule has big actions against certain types of bacteria, viruses, and fungi. One 2014 study tested multiple oils and components and found that eugenol was “very active against influenza virus following exposures of only ten minutes.”
Cinnamon Leaf oil contains over 70% eugenol!
It’s the perfect choice for a DIY carpet freshener spray. The eugenol protects your health—and using a natural recipe means you’re not spraying harsh chemical substances all over your carpet (which can cause a lot of negative reactions).
I’m also adding lavender oil to this blend. Lavender softens the cinnamon with a sweet, soft, floral note.
Cinnamon Lavender Carpet Spray
This freshener spray works best on carpets that are already vacuumed, but you can use it between vacuuming sessions to refresh the room.
Ingredients
100 ml Cinnamon Hydrosol (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)
8 ml Solubol (dispersant)
36 drops Lavender Oil (Lavandula angustifolia)
14 drops Cinnamon Leaf Oil (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)
Equipment
One 4 oz (120 ml) glass spray bottle
Directions
Make this natural carpet freshener spray in a 4 oz (120 ml) glass bottle, or just blend directly in your bottle of cinnamon hydrosol
Combine the hydrosol, Solubol, and essential oils.
(Solubol is a dispersant that helps keep the essential oils distributed through the water-based hydrosol.)Close the bottle, and give it a shake.
Mist it all over your carpets!
This freshener spray works best on carpets that are already vacuumed, but you can use it between vacuuming sessions to refresh the room. Another great choice for that is to use a room spray. Try this recipe from our blog!
Balancing the aromas: Cinnamon & Lavender
Did you notice how much more lavender oil there is in this recipe than cinnamon leaf? There are a few reasons for that!
First, cinnamon has a strong aroma. The hydrosol and essential oil combined might overwhelm the lavender if the drop count is too low. Feel free to add a bit more (or less) lavender based on what your nose likes!
Second, I don’t want to include too much cinnamon leaf essential oil.
While eugenol has powerful actions against microbes, it can also irritate skin or mucous membranes. Less is more with eugenol!
Safety notes!
I suggest using this mist on carpets where you don’t have pets or babies crawling around. The essential oils can easily get overwhelming, especially for babies (or fur babies!) who have their faces so close to the carpet all the time.
Just leave a room in your home unsprayed so pets can go to a space with no oils, or wait a day or so before letting animals and babies back on your carpet.
REFERENCES
Friedman, M., Henika, P.R., Mandrell, R.E. (2002) Bactericidal activities of plant essential oils and some of their isolated constituents against Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella enterica. Journal of Food Protection®, 65(10), 1545-1560.
Friedman M, Henika P.R., Levin CE, Mandrell RE. (2014) Antibacterial activities of plant essential oils and their components against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica in apple juice. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2004 Sep 22;52(19):6042-8. doi: 10.1021/jf0495340. PMID: 15366861.
Pinto, E., Vale-Silva, L., Cavaleiro, C. and Salguero, L. (2009) Antifungal activity of the clove essential oil from Syzygium aromaticum on Candida, Aspergillus and dermatophyte species. Journal of Medical Microbiology 58, 11, 1454-1462.
Tragoolpua, Y. and Jaatisatienr, A. (2007) Anti-herpes simplex virus activities of Eugenia caryophyllus (Spreng.) Bullock & S. G. Harrison and essential oil, eugenol. Phytotherapy Research 21, 12, 1153-1158.
Vimalanathan, S., Hudson, J. (2014) Anti-influenza virus activity of essential oils and vapors. American Journal of Essential Oils and Natural Products. 2(1), 47-53.
