It’s so fun to personalize these air fresheners with your favourite colour and scents of essential oils. Combine a few simple ingredients (ones you might already have in your pantry) to make your own all-natural air freshener!
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Helpful Tips:
How long does a DIY gel air freshener last? Can the scent be refreshed?
These gel air fresheners should last for at least 3 weeks, if not a month. The gel will slowly evaporate, sending the scent into the air all around the jar. If, after a couple weeks, the scent of the air freshener isn’t as strong as you’d like, you can simply add a few drops of essential oil to the top of it!
Do these gel air fresheners really need rubbing alcohol?
You technically don’t need rubbing alcohol if you only want your air freshener to last a few days. Without the alcohol you can expect your air freshener to start growing mold within a week. (Without alcohol, ours grew mold in 6 days). The rubbing alcohol helps to stop the growth of mold in your air freshener – There’s no sign of mold after 3 weeks in our batch using isopropyl alcohol! You can also use vodka or a preservative like potassium sorbate, which is a food preservative used in baking and wine making, to prevent mold. (Although we haven’t tested those ingredients ourselves). Do not use salt to preserve your gel air freshener. Salt prevents the gelatin from setting properly.
What type of food colouring is best for making a gel air freshener?
We used gel food colouring, simply because it was easier to control the colour of our gel air fresheners. But regular food colouring works just as well. Start by stirring in 1 drop of food colouring and go from there!
What scents are best for a DIY gel air freshener?
There are so many different essential oils, and choosing the best one is such a personal choice! You can even use an essential oils blend, or create one of your own. The best essential oil for an air freshener all depends on what kind of scent you’re looking for. Here are a few ideas:
Citrus scents: grapefruit, lemongrass, bergamot, yuzu, sweet orange Floral scents: lavender, rose, jasmine, gardenia, ylang ylang, chamomile, clary sage Fresh and clean scents: spearmint, peppermint, cedarwood, sandalwood, eucalyptus Spicy and complex scents: ginger, patchouli, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom
What is a frog lid? Does my DIY gel air freshener need a lid?
Frog lids are lid inserts for mason jars that have crisscrosses, or grids, of wire in them. They’re often used to arrange flowers so they stay in place where you want them! We used the frog lids mostly as a decorative lid for our gel air fresheners. If you’d like to make your gel air freshener last longer and have the scent disperse more gradually, you should definitely add some sort of lid to your air freshener. You can add a mesh strainer lid to your jar, or you can use a nail to poke holes in a regular mason jar lid. If you want to add a different look to your air freshener, place a square of tulle, or another breathable fabric, beneath the canning ring.
How can I clean the jar when the air freshener is done?
Simply use a spoon to scoop out as much of the remaining gel from the jar as possible and throw it in the garbage. Run hot water to melt away the rest of the gelatin, and then wash the jar like normal. So easy!
Make your own gel air freshener at a fraction of the price you can find them at the store. These DIY air fresheners also make a great homemade gift for a housewarming, birthday, or any other special occasion!
Here’s even more fun DIY ideas:
DIY Pumpkin Spice Candles
How to Make Bath Bombs
How to Make Wax Melts
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
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