Carpets are a place where we sit and our children roll around and play on. We want this space to be a clean, safe place for our families to enjoy. Most store-bought carpet deodorizers contain synthetic chemicals and scents that can be hard on the respiratory track, those with environmental allergies, and can contain xenoestrogesns. Xenoestrogens are chemical substances thick mimic estrogen in the body and bind to hormone receptors. These chemicals can impact hormonal balance, estrogen dominance, and cause other potential health issues. Even after we vacuum, they can leave a toxic residue and fumes in our home that can impact our families health. A few of the chemicals you might find in a standard carpet powder include:
“perchloroethylene, Naphthalene, butyloxy, & ethanol. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) warns against possible damage to the liver, kidney’s, the central nervous system and are potentially carcinogenic”.
Green carpet cleaners are a nice alternative but are often 2-3x the price of conventional powders. Making my own carpet powder made sense as a solution for me to reduce the chemical load in my house while not breaking the bank. This recipe requires 2-ingredients and makes my carpet and house smell great!
DIY Natural Carpet Powder Recipe:
- 2 cups baking soda (ideally aluminum free)
- 10-15 drops of your favorite essential oil (for cleaning I love lemon, grapefruit, lavender, tea tree oil, rosemary, wild orange, peppermint, eucalyptus, clove or cinnamon oil.
- 1, 500 ml jar with a lid
Instructions:
- Put 1 cup of baking soda into the jar.
- Drop 1/2 of your essential oils in (I like to blend my oils too, so I might do 5 drops of lavender and 5 drops of lemon).
- Then I add the addition cup of baking soda and top the jar off with the remaining drops. Secure the jar with a lid and give it a good shake.
- Sprinkle the powder all over the carpet and let sit for 10 minutes, and then vacuum the carpet.
Gives this simple recipe a try and let me know how you liked it- happy green cleaning.