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Cleaning with Essential Oils

Posted on August 05, 2009 0

Cleaning with Essential Oils

Contributed by Shellie Enteen BA LMT 
from the free monthly Astralessence Newsletter
(sign up via website at the end of article)

To Green Clean with essential oils, all you need is some distilled white vinegar, baking soda, essential oils, water, a measuring cup and some recycled spray bottles or jam jars.

Essential oils to have on hand are Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia), which are known to have strong antibacterial properties, especially when mixed together. More of the effective essences used for cleaning are Lemon (Citus limon), Orange (Citrus sinensis), Pine (Pinus sylvestris), Eucalyptus (E. globulus), Thyme (Thymus vulgaris), Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), Clove (Eugenia caryophyllata) and others can be added for their fragrance and other properties.

In the near future, I will be announcing a free tele-seminar about making products. (October 8, 2009 see http://www.naha.org/ for more details).Click on this link to purchase a CD Recording of Shellie's tele-conference presentation.

For now, I will tell you one of my favorites: creating a healthy, "green" laundry experience that will also diffuse a fabulous fragrance into your home. It is important to find an all plant derived laundry liquid or powder. Many will be surprised to learn that Borax was banned in the UK 40 years ago because of toxicity to the human body. The phosphates that we abhor in the US don't affect us, but do create algae that harm fish populations. Not all brands in the health food store are Borax free. Ecover is a Borax free brand in health food stores and one in the main stream, is Purex. (You may well find others by reading labels.)

It's also important to stop using fragranced products which contain synthetic chemicals. Many holistic practitioners know that lots of 'symptoms' and environmental sensitivities are exacerbated or created by exposure to chemical fragrances.

So, begin by adding a Borax and fragrance free laundry product. Then measure out a cup of white vinegar and add at least 15 drops of a blend of Lavender and Tea Tree - with Eucalyptus if you want to rid laundry of dust mites, too. You can add other favorite essences, but not any that have a strong color...like Chamomile or Cedar. Then, just pour the vinegar and essential oils into the washing machine as it is filling with water and add clothes or linens.

A wonderful feature of using vinegar is the softening effect. And vinegar plus antibacterial essential oils will get your laundry cleaner in cold water washes than just using laundry soap. Create your own blend or purchase my favorite laundry blend that comes with a dropper top for easy dispensing.

If you try green cleaning with essential oils in your home, I'd love to hear your experiences!

Please contact Shellie directly at shellie@astralessence.comhttp://www.astralessence.com/

Shellie is also a regular contributor to MASSAGE TODAY Publication sharing her professional views on True Aromatherapy within the Massage Community.

Want to contribute to the NAHA Essential E-News column? We'd love for you to share your helpful aromatherapy recipes and green-awareness tips. We are also looking for information on the following: Marketing your aromatherapy business tips, diffusion blends, what do you do to be green etc.

Please fill out the Online Feedback Form and submit your writings in a WORD Document to Kelly at ashitherapy@skybest.com If your e-news is accepted for publication in a future NAHA e-newsletter you will be notified via email.

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