Different cultures and traditions have used essential oils either for medicinal or just help purposes. These essential oils use ranges from house holding cleaning products, personal beauty, natural medicine treatments and aromatherapy. Essential oil for home cleaning has become very come because of several reasons. For instance, it is considered as a safe cleaning method that does not have any bad effects at home.
Through the process of distillation or extraction from different plant parts, it becomes possible to get particles that form essential oils. Example of these plant parts include leaves, bark, roots, resin, peels not forgetting flowers,. In early ages, the Egyptians and Jewish made essential oils by first soaking the plants in the oil and then afterward filtering the oil juice through a linen bag.
The benefits of essential oils come from their antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Some the reason why essential oils are growing in popularity at a faster rate is because they act as natural medicine without having side effects. Below are some the uses of the essential oils especially for the purpose of the home clean.
Modern cleaning products
Living a healthy lifestyle is not as easy as it may seem. Especially today when the majority of the cleaning products require particular surfactants and chemicals or just simply put cleansing agent to ensure they work in a proper order. It is important to be aware of their potential effects besides knowing what they are. In addition, it is essential to look for new ways to learn about alternative safety to reduce the amount of exposure to these toxins.
Below are some of the common chemicals:
• DEA(Diethanolamine)
This is can be easily accessed in over 600 personal and home care products, for example, shampoos, conditioners, cosmetics, soups, dishwashing detergents and bubble baths. DEA is suspected of being very dangerous to health they also contain carcinogenic activity which causes or majorly contributes to cancer.
• Propylene Glycol
This is one of the major ingredients found in anti-freeze; it is also common in deodorants, cosmetics, shampoos, toothpaste, baby wipes, lotion and processed foods among other personal care items. This causes kidney damage, liver abnormalities, and dermatitis; can damage to cell membranes causing dry skins, in addition it can damage skin surface causing rashes.
• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Some of it is industrial uses engine degreasers, car wash detergents, and concrete floor cleaners. In addition, it is also found liquid soaps, shampoos, cleansers, conditioners children’s personal care products and toothpaste. SLS is found in majority of the toothpastes; its absorption is through the skin contact and is retained for long period of time.
• Talc
Talc is similar to asbestos chemically, talc has been suspected to cause ovarian cancer. It is found in many baby powders and body powders in addition to cosmetics.
• Alcohol
Surprisingly majority of the mouthwash products contain a higher alcohol content percentage than most alcoholic beverages for example wines, beers, spirits etc. These alcohol percentages are as high as 25% in some of this mouth wash products. It is this high percentage that have alleged to cause tongue, throat and mouth cancer. The main reason being inside the mouth; alcohol acts as a solvent. This makes tissues highly at risk to carcinogens.
Essential cleaning solutions
It is not entirely possible to avoid all chemicals found in your personal care products and cleaning products, but there is a various way to reduce to a certain level your family s exposure to these chemicals. Making use of therapeutic oils is safe as an alternative to many cleaning products bought from the commercial stores. So of these essential oils are as follows spruce, eucalyptus, thyme, lemon, lemongrass cloves, cinnamon grapefruit and lemongrass. Should put in mind these ideas for a naturally clean, powerful cleaning:
Household cleaner:
• First, you need to fill water and a squirt of dishwashing soap in a spray bottle
• Secondly you will need to add 3-5 drops of pine essentials oils, lemon and lavender
• Remember to shake well
Floor cleaner:
• First you need to a bucket full of water then add ¼ cup white vinegar to it
• Secondly you will add 5-10 drops of pine, spruce melaleuca, purification essential oil and lemon
Fight dust mites:
• According to the recent research eucalyptus oil kills dust mites that are found bedding.
• So you will need to add 25 drops of this essential eucalyptus oil to laundry for an effective
Saunas:
• It is essential to remember to use 3 drops of grapefruit, lavender, clove, eucalyptus, thyme and lemon to freshen the water and eventually disinfect it.
• In the case of saunas, you need to add several drops of thyme, pine, lavender or rosemary to a spray bottle and spray surfaces. The water can still be useful in the spraying onto sauna stones.
Kitchens and bathrooms:
• First, you need to mix 2 drops of rosemary, 3 drops eucalyptus 4 drops of lavender and 4 drops of lemon into 1 liter of quart water.
• Remember to shake well before putting it into a spray bottle
Window cleaner:
• First, you have to mix 1 litter of quart spray bottle: 10 -15 drops of lemon oil, 1 cup white vinegar, water.
In the dryer:
• Put your stained piece of cloth in washcloth with 10 drops of lemon, melaleuca, and lavender
• Oils may not reduce stubborn stains in themselves but they will introduce a lovely fragrance to clothes.
Healthy cooking:
If you are looking to add Variety and flavour to your cooking, you should consider adding 1 – 2 drops of lime to fresh salsa, lemon to grilled fish, oregano to homemade pasta sauce and peppermint to hot cocoa.
Home purification:
To keep your home smelling nice and free of odors you can use air freshening solutions.
Stain removal:
• You need to use 1 – 2 drops lemon oil on stains, rub it with a clean piece of cloth or alternatively throw it into laundry cycle.
Alternatively, try using thieves household cleaner. The only thing you will be required to do is to put a dab of the concentrate on the stain. In most cases, it works properly on old grease stains, after that you will be required to rub it and let it sit for about a minute and then eventually launder. This is one of the safest methods to use for the perfect cleaning solution.