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How To Make A Vanilla Air Freshener Spray

January 27, 2013 by Beverly

 

Some people love those store bought air freshener sprays.

Not Me.

I think they’re too strong and they make me want to cough.  I’m just not a fan.  Sorry.

So what do I do if I want to add a welcoming scent to a room?  I make my own vanilla air freshener spray instead!

air freshener spray 2

This recipe came about quite by accident for me.  I started out trying to make a spray with some essential oils but just wasn’t finding a combination that satisfied me.   The more I thought about what scent I might enjoy, I realized, HEY, how about plain old vanilla?  I like plain old vanilla.  I like it a lot!

I tinkered around (which thankfully is fun for me) and came up with this DIY vanilla air freshener spray.   It’s sooo much nicer than the fake flowery smells of the store bought sprays.

It’s super simple too!  Just combine the cheap imitation vanilla extract with some water and you’re good!  Be sure to use a Mist Bottle , not a spray bottle.  A spray bottle shoots out too heavy of a stream and you’ll get things around the room wet.  Spritzing some of this spray up into the air with a mist bottle works perfectly.

DIY VANILLA AIR FRESHENER SPRAY

You will need:

  • 1 Cup Water

  • 3 Tablespoons Imitation Vanilla Extract

  • Mist Bottle

Combine the water and the vanilla extract.  Place in a mist bottle.  To use, spritz some of the spray up into the air as needed to add the warm cozy smell of vanilla to the room.

How about you?  What’s your favorite scent to freshen a room?

 

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Filed Under: Cleaners Tagged With: cleaners

Comments

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  1. Gemma Benn says

    January 23, 2019 at 9:09 am

    Can you put the liquid into a oil burner?

    Reply
    • BeverlyBeverly says

      January 27, 2019 at 7:38 pm

      I don’t think this mixture is concentrated enough (because it is just lightly scented water) to work in an oil burner.

      Reply
  2. Jenny says

    October 26, 2018 at 8:50 pm

    Thank you for sharing this! Making the spray was quick and super easy. Smells great! Vanilla is my favorite. I won’t purchase anymore air fresheners from now on. Making my own. Also, you know those little beads that you can add to your load of laundry? Those work too, mix them with warm water so that they dissolve and whaaaalaaaaa 🙂

    Reply
  3. Cindy says

    April 14, 2018 at 4:35 pm

    I am wondering if you could empty out one of those little plug in bottles and make a mix like this and fill the bottle and plug it back in to get the smell all of the time.

    Reply
    • BeverlyBeverly says

      April 15, 2018 at 7:27 pm

      I think this would probably work Cindy. I have seen people make DIY refills with essential oils and water so I think the vanilla extract and water might work too as a plugin refill.

      Reply
  4. debbie says

    November 26, 2017 at 4:01 pm

    quick and easy smells ok, im gonna try this with lemon juice but start with half the juice and add as u like

    Reply
  5. Emily says

    December 13, 2015 at 6:50 pm

    How long does the scent stay in the room before needing to spray more?

    Reply
    • BeverlyBeverly says

      December 13, 2015 at 9:12 pm

      Probably just a few minutes, but that’s what I like about it . . . I don’t like smells that linger around for too long so it works for me.

      Reply
  6. Ruth says

    April 2, 2015 at 1:54 pm

    Great idea! Thanks for sharing this post.

    Reply
  7. Christina says

    August 2, 2014 at 5:15 pm

    I wanted to know: I’m really sensitive to anything imitation (eye issues), how much alcohol free vanilla extract would you use to water and do you think it will last as long?

    Reply
    • Christina says

      August 2, 2014 at 5:17 pm

      Forgot, guess it would be expensive, but is there a way to make it so it’s not, hmm… Lol… I do well w/ the smell of lemon juice, don’t know much about lemon oil…

      Reply
    • BeverlyBeverly says

      August 5, 2014 at 9:10 pm

      Well I usually tell people to start with less if you are experimenting because you can always add more, but you can’t take it back out once it’s in! So perhaps you could start with just 1 or 2 tablespoons to a cup of water, especially if the extract you are using is higher priced and you want to keep your spray economical. If that is not a strong enough scent for you keep adding a few more teaspoons at a time until you are happy with the scent. I think it would probably last just as long as the regular vanilla extract too.

      Reply
    • Rosemary Richards says

      November 18, 2016 at 6:06 pm

      Are you allergic to alcohol? Because if you aren’t then alcohol wouldn’t be an issue. Alcohol free vanilla is made with glycerin.

      Reply
  8. tito perez says

    March 5, 2014 at 12:30 am

    Can I make this without the risk of attracting ants? I say this because of the sweet smell of vanilla, but since it has no sugar I don’t know if it is risky

    Reply
    • BeverlyBeverly says

      March 5, 2014 at 8:58 pm

      I have not had any problems with this spray attracting ants or other bugs. Using the mist bottle makes a really fine spray which helps.

      Reply
    • Rosemary Richards says

      November 18, 2016 at 6:02 pm

      You might want to try something that contains a peppermint . Maybe a peppermint extract. I heard that the smell of peppermint isn’t liked by ants?? or mice?or roaches?? Anyways one of those critters don’t like the smell.

      Reply
  9. Christine says

    February 4, 2014 at 10:53 am

    This sounds fantastic! This may seem like a silly question but do you know if it attracts ants? Or stain carpets? Or does the water dilute it enough that this won’t happen?

    Reply
    • BeverlyBeverly says

      February 5, 2014 at 11:33 am

      I have not had a problem with any staining or attracting of ants or anything. I use this spray primarily in my kitchen where there are mostly hard surfaces. I usually mist it up high in the air and let it filter down, and it’s a very fine mist that has not caused any unwanted side effects.

      Reply
  10. Lisa says

    October 22, 2013 at 12:26 pm

    When I get home tonight I am doing this. Thank you. Vanilla is my favorite 🙂

    Reply
  11. Ginny Berry says

    October 4, 2013 at 1:54 pm

    We had run out of some vanilla air freshener. There was no brand name on the bottle, so I ‘googled’ vanilla air freshener and your site popped up. I immediately went to the kitchen and mixed up a batch and refilled the bottle!! Amazing!! So glad I found your site.

    Reply
    • BeverlyBeverly says

      October 4, 2013 at 5:37 pm

      Stories like yours make me smile. That’s why I love making our own stuff!

      Reply
  12. Kristi says

    July 30, 2013 at 10:28 pm

    I’m moving into my apartment soon and want a nice scent to spray in my room and bathroom! I love this!! Do you know how long the mixture lasts?

    Reply
    • BeverlyBeverly says

      July 31, 2013 at 9:51 pm

      Mine has been lasting for several months with no problems. If you make it with distilled water or filtered water, that helps it last longer too.

      Reply
  13. Fidelity says

    April 17, 2013 at 2:27 am

    Where do i buy the imitation vanilla? Does it actually says ‘imitation’ in the bottle?

    Reply
    • BeverlyBeverly says

      April 19, 2013 at 9:12 pm

      Imitation vanilla is what most people are buying when they buy vanilla at the grocery store and don’t even realize that in fact it does say “imitation” on the bottle. But you can also find smaller bottles that say “real” vanilla and those are quite a bit pricier. The flavor of the “real” vanilla is a little richer, but if you’re using it for an air freshener, the flavor doesn’t matter.

      Reply
    • star says

      April 5, 2015 at 7:06 am

      you can use artificial food essence of vannila,in india they are sold in infinity.

      Reply
  14. Lisa says

    March 10, 2013 at 9:38 pm

    Can you use real vanilla instead of imitation?

    Reply
    • BeverlyBeverly says

      March 10, 2013 at 10:03 pm

      Lisa – you can certainly use real vanilla in this recipe, however the real vanilla is more expensive. If you use the imitation vanilla it keeps the cost of the recipe a little more budget friendly.

      Reply
  15. Barb says

    March 10, 2013 at 6:16 pm

    My favorite scent, especially for kitchens and bathrooms, is lemon. Can you think of any reason you couldn’t substitute lemon juice?

    I think this is a great idea. I have some lung issues and strong, artificial scents bother me.

    Thank you!

    Reply
    • BeverlyBeverly says

      March 10, 2013 at 8:28 pm

      I think lemon juice would work Barb. Good idea!

      Reply
      • Beverly Garey says

        March 17, 2013 at 7:25 pm

        Lemon juice may not be aromatic enough. Maybe try lemon essential oil.

        Reply
        • Rosemary Richards says

          November 18, 2016 at 5:58 pm

          They have orange ,lemon and a few other extracts in the spice aisle of grocery stores.

          Reply
  16. Diana Haddad says

    January 29, 2013 at 11:27 am

    I refill a empty non-aerosol hairspray bottle for my mist bottle for my plants. You could paint or decorate that bottle and it is one more way to recycle.

    Reply
    • BeverlyBeverly says

      January 29, 2013 at 8:16 pm

      That’s a great idea! That reminds me that I’ve re-used the mist bottles from the body fragrance sprays too. They’re perfect for misting, but sometimes the fragrance smell lingers in them. To get rid of a lingering smell in a bottle I’ve filled them with water and a few teaspoons of baking soda and let them soak, with good results.

      Reply
  17. Loretta says

    January 28, 2013 at 12:36 am

    where can I buy an empty mist bottle? this sounds great!

    Reply
    • BeverlyBeverly says

      January 28, 2013 at 7:27 pm

      Hi Loretta – Sometimes it can be a challenge to find mist bottles in the store. In the past I have been able to find them at a beauty supply store (Sally Beauty Supply), but lately they have been out of stock at my local store. They can also sometimes be found in the personal care area of larger stores where the travel size products are sold, but the down side of that is they are usually a small 2 oz size. You can buy them through Amazon too. (You can click on the link up above that says “mist bottle” to see an example).

      Reply
      • Rosemary Richards says

        November 18, 2016 at 5:55 pm

        CVS , Walmart look in the travel bottle section.

        Reply
    • jeepgirlSusete says

      January 13, 2018 at 2:37 pm

      Small Spray bottles can be found at the dollar tree too

      Reply
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