Homemade Carpet Deodorizer

   My son Connor, 3, has skin allergies and requires "special" laundry detergents so his clothing doesn't irritate his skin, and "special" lotions that don't make him break out in rashes every time he gets rubbed down. When he was a baby, I discovered that just playing on the carpeted floor would make the poor guy's skin break out in rashes, because I was using store-bought carpet deodorizer, which, it turns out, he was allergic to. 

     Glade carpet deodorizer: Bad for kids with skin allergies

   So, I decided to make my own carpet deodorizer. Of course, I could have just skipped the deodorizer altogether and vacuumed my carpet without, like most normal people do, but let's face it: I'm addicted to anything that smells good and makes my home smell good..

   (Not kidding. If I walk into my house and it doesn't smell the way that I want it to, I deep clean my entire house top to bottom just to get it smelling right again. I need therapy.)

   And, of course, I hate all things toxic and too-cleany-smelly. (i.e., anything that smells like pine, lemon, ammonia, bleach, etc.) I don't think that most cleaning products out on the market today, (even the ones who "claim" to be "green", are healthy to use in your homes or healthy to breathe in when the scent of them permeates through the air.) 

 

 I would never in a million years use these cleaning products, or cleaning products like these, in my home. Ever. 

 

   Nor would I use any of these "green" cleaning products. 

   Why?

   Because, if my kids got into my cleaning products and, God forbid, put some in their mouth or swallowed any of these "green, non-toxic" cleaning products, they would still get poisoned and could still die. 

   Not a chance I'm willing to take.

  

   So, I decided to make my own. I make all of my own cleaning products, but my homemade carpet deodorizer is the easiest and quickest to make, not to mention it's great for the pocket book, because it can be made for next to nothing, using "ingredients" normally found in your kitchen. All you need is: 

   Baking soda, spice of your choice (I usually use cinnamon and nutmeg, but you could use almost any spice that's in your cupboard. I also have lavender, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, and cloves) 

   All you do is pour the baking soda and the spice of your choice into a bowl, and mix them together. 

   Once everything is mixed, I usually put the mixture into a jar, like this: 

   Now you're all set to use it. Just sprinkle this deodorizer on to your carpet until your heart is content, and then vacuum, and -VOILA!- your carpet and your home will smell soo much better than store bought, ammonia-filled clean. And best of all, you can sprinkle this on your carpets and then let your kids play on the floor and you don't have to worry about it. 

   Now Connor can play on the floor without breaking out into rashes.