Air freshener for toilet. For a home to be a truly comfortable place, all rooms in it should exude only pleasant aromas.
It is often impossible to do without air fresheners for the toilet, which you can buy in department stores or make yourself with your own hands. How to choose or make the right air freshener for the toilet?
The first air fresheners were developed and put on sale in the middle of the last century. Now they are so in demand that lines of several varieties of air fresheners have been established, differing in properties, release form and consistency, to suit every consumer taste.
General information
Scented air fresheners artificially mask unpleasant odors with their scents, but are unable to completely eliminate amber.
Deodorizing air fresheners for the toilet, without having their own aromatic fragrances, act on the molecules of the unpleasant odor themselves. The unpleasant odor is completely destroyed.
And combined fresheners combine both described options: both flavor and deodorant, therefore they are more preferable and popular.
Aerosols
Very convenient to use, dosed budget options. Found widespread among our fellow citizens. A small volume (100-300 ml) of a can lasts for a month or more. A big drawback is that with the abundance of allergy sufferers in the modern world, aerosol air fresheners create an additional danger for people with such pathologies. The first such sprays contained a lot of chemical elements that were harmful both to human health and to the environment around us. Even if you want to save money, we strongly recommend that you avoid purchases containing formaldehyde, acetate, pinene, and phthalic alcohol. Unfortunately, these substances are still used in the cheapest copies. They are especially dangerous for people with bronchial asthma.
Toilet plates
Dry toilet plate fresheners are activated every time the water is flushed from the tank.
Gels
A gel freshener is a small cartridge with a scented gel placed inside it. By installing it indoors, you get a constant source of a pleasant smell. Such a plate can last up to 4 months on an area of about 30 square meters. m. The price is slightly more expensive than aerosols, but they are convenient because they work constantly and are beneficial in apartments with a large number of household members. The cartridge can be easily replaced with a new one.
Electric aroma lamps
Aroma lamps have come into fashion relatively recently. This is a long-term item, and the fragrant composition can be changed according to your mood.
Modern electronic devices for aromatizing space can be equipped with special sensors that allow you to regulate their operating mode - set the frequency and intensity of aroma spraying, set the operating mode, and set restrictions on the spraying of the device. For example, react when the light is turned on.
Liquid fresheners
The principle is simple - bottles with odorous liquid stand open and exude a perfume composition. The cost is higher than any other air aromatization options. But they are the least harmless with high efficiency. Usually the kit includes bamboo sticks that need to be dipped in liquid.
Possible harm and advice on selection and use
It is impossible to say categorically about the benefits or harms of air fresheners. Naturally, formulations with synthetic components are more dangerous to health than natural ones:
- Common aerosol devices are harmful to both humans and the environment. This is especially true for components such as sodium benzoate and sodium nitrite. Exceeding their daily dose provokes the growth of cancerous tumors and causes toxic damage to the liver and kidneys, intensifies allergic reactions;
- Gel cartridges are less dangerous. However, due to rich (one might even say aggressive) artificial aromas, allergic reactions may occur in residents.
Fresheners using natural oils cause the least harm. If you choose the right composition, the oils will deodorize the air, eliminate harmful bacteria (pine oils), and improve your mood (citrus compositions).
To make the right choice, you need to pay attention not only to the characteristics of the products. It is also important to take into account the area of the room and the composition of the family. For spacious rooms, devices that constantly scent the air are suitable. If the family is small, then you can get by with an aerosol can. If there are many residents and someone is constantly in the apartment, then it would be reasonable to install automatic devices or regular means (essential sticks, gel pillows).
A wide range of models allows you to choose a completely safe air freshener or install a device with a variety of functions. Modern appliances not only refresh the air, but also “clean” it in an original way. And some fragrances have bodies of such beautiful shapes and shades that they completely decorate the interior of the toilet room.
Top best air fresheners
The freshest aromas are similar to the light breath of a sea breeze, the healthy spirit of a coniferous forest or the rich freshness of life in a green meadow. Such smells are usually liked by most and do not cause unpleasant sensations.
Citrus aromas of lemon, lime, lemongrass, orange, tangerine, and grapefruit are also popular. To opponents of this trend, it seems harsh and out of place in the restroom.
In 3rd place in popularity are floral scents. Most often, air fresheners for toilets use essential oils of peony, lavender, lily of the valley, rose and lilac.
Sweet aromas (vanilla, chocolate, cinnamon) have their fans.
Tropical exotics with the aroma of banana, mango, watermelon, melon, and pineapple are produced “for everyone.”
The best-selling products are from the following manufacturers:
- Discover. This Turkish company has products with excellent price-quality ratio.
- Air Wick is an inexpensive Chinese product with a wide range of scents.
- Glade - budget air fresheners. However, they do not just mask unpleasant odors, but neutralize them.
- Ambi Pur is a popular brand that has proven the quality of its formulations at a reasonable cost.
- Bref produces toilet products that eliminate both odors and germs.
Types of purchased air fresheners
In addition to “folk” (homemade) air fresheners, there are also purchased ones that are extremely popular. There are three main types of purchased air fresheners:
- Aerosol.
- Wall.
- Liquid (attached to the toilet).
The most popular are aerosols, which are better than others for several reasons:
- Relatively cheap.
- Compact and lightweight.
The wall-mounted type is automatic - you need to fix it on the wall and turn it on, and the device itself will spray aromatic moisture. From time to time it is necessary to change the filler (usually it is enough for no more than a week of use).
The last option: fragrances attached directly to the rim of the toilet, from the inside. They are the most convenient to use, have a low cost, but have a relatively weak flavoring effect. If the cause of the smell is old leaking pipes, then such a freshener will not be able to kill it.
Which brand is better?
There are quite a few brands of air fresheners sold in stores. Which brand is best is a moot point: you should choose based on the smell (aroma) and the method of use, which is more convenient.
Aerosol for toilet
Among the most common are the following brands:
- Discover – has a fairly large range of scents, including very specific ones (for everyone). The most common scents are mountain air, morning forest and cashmere. The average cost is 420 rubles per 300 ml cylinder.
- Air Wick is extremely popular due to its large range of scents, as well as its relatively low cost of 250-270 rubles per bottle.
- Ambi Pur is sold in two versions: as an aerosol and as an aqueous fragrance spray. In the form of an aerosol it has a low cost of 180 rubles, and in the form of an electronic spray with a diffuser - approximately 400 rubles.
- Ballu is a very thoughtful air freshener that has a fan-filter impregnated with essential oils. But the cost of this product is quite high - from 1300 rubles for one device.
- Glade - copes very well with eliminating unpleasant odors of any etiology. The average cost of a 400 ml cylinder is 250 rubles.
- Meria is the most budget option, although it does not have the worst flavoring properties. The average cost of a cylinder is 100 rubles, which is why Meria aerosols are very popular.
Traditional methods
With all the wealth of choice on store shelves, there are no obstacles if you want to make your own air freshener at home. Here you can be sure of the naturalness of its composition.
Soda and salt
Both salt and soda perfectly absorb unpleasant odors; just place an open container with a small amount of powder in the room and replace it as it turns yellow.
Essential oil
The simplest recipe for a homemade air freshener is to drop a pleasant aroma onto cotton wool and leave it in an open container in the toilet. It is rational to lean it against a hot pipe; the heat will intensify the spread of the pleasant smell. Replace once every 7 days.
You can complicate the recipe and get an analogue of a store-bought spray. Drop essential oil into a 1:3 mixture of vinegar and water. Pour into a spray bottle and spray as needed.
Recipes to combat unpleasant odor
Recipe 1. Essential oil
Despite the fact that you can find a variety of deodorants and fragrances on sale, many people do not like their smell. That is why the question quite often arises - how to make an air freshener for a toilet with your own hands, using not too expensive components.
We will need cotton wool and a small container
Sometimes the reason for refusing factory-made formulations is an allergic reaction to their components. Here you need to either look for an alternative hypoallergenic air freshener, or indeed, engage in “applied perfume creativity.”
There are quite a lot of recipes that allow you to achieve the desired result, but here I will give only those that I had time to try in practice and was convinced of their effectiveness.
The main source of a pleasant smell is essential oils
So, the easiest way to make a flavoring additive based on essential oils is:
- We take a medicine jar: any bottle with a fairly wide neck and a volume of about 20-25 ml will do.
- Place a cotton ball inside.
- Drop 4-5 drops of concentrated essential oil onto cotton wool. We select the aroma to suit your taste: pine, fir, and lemon are suitable. Well, don’t forget about individual sensitivity!
What you should avoid are heavy sweet odors - they will not solve the problem, but will aggravate it.
- We place the open jar near the hot water supply pipe: constant heating will promote active evaporation of volatile components.
- Once a week we change the cotton wool and add new oil.
If you simply drop essential oil onto a roll of toilet paper, the effect will be similar
You can make another composition:
- Pour 15-20 drops of essential oil into the container.
- Add 0.5 cups of table vinegar (not acetic acid or vinegar essence!).
- Pour in 1.5 cups of water and mix the solution thoroughly.
- Now pour the resulting mixture into a small jar, which we close with a tightly screwed cap with holes. As in the previous version, we place the jar near the hot water pipe.
Containers with liquid filler
Recipe 2. Gel
The disadvantage of the previous option is the rapid evaporation of the active component. You can deal with this by making a gel freshener.
Base: gelatin diluted in hot water
The optimal instruction - at least, after several trials I settled on this - would be this:
- Heat 250 ml of water almost to a boil, add 15 g of edible gelatin to it and mix thoroughly.
- Add 10 ml of glycerin to the hot composition and stir the composition again. If this is not done, the product will dry out quickly and lose effectiveness.
- Add 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 4-5 drops of essential oil to the mixture that has not yet hardened.
Fresheners with natural aroma sources
- Instead of essential oil, you can add natural flavors - mint, lemon, rosemary, fresh pine, etc.
- Pour the resulting gel into a container with a wide neck and leave it in the toilet.
I added a little food coloring and got a pretty nice composition. In any case, in a small glass jar it looked quite presentable - no worse than factory-made aromatic blocks (by the way, they are made using a similar technology).
From the resulting gel with dye you can make an original decor - as in this photo
- Instead of a gel based on gelatin and glycerin, you can also use silica gel balls, which are sold in gardening stores as decorative soil. Silica gel perfectly adsorbs liquids, so just pour it with a solution containing essential oils or cinnamon infusion - and the aromatic balls will smell pleasant for at least a month.
Container with multi-colored gel balls
Recipe 3. Soda, salt, gelatin
If you don’t want to bother with preparing the gel, you can follow a simple path - pour the aromatic composition onto any adsorbent base. The remedy is done simply:
Baking soda is a good adsorbent
- We take a wide-necked jar, wash it, and dry it thoroughly.
- Fill the container about 1/3 full with baking soda, fine salt or grains of gelatin.
- Add 10-15 drops of aromatic oil to the base.
- Cover the neck with two layers of foil, secure the foil with a rubber band and shake the jar vigorously, evenly distributing the essential oil throughout the poured substance.
- Using a needle or thin awl, we make several holes in the foil to allow volatile substances to escape.
Cover the container with foil, which we then pierce
An air freshener made according to this scheme can be used not only in a home bathroom, but also in an outdoor toilet. True, in the second case it is worth adding more active ingredient - in conditions of good ventilation, essential oils evaporate much faster.
