I tend to use Lysol Fresh Linen or the Walgreens version (I think there is also something called Spring Rain) a lot in the bathroom and upstairs because the ventilation in the bathroom is not quite powerful to remove all the humidity and I don't want any mildew.

Its crazy but a lot of people come in and say, "wow it smells great in here!, most of these units smell like old cooking smells". (I live in an old bldg. condo. Its cheap and easy.

Please be careful with the oils that you use with the reeds. My dog ran into my small table between chairs where I had one and knocked it over. It did nothing to my carpet, but it instantly ate the finish off of the table. I had to refinish the top and it still didn't match the table underneath (nesting tables). I won't buy it again. I just burn candles, have fabreeze on hand for furniture, and I actually like "Love my carpet" carpet deoderizer from Big Lots, in tropical festival scent. For me, the oils that you burn in pots don't seem to last too long.

Haven't been here in awhile but this question is right up my alley.

Having elderly parents (with health issues) living with me, sometimes it's hard to keep my home from smelling like a just-disinfected hospital or no matter how hard I clean, I can't get 'other' smells out of my nose.

I've tried them all. The newest on the market tend to get very expensive and don't really last.

Here's what I've been satisfied with now for a couple years (although I've tried new-on-the-market scents for the home but keep coming back to my electric tart warmers).

I purchased a couple electric tart warmers from Ebay.
These are the type with no lighting of a candle.
You plug them in and there is an off/on switch on the electrical cord.

I plugged the electrical cord of the Tart Warmer into an inexpensive timer and then plugged the timer into the wall.
This way the Warmer isn't on all day and there is no forgetting to turn it off when I leave the house to take a parent to a doctor appointment.

I purchased a package of tarts in Downy April Scent and a bottle of Oil in the same scent, also from Ebay.

I put one tart in the little cup on top of the warmer and then add a small teaspoon of Oil.
Turn it on, the house smells like Fresh Laundry when I walk in instead of.......well, other smells that aren't so pleasant no matter how much you clean.

One tart and half of teaspoon of oil lasts a couple weeks.
When I want to refresh, I just put a few more drops into the warmer and the scent is renewed.
Once a month I clean out the little tart cup and start fresh with a new tart and fresh oil.

Below is a link to a whole page on Ebay, just to show you the Tart Warmer styles you can get.
Make sure the warmer has an off/on switch on the cord and a removable cup on top for easy cleaning.

Then search Ebay for Tarts. Then search Ebay for Scented Oil or Oil for Oil Warmer. You'll come up with tons of different scents.

I tried many scents over the last couple years but I keep coming back to the Downy April Fresh.
Just a soft, fresh and clean scent, not overpowering.

Here is a link that might be useful: whole Ebay page of tart/oil warmer styles

amity, that is so smart to use a timer! Why didn't I think of that?!

I recently bought something that I hadn't seen before. It's a lamp of sorts. It looks kind of like a regular lamp at first glance, but the base has a round flat area where you can place a candle. Turn on the light, and it is aimed at the candle, and it melts the candle without having to actually light the candle w/ a match. It works really well. I found them on Amazon. I still worried about forgetting to turn it off, though, so now I'm going to put it on a timer! Thanks, amity.

I don't like the real flowery scents but the candle I bought to use with the lamp is a chocolate scent... yum. Smells like someone has been baking brownies!

This thread interest me, however I have sensitivities to artificial fragrances (including cleaners and paint) that triggers asthma attacks. I do well with citrus and spice essential oils. Have any of you found or made a fragrance that might work for my home? Thanks in advance.

...Pam

Prairiedawn, I also am somewhat sensitive to artificial fragrances so have used pure essential oils for many years in various ways both for scenting my home, in skin care products, and for my health. Since the artificial fragrance products are quite unhealthy I'm careful what I use.

I often mix my own blends of essential oils and use them in various types of diffusers as well as diluted in water as a room spray. I also sometimes add essential oils to my cleaning solution which makes cleaning a more pleasant chore. Any good book about aromatherapy will have many 'recipes' to try. Citrus and spice oils go together well so you might just mix orange with cinnamon. Sometimes used as a Christmas blend. I've read that some people with asthma find eucalyptus essential oil helpful and it's a good one to freshen the air in the home if you like the scent. Use any product with care, of course, as anyone can be sensitive to anything.

I also believe in giving my house a daily airing so open windows and doors in good weather and use the whole house ventilation system when the weather is inclement. Goes without saying that a clean home will not need much home fragrance to be a pleasant place to live.

Luckygal, thank you. I'll look for recipes in books and online. I am a "cleaning freak", however my family includes three dogs, four cats, two teenagers and a gassy husband, so maintaining a fresh scent can be a challenge.

...Pam

I am bummed about your review of the Scentsy products, my friend started selling it and just yesterday I bought a plug in and two of the large pots. I have not received them yet but I guess I will keep my fingers crossed.

I really like the Swan Creek Candles, they come in nice containers and great scents. My favorite is the buttercream vanilla. You can smell these candles while they are not even lit!

Yankee Candle's Beanswax candle in Open Spaces (smells like fresh cut grass) and Pine (which smells so much like christmas) are pretty good.

I'm going to experiment with scented pinecones for the fireplace.

I'm like you, I need a strong scent that will last. I've tried them all and the one's by far the best are the Yankee Candle Tarts used with a tart wamer and tea light. They're much stronger than the large jars.

I also use Scentsy. It all depends on the scent though.

I'm another who is sensitive to artificial scents, so no candles or scented soaps or anything here. I use fresh flowers-stargazer lilies will fill your home with a wonderful scent. They often last two weeks for me. I am so used to it now (DH buys them for me every week-what a sweetie) that I hardly notice, but friends love it when they come over. I do pinch out the stamens with the pollen when they open enough.

I don't like to burn candles and I don't like strong scents, so I scoop out the wax from my favorite candles and melt them in an electric tart warmer. My windows are always open, so twenty minutes or so of melting and my home has a pleasant level of whatever scent I want to enjoy.

Amity, Adding a timer to the electric warmer is genius! Thanks for that idea. I know I have some timers around here somewhere from Christmas...

Those febreze plug-ins work wonderfully!

Does anyone use the ceramic lamp rings with natural scented oils? I used to have these years ago! Put some oil on the ring and rest it on the light bulb on a lamp.

I use the scents from Bath and body works. They are fairly inexpensive and they last a long time. I was using the Glade plug ins but got tired of the same scents. You can only smell Cinnamon and Apple, Hawaiian breeze, and Fresh Linen for so long. Bath and Body Works scents are really unique and are more complex.
P.S. I think I'm starting to sound like spam for them! :)

I also like the febreeze plug ins. I have used every type brand of plug ins and I like febreeze the best.

I do also really like target method plug in(I think it's method--they are only sold are target) gingerbread scent.

I like most febreeze scents--and the febreeze has 2 scents in one plug so the scents switch back and forth, which is supposed to make you notice the scent longer as you don't get used to just one scent. I find the scents are plenty strong enough--even in an open area--with both febreeze and target.

Another user of Bath and Body Works Wallflowers. I love the Japanese Cherry Blossom and Midnight Pomegranate.

I burn scented oils with tealights...

I like it ok..I like the tealights better as I don't have to worry about forgetting about them as they simply burn out after four hours where with scented candles..well lets just say I have woken up several a morning to see my candle still burning - I am lucky I did not burn down my house! Tealights extinguish and the scented oils come in a pretty good variety of smells...normally it says to add 3 drops of oil and I put about 10 (lol) but thats just me :)

I often wonder..all these articial smells are essentially chemicals we are releasing into our homes and airways....that can't be good.

Another Bath and Body Works Wallflower user. Especially love the odor neutralizing ones. Use them where the cat's litter box is and can always tell when it is getting low. Once I start smelling the litter (which is cleaned out every day) I know it is time to replace the scent bottle.

sueb20 and forhgtv,

How sweet.......Thank you!

Having so much on my plate AND having the attention span of a gnat (not a good combo), I am always
searching for ways to make daily living a little easier, both for my parents and for me! LOL

The negative was me leaving the house and forgetting to turn off the electric tea lights. Or coming home after
being out all day with numerous medical tests for a parent and opening the front door to the smell of
'Hospital', being as the house was closed up all day. Thus, the timer was born.

The positive; I've got them set to go on at 10 in the morning. Go off at 1. Go on again at 4 in the afternoon and go off at 7 in the evening.
This covers my trips away from the home/coming home to a closed up house that smells fresh.
And my parents have friends and family that come to visit around those hours so I don't have to worry that the house smells like disinfectant when they walk in. Win/Win. lol

catkin,
About those ceramic lamp rings; yes, I've got them, I've used them and love them.
But in my household....dogs, cats, parrot, grandkidlets and unstable-on-their-feet elderly parents.....
the table would get bumped, the little ring would move off-center from the bulb and the liquid scent would
spill on the bulb.
Not only was I worried about a fire situation in the making, but the spilled oil on the bulb
was so strong we had to remove the bulb, wash it and air out the house.
IF it weren't for the dogs, cats, parrot, grandkidlets and unstable-on-their-feet elderly parents, I think the oil in
the ceramic or terracotta ring is the best way to go as far as scenting the home.

I use Thymes mostly, right now I'm burning Yankee candle spice but really the Thymes keeps an aroma so much longer. The balsam is my favorite. My whole house smells so Christmas like.

How about a candle warmer? There are the plain ones that looks like a coffee cup warmer. You can get those at Wal Mart or Michales.

I've seen one that looks like a lamp in the JCPenney flier/catalog. Looks pretty in the picture shown with a jar candle and lit.

http://www5.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?Grptyp=PRD&ItemId=189f2c1&cmOrigId=18ca16c&cmTypeFlag=RichRel&cmCatID=searchresults#BVRRWidgetID

I'm mostly into the fragrances that also match my sense of taste (does that make sense). You see I love french vanilla, french vanilla ice cream for example. So what I find is that I'm "very" attracted to the french vanilla scent as well. So I can also say that Cinnamon is a good one. Like most I use the febreeze plug ins and you can normally find candles in my home...bedroom, bathroom, and living room :)

Here is a link that might be useful: My Blog

I absolutely adore Bath and Body Works wallflowers as well. My favorite is Sea Island Cotton. It's a crisp, clean, delightful smell. And since we're getting close to Christmas, you need to try Frazier Fir by Thyme. The stuff is FABULOUS! I get the candles and the spray every year. I spray the artificial tree and the wreaths and greens and it smells EXACTLY like the real thing. I've never smelled anything else even close. The large candle will last for the whole month of December. It's pricey, but you get what you pay for. Try it - I guarantee you won't be disappointed!

My mother would always boil water on the stove with cinnamon in it. She would sometimes walk the pot around through the house and let the steam permeate all of the rooms. It smelled great! I do it too, now, and love it!

Also, house plants are great air purifiers. Artificial air fresheners, scented candles (or even non-scented paraffin candles), and scented potpourri-type products are really bad health-wise.

Azwildcats - "Yankee Candle's Beanswax candle in Open Spaces (smells like fresh cut grass)"
Woohoo! I'm not a big candle person but Yankee had a cut grass candle years ago and I've been wanting one. I love the smell of cut grass!

Amity, try Medi-aire Biological Odor Eliminator for those serious smells. It works extremely well- I bought it recently to use downstairs where my Dad lives with serious health issues.
I should have just brought home what they had the hospital, I noticed they had little bottles in the room.

Anyway, upstairs, in our areas, I like wallflowers too. Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin is my favorite fall fragrance.
I don't burn candles often because I don't want the smoke/soot in the house.

I easily get migraines from perfumes, scents, etc. But this candle is my all-time favorite and I have no problem with it - Votivo in Red Currant. A little on the pricey side, but you only need to burn it for a short time and the scent will linger. Not sure how to describe it - a little on the citrus side, and it reminds me of Fall.

Bumble, I've burnt candles for years and have never experienced soot. We have 8' ceilings and a 20 something ceiling. As far as smoke, after I blow it out I put the lid back on it to prevent smoke.

BBW has wonderful room sprays, and pretty inexpensive too.

I may try the Thymes spray. I've used their Rose scented lotion and I loved how it felt and smelled. But yeah, pretty pricey!

bumblebeez,

Thank you so much!
Early this morning I ordered a 1 oz. size to give it a try.
Glad to know that someone else knows what 'those smells' are. :)

After my morning cleaning ritual, I don't get 'those smells' It's the disinfectant smell I can no longer stand.
No matter what cleaner I use, there is always that disinfectant lingering scent....like a hospital.
I've even purchased odor eliminators from Vets and our local hay and feed store. Didn't help.

That's one of the reasons I turned to scenting the home...just to cover the disinfectant scents.

Can't wait for my Medi-aire Biological Odor Eliminator to arrive. Maybe I won't have to have the electric tart burners on as often. Again, thank you!!!

oakley, I extinguish my candles in a jar by simply putting the lid on,
a salesperson at a candle shop taught me that, you get zero smoke that way.

I love bed bathe beyonds new oil scents.2 of mine leaked out totally but loved smelling them.I like the spicy scented ones more than floral.

Winker, my new Scentsy bars came in yesterday and one of them is fabulous! It scent's all of the public area of my home. I've been melting it for two days now, and it's just as fresh today as it was yesterday.

It's called "Rustic Cabin." Almost like the smell of men's cologne which I love anyway. I only bought a small brick, now I wish I had bought more!

I use yummy candles in my master bedroom, but I have to use citrus and real spices in my living areas. Anything else is dangerous for my birds.

amity, they do use it in hospitals...particularly after colonoscopys. So, it may still have a "hospital" smell to you. But worth trying. I 'm glad you ordered some. I think I ran across it on the caregivers forum.

Fresh Wave is great for eliminating odors. Rather than masking odors, it absorbs odors. All you do is open a jar of this stuff in the room where you want to eliminate odors. It costs a bunch, but it works amazingly well.

Pammie, have you tried Nouvelle's orange vanilla? It's a clean burning candle with that same wonderful fragrance.

If you want to avoid the smoke issue entirely put the candle on a candle warmer. It'll last much longer and no complaints from hubby.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nouvelle Orange Vanilla

pammiesue - Where do you get the Trapp Orange Vanilla candles?

amity - I use Downy fabrice softner and any time someone comes to my house when I'm doing laundry they always comment on how good it smells, so I love the idea of a Downy fragrance. This is the only oil I could find on ebay. Is this the right kind?

Laurie

Here is a link that might be useful: Downy lamp oil

Yankee candles have always been my all time favorite. They can be expensive and I find that when I burn them my dog sneezes. So, I started using the coffee cup burner to just set the candle on. Same wonderful scent, but no sneezes.
My parents are elderly and I have the same problem. I take a spray bottle and put, yes, alcohol, vinegar, or pine sol in it and spray directly on the hard wood or vinyl floors. Then mop with a damp mop. It's actually like cheating at mopping. But it works. Especially in the bathrooms. I am not a coffee drinker, however, I do like to smell it brewing. So, I take dry coffee granules and put them in a small or large potpourri electric pot and it makes the whole house smell wonderful. For quick fixes, I use a electric potpourri pot and put the oils from wal-mart filled with water. I did this at my parents house when they came home from the hospital after being gone for 3 1/2 months. It works fast. They had company coming in and it was a life saver. They are only $2, or $2.50 a bottle, for a small bottle and $5, for a large bottle. Many different fragrances. I have 4 cats and one dog in the house. No one has ever known I have animals unless they see them. Mine are all none sociable. Good luck everyone, hope you find something that works well for you!

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned fragrance lamps. These are smaller glass lamps that you fill with fragrance oils, light for 5 minutes and then blow out the flame. The oil will burn and take odors out of your home and leave a pleasant scent.

The Lampe Berger system includes the catalyst (burner) and the catalyst medium (home fragrances). According to Lampe Berger, the catalytic combustion is a flameless combustion, which takes place because of the action of a catalyst. Odor-causing molecules in the room are attraced to the heat developed by the catalysis. The heat then breaks down these molecules through oxidation and prevents them from recombining.

A Berger lamp is different from other types of air fresheners in that a Berger lamp actually eliminates the odor, instead of just masking it. Also, a Berger lamp actively cleans the air, also something normal air fresheners donâÂÂt do. You may be curious where Berger lamps originate from. Berger lamps were invented by Maurice Berger in the early twentieth century. Berger lamps were considered a disinfecting home appliance. Through a unique process of high temperature catalytic combustion, Berger lamps eliminates and destroys the molecules behind unpleasant odors such as cigarette smoke and cooking while pleasantly perfuming the air and destroying bacteria.

You do have to follow a certain protocol when burning these or you'll burn up your wick. The top cap can get hot, so I always keep mine on a high shelf. The brands of lamps are numerous as are the oils. I buy mine at the link below, the off brand lamps work fine. I find all of the oils very strong so I mix them half and half in the lamp with 91% rubbing alcohol (available at Walmart). Do NOT use anything except the 91%.

I burn mine only about twice a week or when I have company.

Here is a link that might be useful: Courtney's Candles

Because our vent in the kitchen does not work well, I'd have to admit our house smells like "last night's dinner". ;)

Seriously though, I am sensitive to any artificial fragrances and dh even more so than me. If I need something to perk up the scent in the house I boil water with cinnamon. Works like a charm. It also helps that we try not to use anything frangranced so our cleaners are not as smelly as they might otherwise be.

I sell Scentsy. It really surprises me that you're not able to smell your scents after a few uses. A bar (8 cubes) is supposed to last 50-80 hrs depending on the size of the room. And if you have a fan going or a humidifier, this lessens the life of the scent. The scent that I keep going back to is Home Sweet Home. It just has the best smell. Very intoxicating! Have you tried any of the plug ins? They tend to get hotter than the full size warmers. I have one in my son's bathroom & sometimes I can smell it over what I've got going in my living room (full size warmer). And they only take 1 little cube of wax.

I've tried lots of them. By far the very best I've ever had is the Agraria Bitter Orange potpourri. It is expensive so have not bought any for the longest time.
The diffusers, which I bought more recently were really a disappointment.

The second best thing are Diptyque candles. I love the Pomander -- which is also a spicy clove orange.

I've use the LaBarge lamps, the Yankee Candle and the wallflowers -- disappointed with all of them.

I used to buy soy candles from PureIntegrity.com. Not sure if they are still in business, but they had the most amazing and authentic pumpkin candle I ever came across. Their other scents are fabulous as well. Hmm...must see if they survived the economic fallout.

Where do you get the Trapp Orange Vanilla candles?

Msrose, Monarch's Heaven carries Trapp candles and they're currently offering a free reed diffuser with $99 purchase.

Here is a link that might be useful: Monarch's Heaven

I use Thymes' Frasier Fir. I was given a candle in that fragrance about five years ago, and I haven't been without one in most rooms since. I also use the room scent, not daily but about every two weeks. It is heavenly.

My favorites are Welcome home which is warm and welcoming with cinnamon and spices - I use that in the entry way, kitchen area and living room. In the bath room I use Clean Breeze - it smells a lot like laundry. Upstairs I use a softer floral called Inner Peace. These are all Scentsy scents - and yes, I do sell them and Scentsy warmers. My link is on my page if you are interested. I would not mention these if I didn't absolutely love these !!

I've been using the Thymes candles for years, and you can't beat the fragrance, especially the Eucalyptus and Lavender! The burn down is very slow, and no soot, since there is no lead in the wick~~thought that was banned in the US several years ago.

Their products are a little expensive, but seem to last longer than other products i've used. Bath and Body is TDF!!! ;o)

Here is a link that might be useful: Thymes

Just to up spammer "Delight," who must have done a web search to spam, if you need any Scentsy, my DIL sells it too. :)

I think I said this above, but I really do like Scentsy and Yankee Candle. I do the Yankee in the kitchen and the Scentsy in the living room. I've yet to smell a stronger candle than those, no matter the price. But dang candles are expensive! I love the YC tarts though, much cheaper and they smell stronger than other YC.