Natural Carpet Powder Deodorizer

One of the mistakes I made back when I lived in a carpeted home [shudder] was purchasing carpet powder deodorizer, all because I liked the idea of the house "smelling clean". Really, I was just paying for chemically scented baking soda. You can just make your own carpet powder using this formula:

1/2 cup of borax
1/2 cup of baking soda
1 teaspoon of cloves and/or cinnamon (cloves help keep our closets moth-free too)

Or, if you've got pets, instead of the spices, use about 20-25 drops of sweet orange oil, which is a natural flea repellent; be sure to mix in the oil into powder mixture thoroughly and never use directly onto your pets.

Sprinkle on carpets using a cheese-shaker or empty baby powder container, and leave for 15-20 minutes before vacuuming. Now you've neutralized musty odours, added a pleasant naturally derived scent, and also possibly rid some unwelcome pests without chemicals or pesticides.

Related link: Natural closet moth-repellent mixture

Comments (8)

I guess the borax is to kill all the bugs that want to eat the other ingredients?

posted by Curtis on July 9th 2007 at 10:19am
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There are bugs that want to eat baking soda?

posted by Lisa from VA/lsaspacey on July 9th 2007 at 3:14pm
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What about lemon oil instead of orange. Are the properties very different? I just like the way lemon smells better than orange.

posted by charlenemcbride on July 9th 2007 at 4:35pm
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I use baking soda by itself before I vacuum. Does that do any good?

posted by crafty82 on July 10th 2007 at 4:08am
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crafty82,

Baking soda or Borax on their own are wonderful deodorizers. If you have a particularly bad spot (pet urine stain, vomit, etc...) you can pour a vinegar/water mixture (1/2 cup white vinegar to 1 quart warm water) on the spot and rub some baking soda or borax in and let it dry and then vacuum it all up. I did this with an old cat urine spot and it worked great. If the smell/spot is particularly bad or old you may have to reapply a few times. For my cat urine stain I poured enough vinegar/water on it to soak down to the subfloor and it took about 5 days to dry, but in the end the smell was gone!

posted by Monica on July 10th 2007 at 5:01am
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Monica -

You're a lifesaver. Thank you for that tip.

posted by Bob LLama on July 12th 2007 at 10:41am
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You are very welcome Bob!

posted by Monica on July 23rd 2007 at 11:59am
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Could you help me find a cedar powder I read about in a magazine a few months ago? I was at Borders flipping through a high-style home mag and they touted a cedar scented carpet powder. I can't seem to find it anywhere on the Internet. Have you come across it or do you have a recipe for one? I absolutely love the smell of cedar! Thanks.

posted by lulielulie on July 28th 2009 at 1:03pm
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