All of the Bloom team have four legged friends, and at this time of the year when dogs are in an out of the sea, our homes can become a little musty.
We love using Radiance home fragrance products to freshen our living spaces, but it's also really easy to use neat essential oils in diffusers or oil burners to help eliminate unwanted smells. Our full range of Radiance home fragrance items are available here
You can also easily make up room fragrance sprays that can be used around pet bedding and the area where your dog hangs out. More on that below.
Using essential oils to help with pet smells can be a really effective and natural way to freshen up your home and there are lots of safe essential oils like lavender, chamomile and geranium which have pleasant fragrances that can mask or neutralize odors.
However, it's important to use these oils safely around your pets. Some essential oils can be toxic to animals, especially cats - in fact I would err on the side of caution with cats completely and not use any kind of spray or candle in their environment - so it's crucial to do your research before you get too happy with the essential oils that you are intending to use
Essential oils to avoid with dogs include:
Cinnamon, Clove, Hyssop, Citrus, Pennyroyal , Peppermint, Pine, Sweet Birch, Tea Tree, Wintergreen, and Ylang Ylang
However, if you are now panicking that your Peppermint candle needs throwing in the bin please don't. The above oils are definitely contraindicated for any topical application directly onto and around a dog. But tiny amounts of some of these oils in room candles shouldn't cause any major issues, unless your dog has an underlying health condition. Just make sure that the candles in questions aren't directly next to your dog and avoid exposure with them in an unventilated room where the candle is burning 24/7. I would also avoid ALL use of Wintergreen, Hyssop, Sweet Birch, and Pennyroyal and Clove. But to be honest, these obscure oils are unlikely to be in any of your aromatherapy home cupboards anyway
The dog safe essential oils that I like to use in room diffusers and sprays to help with musty fragrance issues include:
Lavender
Frankincense
Helichrysum
Chamomile
Cedarwood
Bergamot
Geranium
Eucalyptus Lemon
You can add a few drops of these oils to a diffuser or create a homemade spray by mixing the oils with some high proof alcohol like vodka, then adding to water. The alcohol will help disperse the essential oils through the water mix, rather than sitting on the surface in solid drops.
All the above oils are great to use, but the one that is the easiest to buy and the one that my dogs seem to prefer the most is Lavender. It's also known for its calming and soothing effects on dogs so if your pooch is particularly high energy, or suffers from nerves and jitters then using this oil is a win-win.
Always ensure any room in which you are diffusing oils is well-ventilated and that your pet has the option to leave the room if they choose.
A couple of quick recipe ideas for you to try at home:
ROOM DIFFUSER BLEND FOR STINKY DAMP DOGS - makes 10ml, keep in an amber bottle and add 4-8 drops to a diffuser or oil burner
5ml - or 100 drops - lavender essentail oil
2ml - or 40 drops - geranium essential oil
2ml - or 40 drops - eucalyptus lemon essential oil
1ml - or 20 drops - bergamot essentail oil
ROOM SPRAY BLEND FOR BEDDING AND AROUND THE DOG - also a good calming blend for highly active dogs and / or highly anxious dogs
100ml water
5ml vodka or other high proof alcohol
15 drops Lavender essential oil
5 drops Chamomile essential oil
5 drops Geranium essential oil
Hope you get on well with these tips, but also so remember to take the lead - no pun intended - from your dog on this at all times. If you put a diffuser in their room and they instantly leave and/or look unhappy then you need to discontinue using that blend. You know your dogs like no-one else. And aren't they amazing? :)