Winter Holiday Mulled Cider Air Freshener

My local supermarket sells an air freshener with a label that reads: “This product is banned in California because it causes cancer.”

It contains dichlorobenzene, a chemical that is a central nervous system depressant, a powerful kidney and liver poison, and one of the chlorinated hydrocarbons that is long-lasting in the environment and is stored in body fat.

Whoa. Who needs that?

Instead, try this spicy seasonal air freshener. It not only works, it provides you and your family and friends with a great hot drink while it wafts a welcoming holiday scent into the air. It smells absolutely divine and tastes great, too!

INGREDIENTS
2 sticks cinnamon
5 or 6 whole cloves
8 cups apple cider, or as needed (you can substitute water for the cider)

Just place the ingredients in a pan and simmer over low heat for a number of hours on a back burner of your stove (checking frequently to replace evaporated liquid–about 1 cup every hour). The simmering releases the spices aromatic oils. Strain out the spices before drinking.

Read more: Home, Non-Toxic Cleaning

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Carole R.

10:59PM PDT on Sep 23, 2011

Interesting. Thanks for the post.

send a green star

KS G.

12:34AM PDT on Aug 18, 2011

Thanks for the article.

Loretta K.

8:57PM PST on Jan 28, 2010

Thank you for the tip.

Dorothy V.

12:57PM PDT on Oct 23, 2009

Instead of using the stove or a candle, try using an electric potpourri pot. They look like small crockpots.

Barbara R.

9:42PM PDT on Jun 4, 2008

Wait - wanting to be 'green,' should we be simmering on a gas stove (releasing gas into the air for hours?) Should we use some kind of candle-type heated simmering pot? Or does that add soot to the air? What to do...? Thank you, Barbara