If you're looking to make the transition to a more natural and mindful way of cleaning your home, then you might have begun your research into alternatives to chemical-based cleaning products. Tea tree oil is an inexpensive and natural alternative to chemical-heavy cleaners that has a myriad of benefits and uses in and around the home.
What Is Tea Tree Oil?
Tea tree oil, or melaleuca oil, comes from the leaves of an Australian tea tree. Tea tree oil is an essential oil and can be used for its aromatherapeutic properties, embraced as a topical cleanser, or harnessed as a cleaning product in the home.
Aboriginal people of Australia have used tea tree traditionally for its cleansing properties, but it has a myriad of uses that can support a cleaner home, healthier body, and take care of unwanted pests, germs, and bacteria.
For those who take a natural approach to their home and health, tea tree oil is well known for its antibacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial, and antiseptic properties. It has proven to be very beneficial in many medical, wellness, and household applications.
9 Ways Tea Tree Oil Works in Your Home
Whether you are looking to cleanse your space, incorporate aromatherapy into your cleaning routine, or are simply seeking to transform your habits to be greener, tea tree oil is a great step towards clean living.
#1: Natural Odor Eliminator
Tea tree oil smells wonderful, and has natural properties to cleanse and clarify the air. One of the most distinct properties of tea tree oil is the fact that it makes rooms, clothing, and any area smell better. If you're looking for an antimicrobial odor eliminator that can be used for the entire home, consider the premium whole home kit by Azuna.
This odor eliminator kit comes with tea tree gel pods for large and small rooms, room spray, and a refill pouch, enough to fill your home with cleaner and more fresh smelling air. With so many powerful properties, including odor neutralization and fighting against mold and mildew, why select anything else for your home other than tea tree oil?
#2: Better Smells for Your Gym Bag
One of the most powerful properties about tea tree oil is that it cleans and neutralizes the air against bacteria, mold, mildew, and fungus. Not only do you want odors eliminated from your home, but you probably also want to address any place in your home that might be susceptible to mold and mildew growth.
One of these places is the bathroom, where a more humid climate might boost the growth of bacteria, or a sneaky area for mold and mildew growth is your gym bag. This small gym bag treatment by Azuna has a thick non-spilling gel that releases a tea tree oil-based odor neutralizer for up to 90 days. It's like having fresh laundry without changing the laundry.
#3: Protect Fruits and Veggies Against Mold
Fresh fruits and veggies are a crucial part of any well-balanced diet. However, they're often susceptible to gray mold. Especially if you live in a warmer area, your fruits and veggies might mold faster than those of us living in colder climates.
Tea tree oil has compounds that can fight against mold growing on your fresh fruit. Rinsing your produce in a mixture of diluted tea tree oil, and drying out your fruits and veggies thoroughly can actually protect against mold growth.
#4: Pet Lovers, Tea Tree Oil Is Here
If you have a furry friend, then you know how stinky they can be after a full day at the dog park or playing with her toys. Pet beds and pet toys oftentimes trap odors that can permeate throughout your whole home.
Tea tree oil’s clarifying properties not only work on your clothes and your home but on your pets toys and bed as well. Clear washing soft toys in pet bedding with a natural detergent and a few drops of tea tree oil, and your furry friend’s next snuggle time will be smelling better.
#5: Nobody Likes a Stinky Sponge
Washing the dishes by hand can be relaxing, even meditative. But when your sponge leaves you with smelly hands, you might be less willing to offer to do the dishes next time.
Even though sponges get your dishes clean, they are perfect places for bacteria to grow. Create a tea tree dilution with one drop of tea tree per ounce of water and soak your sponges in the liquid. Let the sponge dry completely and not only will the sponge smell better, but it will likely have less bacteria on it as well.
#6: Say Goodbye to Unwelcome Pests
One of the more interesting uses of tea tree oil is that it deters unwelcome pests like spiders and ants from entering the home. One of the easiest ways to deter outdoor pests in search of a new home or snack, is to fill a spray bottle with water and add a few drops of tea tree oil.
Spray this diluted tea tree mixture onto window frames, doors, or any other cracks that might let in outside pests. While tea tree oil is completely safe for humans to use, it is a natural deterrent and can be toxic for many insects. It'll leave your house smelling great and pest free
#7: Stinky Garbage? Try Tea Tree
Is there anything that tea tree oil can't do? There's nothing worse than a stinky garbage can after you've cleaned your house and taken out the trash. Don't let that smell linger and take over your home. This cleaning spray from Azuna made with tea tree oil allows you to wipe down the inside of your garbage pail and cleanse that can. Allow it to air dry completely before putting in a bag and that unwelcome smell will be gone in no time
#8: Clean Your Washer and Boost Your Laundry
Not only can tea tree oil be used to clean your washer, but it can also be used directly in laundry loads to boost freshness. To clean out your washer from any mildew or funky smells, drop a few teaspoons in your empty washer, run it on hot or with an empty spin cycle, and let it work its magic!
If, however, you're interested in bringing tea tree oil directly into your washing routine, just put a teaspoon directly into your next load of laundry. Tea tree oil’s odor neutralizing properties will freshen your clothes and offer an aromatherapeutic boost that is chemical-free and 100% natural.
#9: Tea Tree Oil Beyond the Home
Tea tree oil doesn't just have benefits for your home, it actually has a number of uses to support your health and wellness. One of the most popular ways that tea tree oil can be used to clean is as a clarifier for your skin. Especially if your skin is oily or prone to acne, tea tree oil can be used topically to support a clear complexion.
Because of tea tree oil’s cleansing properties, it can be used to treat nail infections produced by Fungus, support wound treatment, and even offer soothing relief to inflamed skin. There are so many different benefits and uses for tea tree that go beyond the home, but one of its most powerful uses is to support your home cleaning rituals
How Careful Do You Have To Be With Tea Tree Oil?
Though tea tree oil is generally safe, as with anything there are always precautions. You may be using your tea tree oil to disinfect toothbrushes, clarify laundry loads, and clean fruits and veggies, but it should not be ingested. Pure tea tree oil may be toxic if swallowed, and therefore it should be kept out of reach of children.
If your skin is prone to allergic reactions, try using a small amount of tea tree oil on a small area of skin and wait a day to monitor for any sensitivity. Just as tea tree oil shouldn't be ingested in humans, your furry friends whose beds now smell much better because of tea tree should not be ingesting it either, particularly in its pure, high concentrated form.
In general tea tree oil should be diluted when used — unless it's being used topically as a skin cleanser– but should not be put on the skin of animals or ingested by humans.
The Bottom Line
Whether you're looking for a home with more clarity or a natural way to cleanse and clean your space, tea tree oil is an effective and green way to begin. Next time you're in the cleaning products aisle at the supermarket, consider a safer and more natural option. Although, you may find shopping online is a more convenient option for purchasing pure tea tree oil and tea tree oil-based products.
Tea tree oil is a natural, non-chemical, effective way to clean your home that will leave it smelling clean, without the fear of bringing heavy chemicals into your home. As with any product that your skin might come into contact with, do your research and make sure that you don’t have any sensitivities to tea tree oil. Cleaner air in your home means better air quality, fewer allergies, and a healthier and more well-supported you.
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