Having a steamer or kettle on your wood stove during the winter is a great way to replace the moisture in the air that the wood stove depletes. But it also is a great way to add a beautiful smelling fragrance to your home. Not to mention you can fragrance your home without adding chemicals to the air that you and your family breathe.
Using aerosol sprays or room deodorizers can add harsh chemicals to the air in your home. They can also be overpowering for some. During the colder months fresh air circulation is very minimal in a home as you are trying to heat your home not the outdoors. So thinking about the additives that you are putting into your home’s air becomes even more important.
So today I am going to give you a few ideas of ways to add a pleasant fragrance without adding chemicals or overpowering scents to the air in your home.
Control the fragrance with Scented Oils
Fragrance your home by adding a few drops of essential oil or scented oil to the water in your kettle or steamer. Both of these oils will float on top of the water, letting of their fragrance as the water evaporates into the air. The strength of the smell will depend on how many drops you place into the water. I do not recommend using this option in a pot or pan that you will be eating out of after using it on your stove.
If you have a pellet stove, oil or gas burner, they don’t get hot enough to use a steamer or kettle on them but you can use a ScentStone with them. With a ScentStone you simply place a few drop of your favorite scented oil on it. When it begins to heat up it will release the fragrance.
Make Your Own Fragrance for a Steamer
If you are a gardener there is a way to utilize all those beautiful flowers that you grow and care for throughout the spring and summer months. Hang them, dry them, and make your own potpourri. Use the potpourri in a kettle or steamer to fragrance your home.
To do this you simply take the dried flowers, leaves, and preferred spices, herbs, or essential oils and make your own combination or go by a recipe. This is one way to know exactly what will be released into the air of your home.
Make a Simmering Pot with Fresh Fruit
Give your home a smell of home cooking 24/7 by making potpourri with fresh fruit. You can dehydrate the fruit and make a true potpourri mixture. Or you can slice the fresh fruit up and place it right in the water with some spices if you choose. Either way works very well.
Most commonly used fruits are apples, oranges, cranberries, lemons, limes, or strawberries. Throw some cinnamon sticks, cloves, or all spice in there to give it a spicy smell or even some vanilla extract for a bitter sweeter smell. Everyone that enters your home will think you have a tasty desert in the oven!