Friday, March 14, 2014

The Wonders of Eucalyptus Oil

Hey, I'm posting again after a long hiatus! (I was doing massive amounts of research for my historical novels.) It's great to be back. Today, I just wanted to give a quick tip about a home remedy that has really saved me this past year:

Eucalyptus Oil vs Dust Mites
About a year after I moved into my home, I started having some bad allergies (itchy eyes, stuffy, that sort of thing) and occasional contact allergies on my toes - very itchy. I had no idea what the problem was for years and tried various things with no benefit. Even after I had narrowed the culprit down to dust mites, none of the remedies I tried were effective. I tried cleaning out the air ducts. It cost something like $600, a big investment for me, but had absolutely no effect. Replacing the carpets with hardwood floors was way out of my budget, so I tried periodically steam cleaning them. Though it was a time intensive process, it seemed to bring temporary relief (the hot steam kills the mites), but I still had issues with my shoes, socks, furniture, ...
 
Finally, I discovered eucalyptus essential oil. Hurrah! Relief!! All I've been doing to rid myself of these allergies and itching is to put two eye dropper squirts of eucalyptus essential oil in a spray bottle filled with white vinegar & walk through my house spraying the carpets, sheets, pillows, lounge chairs, stuffed toys, curtains, whatever. I do it daily every morning while I'm still sleepy eyed and waking up. The vinegar solution I buy is from Costco: it's pre-diluted to 5% acidity. For me, I don't notice any color fading issues, but use your discretion. I also don't notice any unpleasant vinegar scent either, just eucalyptus. It's dry in minutes. I picked vinegar as the base because it has other disinfectant properties I like, but I don't know that it's essential for the dust mite issue - it's just what I've been doing. I also haven't experimented with the amount of eucalyptus oil in the vinegar, I noticed that two dropperfuls was working, so it's what I'm continuing to use.

I also put a solution of eucalyptus essential oil and vodka in a spray bottle and spritz my socks before putting on my shoes. (And sometimes combine that with a dusting of eucalyptus oil infused baking soda to help freshen my heavier shoes.) It's worked like a charm for me.

One more use: I also put a squirt of eucalyptus oil in the washing machine water and a squirt in the dryer (I pick something like a cloth or non-delicate item; hasn't left any marks as far as I can tell). The clothes or sheets or towels come out with a fresh scent and seem to be dust mite free!

Eucalyptus Oil vs Colds
All winter, I either put a dropperful of eucalyptus oil in the humidifier water or in my diffuser to disperse the oil into the air. I think it really helped to purify the air; I made it through the winter without going down for the count, anyway. The times where I started to feel a cold coming on, I took the extra step of putting a few drops of eucalyptus oil in a large glass bowl, pouring steaming hot water over it, and breathing in the steam (with a towel tented over my head to concentrate the steam). It seemed to me to really help clear up my lungs.  

The Score

Eucalyptus Oil         : Winner!
Common Nuisances : 0

These are just my random tips, but I noticed a big benefit from using eucalyptus essential oil in these ways. I had no idea eucalyptus oil was such an effective deterrent for dust mites. It really saved me a lot of money (from having to replace my carpets, shoes, and who knows what else). It's so amazing to finally find a decisive solution to these increasingly bothersome issues. And I love that the solution involves buying individual quality ingredients rather than an expensive pre-packaged mixture of who knows what. I've seen eucalyptus essential oil at regular health grocery stores, but I've been trying to only use therapeutic grade essential oils which I order online.

Hope these tips help!

Blog Post by Laura A Knauth

2 comments:

  1. Eucalyptus sure does the job right, Laura? Not only does it relieve you of colds, it also helps in keeping your house free of dust mites. Dust mites bites can induce serious allergic conditions that are hazardous to one's health. Take care! :)

    Jessica Finley

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, exactly! And how often would people be persuaded to keep taking pills for issues like this, when there's a simple root cause solution? Hope we can be a little healthier down the road just by adding a little Eucalyptus into our lives. :)

      Delete