How to Neutralize Essential Oil Scents

Essential oil scents can be very strong because they are concentrated and they can linger a long time in a closed room because they are highly volatile. Mass-market products usually are not effective enough to remove the smell of essential oils because they merely cover up odors with other scents. The overload of odors makes our nasal passages insensitive to odors. A few natural products remove strong scents by neutralizing them.

In small amounts, essential oils can freshen up your rooms, but if you use too much, the odor can be overwhelming.

Step 1

Open the windows wide and put a fan in the window to blow in fresh air. Open two windows, one at each end of the room, to create an air current. Place a bowl of baking soda or coffee grounds in the room affected by the scent; these household products will absorb the odor.

Step 2

Saturate a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol if you accidentally spill essential oil on your skin or on the floor, then rub the spot with it. The rubbing alcohol removes the oils and then evaporates in the air quickly. Let the area air dry.

Step 3

Use an oxidizer. Oxidizers contain an ingredient that reacts with the scent molecules in the air and weigh them down. The molecules then fall to the ground. Examples of oxidizers are Expel Odor Neutralizer, NosGuard SG, MMS, ClenAir and OdorXit. These products use chlorine dioxide gas as an oxidizer.

Step 4

Use deionization. Products that use deionization bond with the essential oil scent molecule and change its structure, effectively neutralizing it. X-O and Air Technologies use this technology. The results are instantaneous and permanent.

Soumy Ana
