Air Fresheners Question

[firstlady]

Thank you Portia, i didn't know for sure. it sure does smell strong now, can't wait till it gets dry, soon i hope.

[lbtddr]

i thought it would but it did not soak through.i am sure the inside has some oil on it.when i added more salt it seemed to soak up enough that it wasnt to wet. i did not think they would dry i thought if they did all the scent would be out of them.i dont think you need to add as much scent as i started out with. it seems like a little goes a long ways.i started thinking of it as making bath salts.bath salts does not take much scent.

[SatinDucky]

where do you get rock salt?

You can usually get it in small bags in the summertime at the grocery store with the ice cream making stuff. In the winter(depending on where you live) you can usually get large bags at home improvement type stores for de-icing driveways, etc. I'm sure there are more, but that's all I can think of right now.

[kyle]

Hey all this was posted earlier. I would also try either fresh steps crystals or tidy cat.. This is a silica sand that comes either in granules or pellets.

I am going to mix crystals and rock salt to see how they react. You can get these at walmart in pet section.

Kyle

[hawaiiansun]

Ibtddr.. don't the bag get wet, if the salt is wet. i got mine out in sun drying like pdevine said, but i'm afraid the sun will take away the scent. i think i give it today then add it with my corn cob.

The bag gets wet but I hang mine up over night and it dries out. The salt does have a stronger scent than the corn cobs and I've used less fo in the salt. My first preference is aroma beads, but for me it's so expensive (shipping) so I want to save the beads for my ornies.

[firstlady]

I can understand that sun... your ornies are beautiful. shipping is high even here, the wax i want for canes , is going cost me $10.31 for shipping and the slab of wax only cost $11.90 LOL! i got my bags at walmart in the craft dept. just for this first time, i think they are the organza fabric, will it be strong enough for the salt sachets? Kyle going see if one of thes things works first, before getting anything else, hubby is starting to give me funny looks at all my projects, i have sitting around:rolleyes2 besure to post your results.

[mamafescandles]

I see you guys have been busy with the air fresheners and testing. GREATTTTTT....I've been testing the Vermiculite and I did get some potpourri fixative that is awesome but too expensive. I ordered 40lbs of vermiculite and I plan to add it with the corn cob bedding. How's the salt coming along....I've read everyone's post and I will try the salt but goodness I don't have time to wait days for it to dry. Hmmmm!!! I do put my vermiculite/corn cob in a 1mil plastic bag before inserting into the muslin bag because I stamp my bags with my logo before packaging and the ink will bleed if I don't use a plastic bag. Believe it or not it still smells through the 1mil plastic bag, muslin bag and the 2mil bag I use for the finished packaging.

I've been busy as heck doing volunteer work here in Houston with the Hurricane victims at the Astrodome. But it's great to see you guys are still at it and posting some helpful information. Continued success in all your endeavors.

One Love

Mamafe

[mamafescandles]

I sell a ton of the air fresheners...even have groups that do fundraisers with them because they last so long. First thing...Ya have to have a STRONG FO!....I use a mixture if Corn cob and Vermiculite. The vermiculite is way to light to be used alone IMO. Good luck hope things work out for ya.

Hello Kimberly, I'm curious to know your f/o ratio using the corncob/vermiculite and how long does the freshener last? I'm still testing this combination and so far it's week 2 and the freshener is still smelling in my SUV. Also, do you insert the ingredient inside a plastic liner before putting into the muslin bag?

Thanks a bunch

Mamafe

[DoLLz]

You can get rock salt really cheap ... $5 for a 40 pound sack. They're used for water softeners.

[firstlady]

Yesterday my salt mixture was still wet and was loseing some scent , i couldn't smell it as strong anymore when i was on porch. so i filled one bag with it, mix the rest with my corncob mixture, they were both same scent. took one bag and filled it with this mixture. then i put the salt rock sachet in dh's car and the corn cob one in my car to test. this morning the smell in my car is stronger, also i had put a paper towel under the salt sachet in case it leaked, which it did. i want to try thr rock again but with less fo this time because starting out it did have the stronger scent, they still do mixed together. i think 1 oz of fo mixed with 2 cups salt was to much for it, yet on the other hand 1 oz of fo mixed with 2 cups of corn cob didn't even look like it had anything in it. i had about 3/4 of an oz of peaches & cream fo that i didn't like, mixed in to 1 cup of corncob and it was real wet at first, now it has soaked it up and smell stong even if i don't like the smell LOL! so all this testing , still not sure what to use or if i want to, this could get costly if i have to use more fo than the recipe of bitter creek says, the northener star was real strong in salt but not strong enough in the corn cob, but like i said, to me 1 oz didn't look like it was even ther, i pour it and it just got sucked up. so i'll be testing more too:smiley2:

[Sharon in KY]

Salt did not work for me and the corn cobs just didn't last very long. I want to try the Vermiculite, where would I get about a lb for testing? Thanks

[hawaiiansun]

Salt did not work for me and the corn cobs just didn't last very long. I want to try the Vermiculite, where would I get about a lb for testing? Thanks

HI how did salt not work? I know it's a PITA to get it to absorve, but scent wise, how was it? Cause I get a real good throw with salt

You can get vermiculite in and garden shop

[lbtddr]

i ended up putting a little zip lock bag with the salt inside.in case it driped.but left the top open.but after mixing alot less fo to the salt i dont think it would drip.i do not wont to worry about driping so i will be on the safe side.but the scent is alot stronger than the corn cob.has been one week in my truck and still nice and strong. i used a lighter scent i did not care for.i am going to test a good strong scent now.i left the salt in a jar for two days i did not try to let it dry.

[firstlady]

My salt was strong also, just couldn't get it dry, after mixing it in with my corn cobs , it make my jar with the cobs in it smell stronger, and the bag i put in my car isn't leaking so i guess the cobs dried the salt up. going try the vermiculite too, but if nothing else does better than the cob & salt mixture i will keep it. just got to test and see how long the scent last.

[hawaiiansun]

Yep I found a combination is great. The salt is the best I think at holding the scent, but the worst as far as absorving weird , but the mixture of corn con or I've used some beads also will sop it up and you still get the strong scent. Never tried the vermiculite I'm interested to see how it does.

Maybe it's me but corn cob alone just doesn't do it for me. To me it changes the scent

Post results please seems lots of people are testing which is great :highfive:

[firstlady]

LOL! sun i know exactly what you mean, when i first smelled my cob mixture, i said to myself , girl you just wasted a oz of costly fo, it didn't smelll strong at all like the salt, but mixed together they are good. called my son at lowe's, lucky me:yay: he works in garden dept. told him what i needed, said they had it ( vermiculite) and would bring me some home. yes with all us testing we're going come up with something good:highfive: wonder if we could dry the salt in oven? might not want ever bake in it again LOL!

[mamafescandles]

Yep I found a combination is great. The salt is the best I think at holding the scent, but the worst as far as absorving weird , but the mixture of corn con or I've used some beads also will sop it up and you still get the strong scent. Never tried the vermiculite I'm interested to see how it does.

Maybe it's me but corn cob alone just doesn't do it for me. To me it changes the scent

Post results please seems lots of people are testing which is great :highfive:

I agree with you on the corn cob alone, which is why I started this thread. It sold good for me but I wasn't pleased with the longevity of the scent throw...It smells really strong the first few days and then the scent dies...it smells if you put it to ya nose or directly in front of the a/c vent in the car but I wanted something that held the scent longer. The vermicuite is nice and it is what most of the competitors use...Heck, I opened a bag I purchased from a local store and didn't know what the hell that was inside the bag LOL...which is another reason I started this thread hoping someone could tell me LOL. At any rate, I found out what it was and when I came to the board on yesterday I saw someone had already posted about the vermiculite. I am testing it now with the corn cob, but since Hawaiian is raving about the salt I must try it...heck maybe I will use all 3, corn cob, salt and vermiculite..HMMMMMM,,, at this point whatever works

[hawaiiansun]

LMAO mamafe, I went to Walmart today saw the vermiculite and thought wtf was that lol I letf the bag behind haha, maybe I"ll go back and pick it up since it works. Gotta leave the salt in though cause 1. It holds the scent and 2. They are big and take up room so you don't need a lot to fill the bags. 1st priority is a great product that lasts, 2nd cost effective

I think with all our brains working we'll get this right :highfive:

[firstlady]

I'm guilty... went to store, took a peek what's inside, there it was these little things looks like thin foam, folded over&over and some little round things. i'm shame of my self... but i'll get over it:p my dear son better be getting his butt down here with my vermiculite!

[hawaiiansun]

Well if we don't get this fresheners right at least we'll all have great gardens LOL :bliss:

[firstlady]

True! yesterday i replace the sachet in dh's car because it was leaking bad on the paper towel. i put one with the salt & corncob mixture . it is dry, so i hung the bag on something on dash, hubby gets in car this morning goes to town, when he came back said he had to put bag under his seat LOL! it was so strong, told him to wait and see how it was a few weeks from now, don't have a clue at how long they will be strong. don't want to waste more fo's if they don't last long.

[kyle]

Im back with a new computer. A earlier post in this thread stated that crushed walnut shell works good as a absorbing agent. I bought 25 pouns to test. Five pounds was 5.47. 25 Pounds was 18.99. Got it at petsmart.

So far in my testing the vermiculite worked the best. Lasted about 1 month.

The only problem is this material is very light. i will keeep you all posted.

[Jane42]

OK - I have tried the corn cob....ready to add something to it! How did it work out for everyone? I have my list ready to pick up some rock salt and vermiculite!!

[candlebean]

I don't make the bags yet, but after reading all of your posts, my curiosity is definately "peak"ed!

I've only been making candles for a little over a year now, but these sound so cool. From what I can gather, you take some corn cob (or some of the other suggestions you all have come up with), add your FO, let it dry and then scoop in into the satchels? This sounds so easy, so if I am making it too simple, please tell me what I am missing. They seem almost too good to be true! No wicking, no wet spots....ahhh heaven!

[Sharon in KY]

And there is that shinny beighish spongie stuff they put in potting plant dirt. I can never remember the name. It hardly weighs anything so shipping should be cheaper. It is in those nice envelopes that they sell at Cracker Barrel to use as a sachet or vacuum cleaner freshener. I looked this fall in WalMart and KMart but couldn't find it. Maybe in the spring it will come back out. Might have to find out the name and call some nurserys to see if they have it. Does anyone know what I'm talking about???? TIA