Winter brings with it plenty of wet, cold, and rather dreary days, which means my heat is running almost nonstop. I found a DIY home humidifier trick from Good Housekeeping that adds some much-needed moisture to the air.
Bonus: This makes my house smell amazing! It uses all-natural ingredients, too—no artificial scents here!
Why DIY a Home Humidifier?
Add a stick of cinnamon, a peel of grapefruit, and maybe a shake or two of allspice or nutmeg to a large saucepan of water. Keep it on low, and make sure to add water when needed. And that’s it!
Since our sinuses become parched with dry air, which can contribute to sinus and respiratory illness, it’s best to keep them well-hydrated. This is why a humidifier in the wintertime is not only great for the skin, but it’s also great for the upper respiratory tract. It’s the same reason why many people get sick after flying—blame that cold, dry airplane air!
Pot simmer ingredients
Cinnamon is a very clarifying and purifying aroma on its own. Even just boiling a couple of sticks by themselves does wonders for getting rid of smells and adding that gorgeous, spiced aroma to your home. Grapefruit peel adds a little bit of lightness to the cinnamon, but it’s also a fantastic air-clarifying smell.
Some other amazing natural aromatics that you can add are vanilla pods, cloves, and ginger. Each of these has its own notes. I love using vanilla pods when I want to pretend that I’ve just made some cookies.
Feel free to experiment with your own favorite aromas to create a scrumptious gourmand-scented humidifier! There’s no limit to what you can do. And besides, it’s good to mix things up, so you don’t get bored with the same scents all the time.
My hubby said it started to look like a “witch’s brew,” but the concoction still smelled amazing on the second and even third day. You can expect the liquid to darken as it boils, and it can definitely look a little witchy, depending on what you’ve put in it! But no matter the looks, the smell is so homey—it makes me want to bake (or at least pretend that I have)!
How to use a pot simmer
Just let it simmer all day. It goes without saying, but this is definitely something you only want going while you’re at home to keep an eye on it! Keeping it on a low temperature also ensures that steam isn’t billowing out of it (it shouldn’t be!) since that can cause too much moisture and potentially lead to mold—not what we’re going for here.
A little bit of added moisture in the air is great for the house—and my skin. It gets so dry inside with the heater going in the winter! Adding that little bit of humidity to the air makes a huge difference in the moisture content of my skin, so this is something that I do pretty much every year.
The boiling water releases moisture in the form of steam, the same way as a humidifier. To circulate the moist air, add a fan next to the stove to blow the air around a bit. This makes sure that the super-comforting aroma spreads throughout the house.
Want more simmer ideas?
Uplifting Citrus Rosemary Pot Simmer
What do you do to make your house smell great?
Photos by Ana Stanciu
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I would like to know if there is any alternatives to grapefruit. We have a Curtis allergies.
Emails n want live see many differents kinds crafts n smell house
Emails n want love see many differents kinds crafts n smell house, loves crotchets n many things to do w my kids…
I like to put this in a crockpot and leave the lid off. Always worries me to keep a burner going on the stove even though it’s electric, too.
I use spices— cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
I also like to use some special teas for the same affect. I thought of this years ago when trying to sell my home! It worked, I sold my house in three months from posting it.
That’s super smart Ann – love that idea for an open house :)
One thing, though – steam with color ( I often add cinnamon sticks)
in it can leave your walls with visible streaks, especially if you steam often. I learned my lesson.
This happened to me also. I would put a tin with water and an essential oil on my wood burning stove. My ceiling had to be repainted because the steam and the oil left a brown film on the ceiling and the top of my walls.
We always used to keep a cast iron kettle on top of the wood stove in the living room. We’d put mulled cider spice mix in it. Its made up of orange peels, allspice berries, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.
That sounds so warm & cozy! And I bet it smelled even better!
This sounds awesome! I hate when our home is dry and of course who doesn’t love their house to smell good.
Oh wow. My house always just smells like whatever I last cooked (currently bacon…*ahem*) so this woul dbe a great remedy!
Eep! Had no idea you had moved, so I responded once and figured you’d not updated in months! Thank you for coming back.
this is fantastic! i love home sprucer-uppers that use all-natural ingredients and are easy to make. i have a stick of cinnamon to use too! thanks for sharing :)
Oooh, what a great idea! I love grapefruits. Happy new year!
This is fantastic!! I love this kind of thing and I have a grapefruit downstairs — I’m tempted to go get it right now.
Happy new year!! :)
I’ve done this with lemon, rosemary, and vanilla but I just love the idea of grapefruit peel! I bet it makes the house smell so homey and refreshing at the same time.
Ohhh, rosemary & vanilla sounds (and probably smells) amazing!
I never thought about just keeping something on the stove all the time, but when I think back I am pretty sure my great-grandmother did this.
I am going to give it a try for sure
As of now, Bath and Bodyworks candles are all over my house.
Brett
I need to get some candles! But I’m always so worried the kids will burn the house down – Henry enjoyed Hanukkah a little too much… :)
I use oranges, lemons, cinnamon and whole cloves. My daughter loves to come to my house as she says it reminds her of her childhood. I have been doing this for about 20 years.
My mom used to do this! She’d use oranges instead of grapefruit, but I remember how amazing it would make the house smell. I need to do this–I could use a humidifier right now!
I know, everything is so dry! And I was surprised how much the grapefruit smelled – even just peeling it was amazing.
I shall give this a try too!
We’ve done this with apples and cinnamon or orange peels and cloves if you want to mix up the scents! I’ll bet something like lemon peels and herbs would smell really good, too.
Next time I’m definitely trying cloves – I love how those smell!
My skin has been so dry lately. I’m so doing this today!!
Happy New Year! xo
My chapped hands NEED this! Happy new year, Stephanie!