Dust, mould and allergies: a cleansing ritual for home and body

The most common allergens are pollen, dust, mould, animal hair, insect bites, food, and medications.

Two of those live in every home. Closed windows, washing dried indoors and still air leave their mark: a musty wardrobe, dust along the skirting boards, a damp corner behind the curtains.

Clearing them out is where a fresh home starts. Here is how we reset a house, the blend we clean with, and a simple sage ritual to finish.

Open up first

• Pick a dry, breezy day and open windows on opposite sides of the house, so the air moves right through.
• Pull furniture away from the walls. Dust and damp gather where air cannot reach.
• Wash curtains, cushion covers and bedding, and dry them outside in the sun. Fresh air and sunlight do much of the work, with no harsh chemicals needed.
• Wipe surfaces with a damp cloth and a few drops of the Cleansing blend. A damp cloth holds dust instead of moving it around. Vacuum last, once it has settled.
• Check window frames, the backs of wardrobes and bathroom ceilings for mould. Wipe them with the blend, dry them out and keep the air moving.

Our Cleansing blend

Clean your house to clear out the must of winter.

Oil	ml	Drops
Sage	3 ml	60
Clove Bud	2 ml	40
Lemon	5 ml	100
Total	10 ml	200

10 ml or 200 drops of pure certified organic essential oils, at 20 drops to 1 ml. Combine in a clean 10 ml glass bottle and swirl gently.

How to use

• Diffuser: 10 drops in a water diffuser, or 5 ml in our portable diffuser.
• Spray: add 10 drops to a spray bottle with a tiny bit of liquid soap to disperse the oils. Spray and wipe.
• Cloth: add 5 to 10 drops to your damp cloth to wipe walls, especially areas where mould may gather.

Not suitable during pregnancy or around children under 5 years of age.

Why these three

Sage, Salvia officinalis, distilled from the plant and flowers in Spain. Bright and cleansing.

Sage gets its name from the Latin for salvation, and has one of the longest histories of use of any culinary or medicinal herb. Ancient Greeks revered it as a sacred herb, and many people believed that if sage prospered in their garden, the owner of the garden would prosper too.

Clove Bud, Eugenia caryophyllata, distilled from the bud in Madagascar.

Clove buds have been used both as a spice and natural remedy for over 4000 years. Chinese in the Han Dynasty would chew on the bud to freshen their breath. Clove is the oil we reach for when mould is the job.

Mould removal: diffuse or rub onto the area with a cleaning cloth.

Lemon, Citrus limonum, cold pressed from the rind in Argentina. Refreshing and energising, it is half the blend and lifts the air in any room. Both traditional Chinese and Indian medicine have used lemon for thousands of years.

Finish with a sage ritual

When the cleaning is done, add 10 drops of the Cleansing blend to the diffuser and leave one window open. Walk through each room, and take a minute in the one you spend the most time in. Notice the air. Then close up a home that is ready for the season ahead.

All three are certified organic.

15% off Sage, Clove Bud and Lemon with code CLEANSE15. Buy all three for the blend, or any one on its own, in any size. Ends Thursday 22 October at midnight.

Get Sage, Clove Bud and Lemon

Spend over NZD$95, AUD$125 or USD$75 and shipping is on us.