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4 Natural Air Fresheners To Make Your RV Smell Great

This post was updated on May 2nd, 2023

natural air fresheners - Photo via Wikipedia Creative Commons
lindsay.dee.bunny, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

4 Natural Air Fresheners To Make Your RV Smell Great

If you live in an RV, you may be familiar with an issue that many of us have… they can get stinky! Today I am sharing 4 natural air fresheners to make your RV smell great!

Living tiny is amazing, but having lots of people and sometimes lots of animals can make tiny living smelly. Plus, if you are like me, you probably spend a lot of time outdoors and bring dirt/sand/leaves into your home. It’s not that your RV isn’t clean, it just needs some extra love to smell good.

Natural air fresheners for an RV

Having a great smelling home does not mean filling the air with artificial chemicals or smells. I use all 4 of these methods all the time to combat smells (especially dog smells).

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Let’s talk about 4 natural air fresheners to make your RV smell amazing!

1. Candles

First up as a natural air freshener is candles. In the US, the candle business is a whopping $3.14 billion dollars annually! With the holiday season right around the corner, you are sure to find warm scents that will eliminate any lingering odor. In fact, 35% of candle sales occur during the holiday season – so tis the season to stock up (they also make a great gift)!

I personally like lighting a big jar candle towards the end of the day around dinner time. There is something about having a lit candle on the dining table that helps set a relaxing mood. It also helps with clearing out any lingering kitchen smells.

Happy Camper – Find them on Amazon here

Unfortunately, candles can get a bad rap for being harmful to the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). When you are choosing a candle, make sure you avoid candles with paraffin wax, chemical fragrances, and cored wicks (cotton around a metal support).

Alternatively, choose candles made with soy or beeswax. Ensure the wick is made from natural fibers such as cotton and the fragrance is made from essential oils.

Candles should absolutely, under no circumstances be left lit while unsupervised! It is also important to ensure they are not left burning close to anything flammable (like curtains). Always watch little kids and pets around an open flame.

If you are unsure about flame candles but still want the ambiance, try a battery operated candle like @bowenwiththeflow shares in this post:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CC1CEChACLQ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

2. Incense

Incense is one of my favorite natural air fresheners, if not my number one! I love how many different types of scents there are. I also find it extremely relaxing.

Incense has been around since ancient times and has many different purposes, including getting rid of odor. It is made of an aromatic, combustible material that when lit, smokes. The smoke creates the fragrance.

Natural air freshener - incense!
One of my favorite natural air fresheners is incense.

There are a few different types of incense (coil, cones, powder, stick) and the incense sticks are my chosen type. This is my favorite brand of incense sticks. My favorite scent is White Sage. If you aren’t familiar with incense, here is a perfect starting kit! I have used this brand and the quality is good.

Similar to candles, incense is an open flame and needs to be used with care. When the stick of incense is done burning, it will extinguish itself. However, incense should not be used around anything flammable, an incense stand should be used, and it should always be supervised.

3. Homemade natural air freshener spray

Next up is my favorite homemade, natural air freshener spray!

Traditional air fresheners can be potentially toxic. They may emit a range of potentially toxic air pollutants that can negatively affect air quality. Air freshener ingredients are notoriously undisclosed. In studies, fewer than 10% of all volatile ingredients are fully disclosed on labels or safety data sheets for air fresheners!

Natural air freshener - homemade recipe for room spray
My homemade, natural air freshener spray has 3 ingredients.

In this recipe for my homemade air freshener, I am going to share all the ingredients. No hidden chemicals or harmful substances here!

I mist this air freshener into the air all day long! My favorite essential oil to use is lavender because lavender is very relaxing and has known calming properties. Mix different oils to create different scents! There is no wrong combination for your natural air freshener.

If you have pets, you should be aware that some essential oils can be harmful (even fatal). Be sure to do your own research because there is a lot of information available and different lists of what oils are harmful.

According to Life Hacker,

The especially toxic oils, where pets are concerned, include wintergreen, d-limonene (citrus), pine, cinnamon, pennyroyal, eucalyptus and tea tree. You can still have a diffuser in your home, but Wismer suggests keeping your pet and your running oil diffuser in separate rooms and avoid using the device for long periods of time.

How to make natural air freshener

This natural air freshener recipe only contains 3 ingredients!

  1. In an empty spray bottle, combine 3 parts water and 2 parts isopropyl alcohol. (I also recommend reusing an empty spray hand sanitizer bottle if you have one).
  2. Add approximately 10-15 drops of your favorite essential oil.
  3. Shake well and spray into the air. The air freshener can also be used to refresh fabrics.

4. Oil diffuser

Last but not least, another great natural air freshener is the oil diffuser.

There are many different types of essential oil diffusers. My favorite (and what I use in my RV) is an ultrasonic oil diffuser. This type of diffuser creates a very light mist that carries the essential oil into the air.

You can choose from many different styles of diffusers. Some features that I looked for when selecting my diffuser were changing light colors, different run modes, and a long run time. Also, you can select a diffuser that fits your décor!

Here is a similar model to the one I have!

Natural air fresheners - essential oil diffuser
My ultrasonic essential oil diffuser for freshening the air.

Just like the natural air freshener spray, I mix my favorite essential oils depending on my mood. I like to have my diffuser running most of the day on the periodic run mode. I find this method makes the most out of the oil. Also, I don’t go “nose-blind” or experience sensory adaptation to the scent.

You can also try this method for creating a homemade Essential Oil Diffuser In Your RV.


So those are my 4 favorite natural air fresheners! There are so many ways to make your RV smell great whether you like candles, incense, oil diffusion, or my homemade, natural air freshener spray. If your smell is coming from a blank tank odor, you may also want to try these tricks to get the smell to go away for good. You may also want to be aware of these Weird Smells In Your RV & What They Might Be.

What is your favorite way to freshen your RV air? Let us know in the comments below, on our Facebook page, or share them with the RV community on iRV2 Forums.