Eliminating Dog Odor With An Essential Oil Diffuser
Does the smell of pet urine, feces, litter boxes, or wet fur lingers around your home? Whether you own a cat or a dog, you’re certainly familiar with the stench of pet odor. It may seem like nothing can eliminate the smell of your pet entirely no matter how hard you clean and how many cleaning products you use.
Most cleaning products marketed for removing pet odor are made with harsh chemicals, harmful to your pet and family members. Luckily, you can get rid of nasty pet odors more naturally. The best essential oils to diffuse for pet odor can help you get rid of foul smells in your home in a natural way.
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When used appropriately, essential oils for pet odor can get rid of nasty smells and keep your home smelling fresh. However, diffusing essential oils near pets may worsen or cause liver and respiratory problems.
Read on to discover the best essential oils to diffuse to get rid of pet odor. I’ll also give you tips on using essential oils safely around pets.
What Are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are highly concentrated plant extracts made by either distilling a plant over boiling water or cold pressing. Often used in aromatherapy, essential oils offer people many health benefits, including providing relief from headaches, colds, skin conditions and reducing stress and anxiety.
Essential oils can be used in various ways. Some people apply essential oils directly on the skin, while others add them to tonics. Another popular way to use an essential oil is to add it to a diffuser which breaks down the oil and dispenses its fragrance throughout the home.
Are Essential Oils Safe For Dogs And Cats?
Although people can use essential oils topically and orally, essential oils should not be used directly on pets.
Essential oils are dangerous for household pets, especially cats. Cats and dogs are at risk of inhaling, ingesting, and absorbing essential oils through the skin. When absorbed by a body, essential oils can cause vomiting, seizures, difficulty breathing, liver problems, and pneumonia.
Unlike dogs, cats lack an essential enzyme inside their livers, so they have difficulty metabolizing and eliminating certain toxins, like essential oils, from their bodies. Essential oils known to cause poisoning in cats include:
- Wintergreen essential oil
- Sweet birch essential oil
- Citrus essential oil
- Pine essential oil
- Ylang-ylang essential oil
- Cinnamon essential oil
- Peppermint essential oil
- Pennyroyal essential oil
- Clove essential oil
- Tea tree essential oil
- Eucalyptus essential oil
When it comes to dogs, essential oils known to cause toxicity are:
- Tea tree essential oil
- Pennyroyal essential oil
- Pine essential oil
- Wintergreen essential oil
These essential oils are unsafe to diffuse or use in any other way around pets. Pet parents shouldn’t apply these oils on their skin either, as their pets can come into contact or ingest the essential oil accidentally.
Best Essential Oil To Diffuse For Pet Odor
Whether you’re looking for essential oils for cat urine or essential oils for dog smell, look for oils with antibacterial and antiviral properties. The best essential oils for pet odors are antibacterial, meaning they fight odor-causing bacteria and germs.
In order for essential oil for odor removal to be effective, it needs to possess antiviral properties as well. Many best essential oils for odor have antibacterial and antiviral properties, making them effective for getting rid of nasty pet odors.
The best essential oils for odor elimination that are safe for dogs and cats include:
- Lavender essential oil: Lavender has a floral and refreshing fragrance with woody undertones. This essential oil for odor control has antibacterial properties that rid your home of bacteria and germs. Besides being safe to diffuse around pets, the lavender essential oil can also be used for cleaning your home and removing the smell of pet urine from carpets and floors.
- Lemongrass essential oil: The aroma of lemongrass oil is robust and can quickly overpower other essential oils for odor removal if not used correctly. Most people enjoy this essential oil’s fresh, grassy, earthy, lemony, and sweet fragrance. Lemongrass essential oil has antibacterial and antifungal properties and is often used in aromatherapy.
- Cedarwood essential oil: Cedarwood oil is extracted from different varieties of cedar and juniper trees and has a rich woodsy scent. Thanks to antiseptic and antifungal properties, cedar oil eliminates foul odors. Cedarwood oil also has insecticidal properties and can be used to repel fleas and ticks.
- Frankincense essential oil: Frankincense essential oil has a woodsy scent similar to the fragrance of pine sap and rosemary. Like other essential oils for pet odor eliminator, frankincense essential oil has antibacterial properties and acts as an antiseptic. Thanks to these traits, this essential oil eliminates odor-causing bacteria and germs.
- Rosemary essential oil: The powerful and woodsy aroma of the rosemary essential oil is excellent for getting rid of stinky pet odors. Like other essential oils for pet odor elimination, rosemary essential oil has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. Besides being practical for eliminating nasty smells from your home, this essential oil can also work as a repellant for mosquitos and ticks.
Best Essential Oil Diffuser To Use Around Pets
Essential oils for stinky dogs are best used through a diffuser. No matter how smelly your pet is, you should never put undiluted essential oils directly on your pet’s skin. Furthermore, it’s best to keep essential oils away from your dog’s reach.
There are two types of diffusers – active and passive – you can use to diffuse the best essential oils for house smell. Different types of diffusers pose different risks to your pet’s health, so choose wisely.
Here’s everything you need to learn about active and passive diffusers for essential oils.
Passive Essential Oils Diffusers For Pets
Passive diffusers like reed diffusers and heat diffusers work by evaporating essential oils, emitting a pleasant fragrance. Passive diffusers are generally the safest option because they don’t spray small essential oil particles into the air. As long as your pet doesn’t knock the diffuser or comes into direct contact with the oil, a passive diffuser is safe to use.
Active Essential Oil Diffusers For Pets
Unlike passive diffusers, active diffusers distribute essential oils more aggressively. Nebulizing diffusers and ultrasonic diffusers are the most commonly used types of active diffusers. Besides dispersing a pleasant aroma, these diffusers also emit small particles of the essential oil into the air.
While these tiny droplets are of no concern to you, they can be very dangerous for pets. These droplets could fall on your pet’s coat, resulting in ingestion or absorption while grooming. Essential oils are highly concentrated, and even a few drops of certain oils can prove toxic to your pet.
Safety Tips For Using Essential Oil Diffuser For Pet Odor Around Cats & Dogs
Whether you want to use essential oils for cat odor, or essential oils for dog odor, consult your vet first. The best way to protect your pet from essential oil toxicity is to avoid using essential oils in your home.
But, if using essential oils is the only way to remove foul pet smells from your home, use the following safety tips:
- Never apply essential oils to your pet: Undiluted and diluted essential oils can irritate the skin, making your pet itchy and scratchy. Using essential oil directly on your pet makes it more likely for the animal to ingest a toxic dose of the essential oil while grooming.
- Don’t diffuse essential oils if your pet has asthma: Avoid diffusing essential oils in your home if your pet suffers from asthma or other respiratory problems.
- Keep your home ventilated: Cats and dogs have excellent senses of smell and can easily become overwhelmed by the aroma of the essential oil. Keep your home ventilated by opening windows regularly to let the fresh air in. Also, do not leave the diffuser running for more than an hour every day.
- Choose a place for the diffuser: Find a place in your home where your pet doesn’t spend much time, and place the diffuser there. Do not diffuse essential oils near your dog’s bed, food and water bowls, or litter box. Put a diffuser in a place where it won’t accidentally be knocked over by your pet.
A Final Word On Essential Oils For Pet Odors
Did you know you can use essential oils to care for your pets? Would you like to care for your animals yourself - in the comfort of your own home? Here's what you need to know.
Using essential oil dog spray or diffusers is an effective and natural way to get rid of pungent pet odors. Some of the best essential oils to diffuse for pet odor include lavender essential oil, cedarwood essential oil, lemongrass essential oil, and rosemary essential oil.
These essential oils are safe to diffuse around cats and dogs for up to one hour every day. To prevent your pet from coming into direct contact with essential oil, use a passive diffuser and keep it out of your pet’s reach.
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Best Essential Oils For Homes With Dog & Pet Odor
Disclaimer: AlphaPetsUK.com does not intend to provide veterinary advice. While the information provided is thoroughly researched, the content is not a substitute for veterinary care and guidance.
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