Cedar essential oil against moths

There are several varieties of cedar. The essential oil of cedar is obtained by distillation of wood and sawdust of cedar wood, especially of the Cedar atlantico and red cedar varieties. You can also find Lebanese essential oil, more valuable and expensive, or Chinese cedar, of lower quality.

Some oils can be obtained from needles, but they are very rare essential oils with milder properties, and with milder fragrance notes.

The antiparasitic properties of the cedar are also known by the carpenters, who anciently, and depending on availability, used cedar wood for the bottom of drawers and cabinets . The production of cedar wood furniture is very rare, but you can still find elements of furniture with cedar components, especially in ethnic furniture stores.

Cedar wood, reduced to small scales or in small smooth branches, is used as a moth-proof and in general to perfume cabinets and drawers. It can easily be found in furniture stores and natural products or on the internet.

Cedar wood must be sanded every two months to release its aroma. You can use cedar wood coupled with the essential oil of cedar, in order to amplify and make the effects last longer. Its scent is warm, woody with bark, persistent and balsamic.

Cedar essential oil against moths

The essential oil of cedar has a balsamic and woody fragrance, ideal for perfuming cabinets, places that we often keep closed.

The essential oil of cedar is not very expensive, and its fragrance lasts over time .

The use of essential cedar oil is recommended when changing cabinets, during the transition from one season to another. Especially in spring it is useful to empty the closet and leave it to infuse in a small burning essence with two drops of cedar oil in half a glass of hot water. The cabinet is left closed for a few hours and once opened it ventilates. Meanwhile, you can store the clothes of the new season in the drawers and inside the wardrobe itself.

This keeps the moths away. The operation can be repeated every three or four months.

The essential oil of cedar can also be used on cotton balls placed between the drawers, or by adding drops of essential oil to the cedar wood or to a porous wood, to be placed inside the furniture.

A further use of cedar oil makes it possible to protect the furniture from this parasite that feeds on the wood and to take care of the wood itself. It is possible, in fact, to create a wax to polish the furniture we are most fond of. The following ingredients are required to make this wax:

> 200 ml of raw beeswax:

> 400 ml of turpentine;

> 500 ml of water;

> 30 gr of Marseilles soap in flakes or powder;

> 6 drops of essential cedar oil.

Boil water and soap until the flakes melt. Set aside and while it cools down a little melt the wax in a bain-marie, in a glass jar large enough to also contain turpentine. Once the wax is dissolved, turpentine is added . Mix it all together and add it to still lukewarm soapy water.

It is necessary that the water is warm but not hot, however warmer than the wax, so that it does not coagulate. Add the wax, gradually, taking care to mix and dissolve in the water. In the end, the essential oil is also mixed. If you have difficulty in melting the ingredients together, you can heat it all in a bain-marie .

The wax is kept in jars closed for a few months. It is used very little when spread on a clean cotton cloth, and then applied to furniture. Give it a try, to test the quantity and the result on the wood: the wood could change color slightly, shifting to a warmer and more vivid shade. Clean the surface well with water before applying the wax.