8 Ways to Use Tea Tree Oil In Your Home

I still remember the first time I saw someone using tea tree oil. I had heard of it before but didn't really know what you could even use it for. I was working as a Chiropractic Assistant (my career before babies) and one of the massage therapists I worked with was wiping the oil with a cotton swab all over the computer keyboard. Someone else we worked with had a bad cold and she wanted to disinfect it before she sat down to chart. It was then that I learned about using it as a disinfectant and to fight germs.Then, after Aubrey, I had a pretty bad tear and what I can only refer to as ‘Road Rash” from the delivery. On top of sits baths, my sister recommended that I add a bit of tea tree oil to my spray bottle after using the washroom to help heal faster. IT WORKED WONDERS! Within two weeks I was completely healed and swear by it post baby now.But I still had a bottle of it left and wanted to know what else to use it for. As you know, we try to be as natural as our budget and time allows, so I headed to Pinterest and Google to see what else we could switch out for tea tree oil.

8 Ways to Use Tea Tree Oil In Your Home

1. Disinfectant/Cleaner- Filling a spray bottle with 2 tsp of Tea Tree oil and the rest with water will become your new best friend this fall during the cold season.
2. Antiseptic -As I shared, this stuff works wonders to help clean out and speed up wounds. For the kids, I put it right on a cotton pad and wipe their scrapes with it before we bandage them up. Better yet, Thursday Plantation makes an antiseptic cream that you can apply right on the wound.
3. Acne -If your skin isn't sensitive to it, tea tree oil is a great natural alternative to treating acne. Just add a bit with your finger to the head of the pimple both day and night and watch it dry up in no time. I have been using the Thursday Plantation Face wipes in the morning to keep pimples at bay.
4. Bug Repellant -Known for repelling mosquitoes, add 2 oz to a spray bottle and spray on as you would any other bug spray. Because it does not contain DEET it's even safe for kids.
5. Dandruff - Adding a few drops of tea tree oil to your favorite shampoo can help control Dandruff.
6. Athletes Foot - Poor Poppy has the worst time with her toes cracking in the winter, so we apply a few drops of oil 2-3 times a day, and it heals in a week or two.
7. Nail Fungus - I always suffer from white spots on my toenails in the winter. I tend to give them a few months break from nail polish and paint them with Tea tree oil before bed, stopping the fungus from growing.
8. Odor Fighter - Add a few teaspoons to your favorite laundry detergent and get an added odor-fighting boost.

 But how do you know what Tea Tree Oil is good?Tea Tree oil falls into an essential oil category and unfortunately there is a major issue with regulating these products in Canada. The best way to know that you are getting a good tea tree oil is to make sure it comes from Australia and Australian brands because they have such strict regulations, that only the purest forms of tea tree oil is allowed to be produced there.We always use Thursday Plantation as it’s the best selling tea tree oil in the world (and comes in 4 sizes ranging from 10mL to 100mL to fit all your needs). It’s also the brand with the highest percentage of Terpinen-4-Ol at 40%, which is the percentage you want to look for to ensure your product is actually working. We get ours from our local Loblaws, but you can also purchase on Well.ca, and Walmart.There are actually hundreds of uses for the oil but these are what we use it for in our home. I'd love to hear how you use the oil in your home too!    

Thank you Thursday Plantation for supporting our family by sponsoring this post.