An everyday household herb can be boiled and used as an air freshener and even to clean upholstery and floors, it has been claimed. Rosemary, a fragrant herb native to the Mediterranean, is a common sight in the kitchen, as it’s often added to dishes to boost flavour, including chicken, lamb, pork, poultry and fish.
Gardeners’ World describes the evergreen shrub (meaning it keeps its leaves throughout the year) as versatile, also highlighting its prevalent use in cooking and its “nectar-rich flowers” for springtime bees. Yet, the humble herb’s uses apparently extend beyond our evening casseroles. Indeed, it could even prove useful as a way to tackle your cleaning, a household hack that reportedly “works wonders”. When simmered, it produces a steam packed with “natural cleansing properties”, with the ability to tackle unwanted odours in your home, including from cooking and pets.
Taking advantage of this practical tip is simply a case of taking a handful of fresh or dried sprigs and putting them in a pot, covering them with water, and gently bringing them to the boil.
According to AfricanInSpace.com, you should: “Let it simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes and enjoy the fragrant steam filling your space. For added use, let the water cool, then pour it into a spray bottle.
“This homemade rosemary-infused mist works wonders as a gentle, natural cleaner for fabrics, upholstery, and floors. It’s a refreshing way to spread that herbal freshness throughout your home.”
House Beautiful is another publication that has hailed the herb for its dirt-busting benefits. Its method involves rosemary sprigs and a bottle of white distilled vinegar for tasks such as cleaning wall paintwork or tackling tiles.
Seren Evans-Charrington, a social historian who completed research for Marigold, dived into everything from 1930s cleaning manuals to magazines to discover such domestic hacks.
Once you’ve grabbed your ingredients, Marigold suggests you put six rosemary sprigs into a pan and cover them with the vinegar. Next, you should boil your mixture, take it off the heat, and then place your concoction into a jam jar.
Leave it overnight and then strain it into a spray bottle; you can now use this solution as a handy spray for your surfaces. Alternatively, it suggested that you keep the cleaner in a jar and dip a cloth into it.
In this way, you can utilise it for varnished or laminated surfaces or your tiles and paintwork. For the green-fingered among us, you could even grow the rosemary yourself as an extra cost-cutting measure.
Gardeners’ World recommends growing it in well-drained soil in the sun, noting that rosemary can experience problems if left in wet soil over the winter months while it’s still young.
It said that it’s worth growing your rosemary in a container for a couple of years prior to planting it in the garden. It added that you should cut the plant back every year.
You can learn more about growing the herb on the BBC Gardeners’ World website.
