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    Home » DIY Projects

    DIY Floral Water or Hydrosol

    July 4, 2021 by Patti Estep 8 Comments

    Jump to How-to Card
    Lavender and mint next to a spray bottle of floral water
    Spray bottle of floral water next to fresh mint and lavender.

    Make your own floral water or hydrosol with herbs and flowers from your own backyard with this easy tutorial. Then use the hydrosol to freshen your skin, linens, and your home.

    Spray bottle of floral water with fresh lavender and mint on a linen towel.

    What's a Hydrosol?

    A hydrosol is the floral water that remains through steam distillation of plant material and is often a by-product of the production of essential oils.  Since I was trimming up some of my herbs, I thought this would be a good time to make some floral water to use in our home.

    Fresh picked lavender, mint and rose scented geranium.

    How to Make Floral Water

    You've probably heard of rose water before, however, you can use any scented herb or flower to make a hydrosol.

    Simply collect your plant material. I'm using lavender, mint and rose scented geranium. Wash them first to get rid of any dirt and pests.

    Fresh picked lavender, mint and rose scented geranium in the bottom of a large pot.

    Place the herbs in a large clean pot.  Fill the pot with distilled water until you just cover the plant material.

    Here, I'm using a crab pot that has a basin, followed by another pot with holes that fits inside the basin. You can use a veggie steamer in a large pot too. Some use a brick to weigh down the herbs and act as a shelf for the collection bowl.

    Glass bowl in upper pot.

    Next, you need to place a collection bowl in the upper pot, on top of the brick, or steamer.  If you are using a steamer you may need to place a heatproof bowl upside down to act as a shelf for the steamer to sit on. Just make sure your collection bowl is not sitting in the water. 

    Ice on top of pot lid

    Then, place the lid on upside down, and place a bag of ice on top. 

    Bring the water to a simmer on the stove, checking every 15  minutes or so, to replace the ice as needed.

    Note: It would be a good idea to freeze a few bags of water ahead of time.

    Hydrosol collected from distillation in a bowl.

    As the steam from the plants rises, it meets the cold lid and condensation occurs, creating hydrosol droplets to fall into the collection bowl. Pretty cool, huh?

    After about an hour I was able to collect about 4 ounces of hydrosol.

    I poured it into a spray bottle and set it in the refrigerator.

    Homemade floral water spray bottle next to fresh lavender, rose scented geranium and mint leaves.

    Hydrosols & Floral Water Uses

    • Face spritzer to tone and refresh
    • Linen spray - perfect for use while ironing
    • Room freshener spray

    Looking for more? How about Hydrosols and 101 Ways to Use Them.

    This is a fun project to try, however, you can also buy hydrosols online. Some of them are made from unusual products that you would not likely have access to, such as Ylang Ylang and Frankincense.

    I think this would make a really nice gift, don't you?

    Patti signature

    More Herb Bath and Body Crafts

    • Herbs for Face Steaming
    • Homemade Sachets
    • Herbal Bath Salts

    Herbal Water in Spray Bottle on linen ~ Herbal Hydrosols ~ gardenmatter.com
    Print

    Hydrosols - How to Easily Make Them from Your Own Herbs and Flowers

    Learn how to make your own DIY hydrosol using herbs and flowers from your yard. This floral water is perfect to use in your home.
    Prep Time15 mins
    Active Time30 mins
    Total Time45 mins
    Course: Flower Crafts/Decor
    Yield: 1 Hydrosol
    Author: Patti Estep
    Cost: $10

    Equipment

    • A large pot
    • steamer basket

    Materials

    • Plant material - herbs like mint rosemary leaves, and sage
    • Flowers such as lavender or rose petals
    • Distilled water
    • Ice

    Instructions

    • Collect your plant material.
    • Wash them first to get rid of any dirt and pests.
    • Place the herbs in a large clean pot.
    • Fill the pot with distilled water until you just cover the plant material.
    • Place a bowl in the upper pot, on top of the brick, or steamer.
    • Make sure your collection bowl is not sitting in the water. 
    • Place the lid on upside down.
    • Place a bag of ice on top. 
    • Bring the water to a simmer on the stove, checking every 15 minutes.
    • Replace the ice as needed.
    • Pour it into a spray bottle and set it in the refrigerator.

    More DIY Projects

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    • Homemade Dusting Spray

    About Patti Estep

    Patti is the creator of Hearth and Vine, a home and garden blog filled with projects to inspire your creative side. She loves crafting, gardening, decorating and entertaining at her home in Pennsylvania. When she is not working on a project at home or searching for treasures at nurseries and thrift stores with her girlfriends, you’ll probably find her with family and friends, at a restaurant, or home party enjoying new and different food adventures.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Ann

      April 28, 2020 at 12:02 pm

      Sorry that I wasn't clear. My steamer is an electric one. On the bottom there is the container with the warmth element that you fill with water, on top of it there is another container that collects the
      drops of the steamed vegetables, and on top of this there is a kind of basket where I put the vegetables plus on top a lid. I think if I understand your tutorial it should be the same, but I'm not sure.

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        April 28, 2020 at 2:08 pm

        Ann, it does sound similar but I'm not 100% sure. I don't think it would hurt to try it. 

        Reply
    2. Ann

      April 27, 2020 at 7:37 am

      Hello, I have a question. When I use my steamer after steaming the vegetables there is liquid in the container under the basket with the vegetables. If I put herbs and flowers, can this liquid be considered as a hydrosol?

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        April 27, 2020 at 7:50 am

        Ann, I'm not sure if I understand your question. It seems like you are asking if you can use the water at the bottom of a steamer as a hydrosol and I would say that's not what my project was about. You need to be able to collect the water from the condensation created by steaming the flowers and collecting that essence for this project. However, I think your steamer water is much like an infusion and can be used as a floral water too. 

        Reply
    3. Julie Briones

      July 25, 2018 at 1:07 pm

      This is such a neat project! I have never heard of rose-scented geraniums? Are they hard to find? Do the blooms smell like roses?

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        July 26, 2018 at 7:30 am

        Julie, they should not be hard to find. They actually come in many different scented varieties. The blooms do smell but they are very small and insignificant. The foliage, however, it full of scent. I wrote a post about them if you want to learn more.

        Reply
    4. Carole West

      July 25, 2018 at 8:16 am

      Great idea - I could use this during our scorching temperatures and it's just so my herbs need a trim so I may have to give this a try.

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        July 25, 2018 at 10:52 am

        Carole, it's a great project for a rainy day or scorching day. I hope you get a chance to try it.

        Reply

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