Handy Dandy Guide
To Reed Diffusers
by Chelsea Quinn (Supermom of 4 that
really puts products to the test !)
Reed
diffusers have grown in popularity in record
time. Reed diffusers are a great home
fragrancing method and are much safer
than candles as they are completely
flameless. This makes them a great
alternative to those of us that work in a
cubicle all day and cannot burn candles or
don't want to worry about whether or not we
remembered to blow them out or if we will
start our curtains on fire.
Reed
diffusers consist of a glass container filled
with a specially blended scented oil. You
insert rattan reed sticks into the oil
and that's it ! Very simple stuff here !
The oil is a blend of fragrance or essential
oils combined with a base that
"carries" the oil up the reeds.
Rattan reeds are inserted into the oil and
the oil travels up to the top of the reeds
via channels. These channels are like small
little tubes that run the entire length of
the reed. Each reed stick has about 20 of
these channels in them. Through natural
means, (evaporation) the oil travels up to
the tops of the reeds where it is
naturally dispersed into the air leaving your
home or office filled with scent.
Use
your imagination when it comes to the glass
container. A glass bottle, a beautiful vase
or heck..even an old drinking glass
would work just fine. I have even found that
some manufacturers sell the refill oils
in PET plastic bottles. Plastic bottles
made out of PET material are safe to
use. You can insert your reeds right
into the plastic bottle the oil comes in
! Ask your manufacturer if they use PET
plastic as other types of plastics will not
hold up long-term to the fragrance oils or
materials in the reed diffuser bases
and can eat right through the plastic.
Suppliers such as OilRefills.com utilize PET plastic
bottles that are safe to use as a
container.
When
purchasing reed diffuser kits (or refill
oils) you want to be sure to ask your
supplier about the ingredients in their base.
Many will not disclose the specific
ingredients, but will let you know if it
contains alcohol, solvents such as
dipropylene glycol (often referred to as DPG)
or other harsh chemical solvents. As reed
diffuser oils are not meant to be used on the
skin, manufacturers do not have to (by law)
disclose ingredients to the public and many
have spent loads of time and money developing
thier bases and don't want anyone to
duplicate thier creations.
Alcohol
is highly flammable and causes the fragrance
oils to evaporate too quickly. When this
happens, you have to purchase more. Frequent
replacement means more cash out of your
pocket. Avoid bases containing alcohol for
these reasons. Dipropylene glycol, or DPG is
a solvent used to "thin out"
fragrances. Some fragrance oils are thick
(especially vanillas !) and many
manufacturers add DPG to make the fragrance
thinner so that it wicks up the reeds more
easily. However, DPG itself is a little too
thick to properly wick up the reeds so in my
opinion, it really is not an effective method
to get optimal performance from your
diffuser.
Several
suppliers carry an environmentally
friendly base made out of sustainable
materials. The base is not completely natural
as fragrance oils themselves are synthetic-
but it does not contain alcohol, DPG or other
chemical solvents. The
Diffusery
and
MyDiffuserOils.com carry such bases.
I
hope this handy guide has helped you to
understand reed diffusers and how to select
quality ones in a market quickly becoming
full of options. If in doubt, talk to your
supplier about thier products or visit some
of the reputable merchants I have listed in
this guide.
