my "scientific" findings
Many reed diffuser recipes call for mostly oil. But oil was a disaster. It was way too heavy to travel up the reeds and the scent was minimal. Water worked much better. Tap water seemed to work just as well as distilled/filtered water. Essential oils were the perfect choice for the scent. Unlike fragrance oils, essential oils are natural compounds extracted from parts of plants, flowers, and trees. Adding a splash of rubbing alcohol or vodka helped the essential oils distribute more evenly into the water, but the water traveled up the reeds better without it. So here's the recipe I came up with. It's simple, natural, and inexpensive, my three favorite words.
ingredients
bottle or vase with a narrow neck
1/4 cup water
10-15 reed diffuser sticks or bamboo skewers
30+ drops of essential oils
directions
A vase or bottle with a narrow neck is best to help prevent the water from evaporating into the air. I used reed diffuser sticks, but I've read that bamboo skewers also work. The reeds should be about double the length of the vase so you may need to cut them with wire cutters. Add water and essential oils to the vase. You can find essential oils at your local health food store, Amazon or Mountain Rose Herbs. Stir vigorously with the reeds. Be patient and give the scented water a chance to travel up the reeds. Rotate the ends of the reeds every so often.
cost savings
$15-40 Commercial Reed Diffuser
$1.54 DIY Reed Diffuser
$0.00 recycled bottle or vase
$0.00 water
$1.19 10 reed diffuser sticks [$11.94/100 pack on Amazon]
$0.35 30 drops cinnamon EO [$3.50/0.5 oz at Mountain Rose Herbs]
To see more ways to freshen a room naturally, check out my blog post Natural Air Freshener Ideas that Heal, Not Hurt. If you want to learn more ways to use essential oils, check out these blog posts.
What essential oils do you like to use for freshening a room?
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Cool! How often do you add the oils? How long do the reeds last?
ReplyDeleteI'm not exactly sure because I've only had my homemade diffuser for about a month. But I've read that the reeds should last for months. Eventually you'll need to change them when they get overly saturated (because the channels will close in), they get clogged with dust, or when you change the scent.
DeleteThat's my question also: I'm assuming you can replace the EO/water after it's dried up and use the same reeds as long as you don't use a different essential oil (unless you don't mind the combined scents). I'm thinking of using thieves oil to help combat some mold issues in my house. I've already cleaned off the mold with thieves cleaner and have diffused it through a plug-in diffuser, but I really like the idea of a non-electric method. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteNaomi in Kernersville
I'm not exactly sure because I've only had my homemade diffuser for about a month. But I've read that the reeds should last for months. Eventually you'll need to change them when they get overly saturated (because the channels will close in), they get clogged with dust, or when you change the scent. Good luck!
DeleteWow, I was just trying to get bamboo skewers to work the other day but didn't have any luck. Now I know why: I was using oil! Thanks for the explanation about how to do this properly. I plan to diffuse some Thieves Oil in our house over the weekend, since we're all fighting colds right now.
ReplyDeleteI'd love if you'd come join my How To Tuesday link party, too.
http://housewifehowtos.com/link-party-2/how-to-tuesday-link-party-9/
Wow! How timely your article is. I bought a new reed diffuser at a second hand store last week. I threw out the packet of scented oil that came with it, because, I have chemical sensitivity and perfumes make me very sick. I mixed oil and essential oil in the bottle. I've been so disappointed that it doesn't seem to work. Now, I know why. Will try water. I hope I didn't ruin the sticks with the oil. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGreat article!! I plan to get some reeds soon as a way to use the many essentail oils I have in my home. I've made room spray before and love that, but reeds allow the scent to linger for a longer period of time.
ReplyDeleteI am SO happy to find this! Thank you very much. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea. I am going to try this!
ReplyDeleteI have a weekend Link party if you'd care to join:
http://www.bobijensen.com
Love this idea. I really dislike the chemicals in store bought diffusers. Thank-you for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteI really love how you do your pictures! Very cool. I come to your just to admire them and drool a little. Haha :) And of course read about all your great creations! Thanks so very much for sharing! I want to try these since during my recent move somehow my old reeds disappeared...weird.
ReplyDelete