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Q: Bamboo, Reed, Wood? What is this stuff~ and what really works?

A: Lately we've seen more and more misinformation about diffuser reeds. The answer is simple. It's not wood. It's not bamboo. It's "reed", and reed is the only fiber that will work. 

Easy to understand if you think about it botanically: 

Bamboo absolutely does NOT work because
of its structure. Bamboo has what are called "nodes" on the outside of the plant. These are like tree "knots". On the inside of the bamboo at this location are "diaphragms" which block the flow of liquid from one section of the bamboo to the next. When bamboo is used for fountains, the solid wall of the diaphragm needs to be knocked out to create an opening. When bamboo grows to this size, it's also very hard and dense. (hard to be used as a substitute for hardwood flooring.) When you slice bamboo into slivers that make up "bamboo skewers", the plant doesn't lose any of this characteristic hardness. A bamboo skewer just looks similar to a reed. But it can't wick oils like reed.


Reed, on the other hand, is very porous and excellent for diffusion. Each 2.75mm or 3mm reed stick contains 20 or more individual cellular sections that run from top to bottom of the reed- like 20 micro-mini straws, totally open to pull liquid from bottom to top. This wicks the fragrance from inside the bottle, carries it to the top surface of the reed, and releases the fragrance into the air naturally.

We've been in the reed business for 25 years. We absolutely stand by these facts.

Q: What are "Reed Diffusers" and how do they work?  

A: Reed diffusers are the best alternative to candles. Strong, vibrant scents. No risk of fire. Reed diffusers have a wonderful aromatic scent while being flame-free. Absolutely no heat is needed. This makes them safe for classrooms, offices, nursing homes, homes. Reed diffusers emanate NO soot or film onto your furniture, walls and ceiling- the way candles do. If you use an ionic air cleaner, you already know that ionic cleaners must be cleaned twice as often if you use candles in your home. Not so with reed diffusers and fragrance oils.  The BEST thing about Reed Diffusers? They last for months!
Pour the oil into the diffuser bottle, insert sticks. Turn over once to expose oil-moistened sticks to air. The oil will continue to wick up the sticks and scent your room for several months. Turn sticks occasionally to refresh scent. (When the oil is finally used up, simply pour in an oil refill and replace the diffuser sticks.) 

Q: Can I just add a vegetable oil carrier to make Diffuser Oil from Fragrance oils? Can I use my candle oils or other oils "as is"?

A: No. Fragrance Diffuser oils are oils that have been designed for maximum wicking and optimum fragrance dispersion. Standard fragrance oils are too thick to diffuse properly through the reed. It's not just a matter of adding x ounces of some kind of diluted liquid. Each essential oil or fragrance oil has different characteristics of scent components and viscosity. Achieving the right formula for each fragrance diffuser oil requires the skills of an experienced perfumer (aka fragrance chemist).

Q: What size reed do I use?

A: The diameter of the reed is not terribly important. 2.75 mm and 3 mm are very, very close in size. It might be said that 3 mm emanates an infinitesimally greater amount of oil. Barely measurable. In terms of length, you want the reeds to stick out of the bottle at least as much as the height of the bottle. See proportions at left. The photo are left shows, from left, the mini-orb with 10" reeds, the 3.5 oz apothecary with 10" reeds, the 8 oz apothecary with 12" reeds, and the 13.5 oz apothecary with 12" reeds.

Q: How much Fragrance Diffuser Oil should I put in the diffuser bottle?

A: Start out with a full or half full bottle of oil. 4 to 8 oz of oil in a typical 8 oz bottle. This will not only allow the oil to enter from the ends of the reed, but also, to permeate the reed sides too. The diffusion will take place faster and stronger. The fragrance will continue to diffuse as long as there's any amount of diffuser oil in the bottle. However, if you start with just 2 oz., it will take a much longer amount of time for the oil to begin diffusing, since it will be wicking purely through the capillary action on the bottom ends of the reeds.

Q: How many reeds should I put in the bottle?

A: 10 to 12 reeds will diffuse plenty of scent with our fragrance diffuser oils. If the bottle neck is a little wider, 15 reeds look and diffuse fine too.

Q: Can I dilute Fragrance oil with water to make a diffuser blend?

A: No. Oil and water don't mix. The viscosity is totally different too. You'll end up with uneven wicking and warped reeds.

Q: How does your sense of smell operate?

A: Your nose has at least 350 different odorant receptor proteins. These receptor proteins detect the scents in the air by combining in different combinations to identify scents entering the nose. The coded signals then transfer from the nose to the olfactory bulb in the brain. From the olfactory bulb, the signals transfer to the cortex where they are mapped as "odor perceptions". They are stored there throughout your lifetime. This is how a certain scent will remind you of a certain place or a time in your life. 

Q: Why can't I just re-use my sticks over and over again?

A: Once the sticks are totally saturated, the cells in the reeds get somewhat clogged and lose their ability to pull the scent up into the reeds and throw the fragrance into the room. Needless to say, you definitely can't move the reeds to a different scent of oil- because the cells will be clogged with the previous scent of fragrance diffuser oil. You won't get a pure scent transfer.

Q: Will airing out the reeds outside "clean" them?  (Someone recently asked us this.)

A: No. The reeds are saturated with oil. Oil doesn't evaporate in the same way that water does. The molecules are far too dense. It would be somewhat like trying  to "clean" your dirty clothes by hanging them on a clothesline. After a day or two, they might not smell like whatever has soiled them, but the soil is still there. 

Q: My bottle is not empty but my fragrance doesn't seem to be diffusing.

A: Add new reeds and your fragrance oil will start up again. Occasionally reeds may become saturated. (We haven't found this to be the case with our fragrance diffuser oils, but we sometimes get this question about oils from other companies. Maybe the oils that people are asking about are not really diffuser oils.)

Q: Why can't we get 100% natural fragrance diffuser oils? After all, essential oils are all natural.

A: Fragrance diffuser oils are the 3rd step away from essential oils. We start with Essential oil - which is natural. Then the oil is thinned with non-natural elements to make Fragrance Oils (that are also used in candle making). Finally, the fragrance oil is thinned a 3rd time with non-natural elements to make Fragrance Diffuser Oils. If there were a natural formulation available, we would be using it, but none of the labs we work with have been able to formulate a 100% natural formula that works with reed diffusing. Cold diffusing with reed is very different than diffusing essential oils with heat. This is complicated by the fact that there's no one formula that works with all scents. Each fragrance requires its own formula.

If there's a question that you have~ that isn't answered here~ do email and we'll do our best to answer. Thank you!

Questions to:  info@reeddiffusers.org

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