If you’ve chosen reed diffusers to fill your home with pleasant scents, congratulations. These devices are extremely effective at providing your home with a great aroma for many months at a time, and besides, they are some of the least expensive ways to do this.
If you know very little about these diffusers, not to worry because the information is super easy to learn.
For beginners, one of the most common questions regarding reed diffusers is, is it possible to reuse the reeds themselves?
You can not reuse diffuser reeds. It isn’t that the old reeds will become harmful to you if you reuse them; it’s just that they cannot be cleaned of the oil they’ve soaked up, making them essentially useless after you’ve used them for a while.
Most diffuser reeds are made out of rattan, although some can be made out of fiber. Rattan is just a thin strip of wood that comes from a plant, but it is extremely effective in soaking up fragrance oil and then dispersing it into the air once it gets to the top of the stick.
Best of all, these reeds are very inexpensive, so there’s no need to be concerned about reusing them because it is very inexpensive just to replace them.
How Diffuser Reeds & Sticks Work
For you to realize why diffuser reeds cannot get reused, you should learn how they work in the first place. Rattan reeds are made with small channels that run the length of the stick, and it is these channels that allow the scented oil to travel up the stick and then disperse it into the air once it gets to the top.
Occasionally, other types of reeds are used in diffusers, including bamboo, and some of these reeds have tiny nodes in them. This means the oil doesn’t travel as efficiently up the reed, but rattan reeds don’t have those nodes and, therefore, the oil can flow consistently through the channels so that it gets soaked up into the reed itself.
Rattan reeds are also extremely inexpensive – one company sells a package of 100 for around $8 – which is yet another reason they are so popular.
Diffuser reeds are also lightweight and sturdy, and depending on how much oil you put into the bottle, they can last anywhere from four to eight months before you’ll have to replace both the oil and the reeds. Rattan reeds will soak up a lot of fragrance oil, but once they completely soak it up, no more oil will go into them.
Unfortunately, once this oil gets inside of the reeds, it never essentially comes out, regardless of how well you clean or scrub them. This, plus the fact that the reeds are so inexpensive, is why trying to reuse them is never a good idea. To put it bluntly, reusing your diffuser reeds just doesn’t work.
How Can You Make Your Diffuser More Effective?
Even though you can’t reuse your diffuser reeds, there are still ways you can make the reeds last longer and do a better job while they’re in your home.
Keep in mind that these types of diffusers usually work best in small areas, so you shouldn’t count on them keeping your entire home smelling good.
Once you place these diffusers in the room, however, they do work very well. If you’re trying to make sure you get the most out of using your reed diffuser, keep the following tips in mind:
- The more reeds you place in the diffuser, the more scent you’ll be able to enjoy – it’s just that simple
- At least once a month – once a week is better – turn the reeds around and place them in the opposite direction
- Don’t place the diffuser in an area that’s too small, such as a bathroom, because the scent might be a little overwhelming for you
- Keep a paper towel below the reeds once you take them out to flip them so that your tabletop isn’t ruined by the oil
- Remember also that wooden surfaces are ruined by fragrance oils, especially essential oils, so you should protect whatever is under your diffuser at all times
Of course, none of this means that the process is complicated. All you have to do is keep these tips in mind so you can enjoy your freshly scented home for a very long time.
Enjoying your reed diffuser is super-easy because all you do is take out the bottle, pour four to eight ounces of some type of fragrance oil in it, and gently place the reeds inside the bottle. That’s it!
The Many Benefits of Using Reed Diffusers
There are many types of diffusers, but the reed diffusers are great because they’re inexpensive, extremely effective, and do a great job of dispersing the fragrance oil into the air.
After roughly six months, the diffuser bottle should be cleaned before you refill it with more fragrance oil, and of course, you should always throw out the old reeds.
Below are just a few of the many benefits of using a reed diffuser over other types of warming devices or diffusers:
- They are eco-friendly and won’t harm the environment
- They add ambiance to any room they’re in because they are made in all types of designs
- They don’t rely on messy fragrances, wax deposits, or aerosol buttons to press
- They are easy and fast to set up and get going
Reeds are also porous, so they can soak up a lot of oil over time, which is one of the reasons they work so well in diffusers.
If you’re researching various aromatherapy and fragrance options for your home or office, you’re likely to stop once you get to reed diffusers because for a lot of different reasons, these types of diffusers are perfect.
Throw Away Those Diffuser Reeds & Sticks
So, now you realize that diffuser reeds cannot be cleaned and reused, so throwing them away once they stop working is your smartest option.
Remember, these are inexpensive items that can cost less than a dime per stick, and since you can’t reuse them effectively anyway, you might as well go ahead and get rid of them as soon as you’re done with them.
Conclusion
Just because diffuser reeds cannot be reused doesn’t mean these devices aren’t a great way to enhance any room in your home by adding some pleasant scents, and these scents can come from several sources, including fragrance oil, essential oil, or essential oil blends.
You can choose from hundreds of fragrances, from lemon to eucalyptus and so much more, so it’s super-simple to find something that perfectly suits your tastes.
Indeed, knowing that diffuser reeds can’t be reused won’t affect your decision to choose this type of fragrance system for your home or office.
Remember, the reeds will last up to six months or more every time, and they are so inexpensive to replace that your finances never have to be a consideration.