Diffusers are known to be pretty quiet machines, so if your diffuser begins to make loud noises, it can be quite concerning. Occasionally, my diffuser has made loud noises, so I decided to sit down and research why precisely this is happening and how to fix it. Below I’ll share everything I’ve learned through my experience using diffusers and researching the topic.
If your diffuser is making a loud noise, there is usually something wrong. First, unplug your diffuser to avoid harming the motor. Make sure the water reservoir is full and look for debris lodged in the diffuser. If it continues making loud noises, your diffuser might be defective or broken.
When you first notice that your diffuser is making a loud noise, don’t freak out and assume that it is completely broken. Most of the time, it is something quite simple that is creating the problem which you can fix in minutes. While it most certainly isn’t always the case, most of the time, a diffuser making a lot of noise can be remedied quickly and will be back up and running in no time at all.
In the following sections, I’ll look at some of the most common reasons why an oil diffuser might be making loud noises. Let’s get right into it!
Common Reasons Why Your Diffuser Is Making a Loud Noise
Trying to diagnose a machine, including a diffuser, can be quite tricky. There are many possible explanations and reasons for your diffuser to be making a loud noise, so your best option is to slowly try to eliminate the possibilities until you find the cause.
The key to finding the problem is by identifying the source of the loud noise. Listen and look carefully, assess where the noise is originating, and then look for the potential issues. Below are three of the most common reasons why your diffuser might be making a loud sound.
1. There Isn’t Enough Water In the Diffuser
Before you even consider any other possibility, you should first check the water level in your diffuser to make sure it is not the reason for the loud noise. There have been countless times when my diffuser begins making a loud noise, but the water level is just too low once I look into it.
To check if your diffuser is low on water, simply remove the cover for your diffuser and look at the water reservoir housed within. There are many different models and designs for oil diffusers, but most of them make it pretty easy to access the water reservoir and check the water level.
Usually, when your diffuser makes a loud noise, the water container inside is empty or very close to being empty. If you notice this, fill up the water reservoir in your diffuser and see if that solves the problem and eliminates the loud noise.
If filling up the water container does not stop your diffuser from making a loud noise, continue trying to diagnose the problem using the following common reasons why diffusers make loud noises.
2. Something is Stuck or Lodged in the Diffuser
If filling up the water reservoir in your diffuser does not stop it from making a loud noise, it is time to start looking for other problems that could be causing this issue. One of the best things to do next to diagnose the problem is to look for debris or material that could be clogging your machine up.
Things that can clog up your diffuser can come in many shapes and sizes. It could be almost anything that could accidentally get stuck in there. Look for rocks, small pieces of paper, a buildup of dried essential oils, and anything else that could potentially cause your diffuser to clog up in the slightest.
These materials or pieces of debris could be almost anywhere inside your diffuser as well. Some of the prominent places to look are the hole where the diffuser releases vapor, exit points for water in the water reservoir, or something just wedged inside that could cause issues.
Suppose you are unsuccessful in finding any type of debris or material that could be clogging up your diffuser and causing it to make a loud noise. In that case, it’s time to begin considering the worst possibility. I’ll go more in-depth into this in the next section.
3. The Diffuser is Defective or Broken
Once you have checked the two different possibilities why your diffuser is making loud noises that I discussed above, it might be that your diffuser is simply broken or defective.
Because there are so many designs and types of diffusers, it is impossible to know if your diffuser is genuinely broken or defective without seeing it. However, if you cannot identify the problem that is causing the loud noise, you have to assume that it is the case.
If, by chance, you recently purchased your diffuser, you should check if it has a warranty and if it is still covered or not. There will not be a warranty to fall back on in most cases, so you will have to purchase a new diffuser.
However, I still encourage you to attempt to identify the problem before buying a new one, if at all possible. There are so many different types of diffusers out there, so the possible solutions listed above might not cover what is wrong with your particular diffuser. Research on the internet regarding your specific model can reveal many additional reasons why your diffuser makes a loud noise and how to fix it.
What Should You Do If Your Diffuser Is Making A Loud Noise?
When you first hear or notice your oil diffuser making a loud noise, you should immediately unplug it from the wall or take out its batteries. Usually, running your diffuser won’t additionally damage it, but there are some cases where debris is stuck and would continue to harm components if you leave it running.
You can never be too safe, so be sure to turn off, unplug, or remove the batteries from your diffuser when you notice it’s making a loud or unusual noise.
Once you have made sure that your diffuser won’t suffer any additional damage from it continuing to run or for some other reason, you should begin to look for the issue that is causing the loud noise. Follow the steps that I laid out earlier in this article to pinpoint some common problems that often cause diffusers to make a loud noise.
What Type of Noises Do Diffusers Normally Make?
Throughout this entire post, I’ve been discussing what to do when you hear your diffuser make a loud or unusual sound. But what exactly do I mean by “loud or unusual sound”?
As anyone with a diffuser can tell you, they are not entirely silent machines. While diffusers are far from being loud, they do have various normal sounds that they often make. Let’s take a look at some of the typical sounds that diffusers make so you can distinguish them from unusual or loud sounds that usually indicate a problem.
Noises Made By the Fan and Motor
Diffusers come in many different designs, but most electric ones consist of at least a fan and a motor. If your diffuser has these components, you can expect them to make at least a small amount of noise.
Because diffusers are usually designed to be as silent as possible, their motors and fans often make very little noise. Nonetheless, they AREN’T entirely silent, so it is normal to hear a soft motor noise or fah whirring.
Noises Made By the Ultrasonic Disk
In many electric diffusers, an ultrasonic disk is the main component that combines water and essential oils and converts the liquid to vapor. In essence, it is the part that allows the diffuser to diffuse water and do its job.
While the ultrasonic disk is designed to be as quiet as possible, there is still a small amount of sound put off by its vibrations. It is entirely normal to hear a soft buzzing sound or vibration coming off your diffuser; it’s just the ultrasonic disk doing what it’s supposed to do.
Noises Made By the Water In the Diffuser
So far, in our discussion of the everyday noises you should expect your diffuser to make, we’ve talked only about components of diffusers that aren’t entirely silent. But I’ve neglected to mention one of the biggest and loudest until now: water.
When your diffuser is working correctly, it is continuously moving water around and diffusing it into vapor. This water that is moving around makes noise, just like any other moving water. It is completely normal to hear small splashing sounds or just the sound of moving water coming from your oil diffuser.
Once you take a more in-depth look at all the components and elements that are a part of a diffuser, you can begin to realize just how loud they actually can be. However, they are quite soft and don’t make a lot of noise in the slightest. Their quietness is mainly due to their engineering and manufacturing, which is done explicitly with this in mind.
Your diffuser should be pretty quiet most of the time, and if you notice it making strange or loud noises, it is probably a good idea to investigate and make sure there isn’t anything going wrong.
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