How to Use an Essential Oil Diffuser
Using an essential oil diffuser is easier than you could have ever imagined!
1. Plug in your essential oil diffuser.
2. Add water up to the waterline on your diffuser. Sometimes it’s mark by a red line, or a dash. You should be able to find the waterline on your diffuser easily. If not, look at your specific diffuser manual. It’s important for your diffuser to work that you do not overfill the diffuser.
3. Add your choice of Essential Oils. Make sure you are using a high quality essential oil. I only recommend Certified Pure Tested Grade Essential Oils. They are the high quality oils available and are safe for your family.
4. Turn on your Diffuser and choose how long you want the diffuser to run.
5. If applicable, choose whether you’d like your diffuser’s light to be on or on what color.
6. Enjoy the ambience, scent, and the purified air!
Types of Essential Oil Diffusers
There are four different types of diffusers, including nebulizing,
ultrasonic, heat, and evaporative diffusers. Each diffuser has its own
unique method for getting essential oils into the air so you can utilize
their supportive benefits. Given these four choices, how do you decide
which one would work best for you? To help you determine what to choose,
we’ve broken down how each diffuser works and some pros and cons for
each diffuser.
What is a nebulizing essential oil diffuser?
A nebulizing diffuser breaks down the essential oil into tiny
particles through the use of a high velocity, pressurized air stream and
jet nozzle. When the oil is released from the diffuser, it goes into
the air in a fine mist. The fine mist created by the nebulizing diffuser
does not alter the chemical composition or the scent—it diffuses the
entire oil at once instead of in stages. (Some diffusers release the
more lighter chemical components first and then the heavier components
later.) The particle size is also small enough to be easily inhaled and
used for aromatherapy.
Thinking of buying a nebulizing essential oil diffuser?
- Pros of a nebulizing diffuser: Nebulizers use no heat or water, yet disperse the entire oil into the air for optimal benefits.
- Cons of a nebulizing diffuser: Nebulizers are
often the most expensive diffusers to use, and even sometimes to buy.
Because these diffusers use only the essential oil (no other substance
such as water or heat), they use much more oil than other diffusers.
Some models of nebulizing oil diffusers are noisy in comparison to other
diffusers.
What is an ultrasonic essential oil diffuser?
This popular type of diffuser uses water and electronic frequencies
to create a fine mist from the essential oil and water. Ultrasonic
vibrations are created by a small disk under the surface of the water
which causes the essential oil to break up into tiny micro particles.
Thinking of buying an ultrasonic essential oil diffuser?
- Pros of an ultrasonic diffuser: Ultrasonic models
only use a small amount of essential oil, and no heat is used to
generate the mist in an ultrasonic essential oil diffuser. This method
also can act as both a diffuser and a humidifier, a helpful feature if
you live in a drier climate. There is very little to no noise associated
with ultrasonic diffusers, making them perfect for nighttime use. - Cons of an ultrasonic diffuser: Only a small
fraction of the mist is essential oil, and it depends on the air current
already in the room to disperse the oil. If you already live in a more
humid place, you may not want to add more water to the air with your
diffuser.
What is a heat essential oil diffuser?
As the name suggests, heat diffusers use heat elements to help the
essential oil gradually evaporate into the air. Sometimes heat essential
oil diffusers use the oil mixed with water. Some heat diffusers use
very high levels of heat to cause a stronger aroma, however, the best
heat diffusers will use a very low heat to avoid drastically changing
the chemical constituents of the oils being diffused.
Thinking of buying a heat essential oil diffuser?
- Pros of a heat diffuser: Diffusing using heat is
an economical, yet efficient and silent way to spread the aroma of an
essential oil throughout the room. - Cons of a heat diffuser: The heat used can change
the properties of the oil at the molecular level. This means that
the aromatic benefit of an oil may lessen or change entirely.
What is an evaporative essential oil diffuser?
Evaporative diffusion uses air flow to spread the scent of the
essential oils into the area. A fan blows air through a filter, such as a
tissue or a pad that has essential oils dropped onto it. The moving air
causes the oil to evaporate quickly, and the air with the evaporated
oil is blown into and around the room.
When you use an evaporative essential oil diffuser, you will get the
oil in segments; the lighter essential oil components evaporate first,
while the heavier components evaporate last.
Thinking of buying an evaporative essential oil diffuser?
- Pros of an evaporative diffuser: Wind-blown diffusion can be a quiet way to quickly spread the oil’s aroma throughout the room.
- Cons of an evaporative diffuser: It may not be as efficacious of a method because all of the components of the whole oil are not diffused at the same time.
Regardless of the essential oil diffuser you choose, the aromas of
essential oils have so much potential to influence your emotions and
overall well-being for the better. In the end, each of these methods of
diffusing will help you enjoy the benefits of aromatherapy in your home.
How to Clean Your Essential Oil Diffuser
How to Deep-Clean an Ultrasonic Diffuser (for Aroma Lite, Lotus, Lumo, or Petal diffusers)
- Turn off your diffuser.
- Fill the water reservoir halfway to the line with clean water.
- Add 10 drops of pure white vinegar to the water reservoir.
- Turn it on and let run for 3-5 minutes, allowing the vinegar to disperse throughout.
- Drain the water reservoir completely.
- Dip a cotton swab in white vinegar and wipe down the edges of the water reservoir as well as the ultrasonic mist chip.
- Rinse the water reservoir with clean water.
- Wipe the reservoir with a dry cloth and let air dry before using it again.
How to Deep-Clean a Nebulizing Diffuser (for the Aroma-Ace diffuser)
- Completely submerse the quick-change top in rubbing alcohol for 30–60 minutes.
- Wipe clean with a dry cloth.
Keeping a clean diffuser allows for the best possible experience in using your doTERRA essential oils aromatically.
What’s wrong with having a diffuser in each room with a different scent? Absolutely nothing.
Why Diffuse Essential Oils?
At doTERRA we recommend using essential oils aromatically, topically, or internally depending on the properties in each individual oil. Nearly every oil and blend, with the exception of HD Clear® and Immortelle, can be diffused. Diffusing an oil helps us take advantage of its most noticeable characteristic—it’s scent. By learning more about how much of a role smell plays in our lives, the impact of essential oils can be understood on a deeper level.
The Power of Scent
Our sense of smell is one of our most powerful senses, and you have probably noticed in your own experience that some scents are more positively associated in our minds than others. Your body contains over 1,000 receptors for smell—more receptors than for any other sense. Dr. David K. Hill D.C., Founding Executive points out that even though our noses are not as acute as a bloodhound’s, “you can still detect thousands of varieties of odors in infinitesimal quantities.”
By putting essential oils directly into the air we breathe, we can influence the feeling of our environment, and, more powerfully, our own emotions. The Emotional Aromatherapy system contains six blends formulated to address specific emotions, but any oil can have this impact. We know that citrus oils, for example, are uplifting and energizing to your mood, while scents like Lavender or doTERRA Balance® are calming and grounding.
Other Uses and Benefits
While smell is a great tool, there are other reasons that diffusing essential oils can be beneficial to you:
- It can purify the air in your home. Juniper Berry, Lemon, Lime, Melaleuca (Tea Tree), and specific blends like Purify and OnGuard are useful for this purpose.
- Some oils can help maintain feelings of clear breathing and open airways. For example , Breather, Douglas Fir, Lavender, and Eucalyptus all have this ability, among other oils.
- To minimize the effects of seasonal threats. Specifically Arborvitae and Breathe help with this.
- Only a small amount of oil needs to be used if you’re using it in an ultrasonic diffuser This means you can use one bottle of essential oil many times before you’ll need more.
