How Does a Reed Diffuser Work?
A reed diffuser is simply a vessel that contains fragrance oil and reeds. The vessel itself can be made from a variety of materials but something nonporous like glass is generally best. The size of the vessel determines how much fragrance oil it can hold and thus how long the scent will last.
The reed diffuser sticks used in a reed diffuser contain capillaries that act like tiny straws, drawing the fragrance oil up the length of the reed. When it reaches the tip, the oil lightly evaporates, dispersing the fragrance into the air.
do you need to replace reeds in diffusers?
Reed diffusers are a popular and easy-to-use way to diffuse essential oils throughout the day into the air. They work by using diffuser reeds, which are thin sticks made from natural materials such as bamboo or rattan or man-made materials such as fiber, to absorb and release the oils into the air. While some reed diffusers can last for several months, the reeds will eventually need replacing.
Sometimes there is no need to replace the diffuser reeds
With my reed diffusers, I have found that because they contain a high amount of essential oils they tend to evaporate more quickly than the cheaper ones but the scent remains strong until the blend has completely evaporated (usually 4-7 weeks) so there is no need to change the reeds. I just flip the reeds daily when the strength of the fragrance starts to wane.
Why can't I just reuse my sticks over and over again?
Once the reed sticks, aka diffuser reeds, are saturated, the cells in the reeds eventually get somewhat clogged and lose their ability to pull the scent up into the reeds and throw the fragrance into the room. You definitely can't move the reeds to a different scent of oil- because the cells will contain the previous scent of fragrance diffuser oil. You won't get a pure scent transfer. Reeds are inexpensive, so you can replace them with stock in your favorite size.
