Essential oils are produced through the process of distillation of a particular plant’s essence. These essences are highly aromatic and are produced by special cells in plants. Only through the process of distillation do we start calling these aromatic substances essential oils. Ancient people (specifically 5000 years ago) believed that plants have spiritual powers, like the essential oil, lavender, which was used to drive out spirits. Nowadays, these essential oils are only used for changing a certain aroma of a room, aromatherapy to be exact. There are a plethora of studies that claim that essential oils, once diffused through the air have beneficial effects—like relaxation.
In order to relax, one must calm him/herself down. Aromatherapy helps someone through this process. But people assume once you use a diffuser and essential oil and place them in a corner of your room that’s it. Like every object we own, there is still a need to maintain it on a certain standard to allow it last longer and be more useful.
One may worry about residues left after diffusing essential oil through a diffuser. You may ask, “does diffusing essential oils leave a residue?” The answer is yes it will, especially if you’ve been using your diffuser for a long time. This residue will form bacteria, mold, and viruses that can make you sick if you continue using it without putting an effort into cleaning it. So much for the beneficial elements, essential oil may give you if it’s combined with old, moldy residue from the previously diffused essential oil you’ve been using for weeks now.
Essential Oils 101
These oils distilled from certain parts of particular and carefully selected plants have a plethora of applications. You can rub them on you, you can diffuse them in the air. A plant’s flowers, leaves, seeds, stems, wood, etc. are the different parts for which you can extract its essence, and through the process of distillation where you can turn it into the oil.
There are also more processes for which one can extract a plant’s essence. Take, for example, citrus fruits, there is a process called mechanical expression. The whole citrus fruit will be placed in a large drum that scarifies and rasps these fruits with thousands of spikes. Water is then used to flush the oils away from the fruit and are placed in a centrifugal separator to separate the extracted essential oil and water.
Why Diffuse Essential Oils?
Smell is a powerful human sense that can alter one’s experience and mood in a matter of seconds. Diffusing essential oils is a popular process that involves placing a certain amount of oil in a tiny diffuser, somewhat filled with a certain amount of solvent (a.k.a. water), and now is being heated to release certain steam combined with the placed oil. There are two types of diffusing methods: the nebulizing (cold air) and the ultrasonic (water), the most popular one.
Nebulizing Diffuser Essential Oil
Through nebulizing, there is no heat that is required to diffuse the essential oil. No heat means no alteration of the chemical composition of the essential oil. It stays the same as when it was first extracted. Because this particular type of dissuader uses glass, the oil will reach you in its natural state without damaging the possible therapeutic benefits. Another reason why this type of diffuser is attractive to most consumers is that it doesn’t really use water, you only need the pure essential oil itself. That being said, no water means fewer chances of residue, which also means no formation of molds, bacteria, and viruses that may harm you rather than helping you.
Organic Aromas Raindrop 2.0 Nebulizing Diffuser is a popular nebulizing diffuser product on amazon. It doesn’t produce any loud noises, in fact, it’s known to be whisper-quiet, unlike other diffusers. This nebulizer doesn’t have plastic on it, and the use of glass technology makes it cleaner than the conventional plastic covering of other diffusers. Its complex, yet aesthetic design, makes it the perfect add-on to any room in the household. Did I even mention its LED light design that makes it more irresistible? Interested in purchasing this product? Click here to proceed to Amazon.
Ultrasonic Diffuser Essential Oil
This particular type of diffuser is a classic aromatherapy diffuser that uses electricity to disperse essential oil into the air. Using electricity to produce heat, the essential oil is broken down to its base molecules and are dispersed by attaching the negatively charged base molecules to a positively charged molecule in your home. Water is one of the main ingredients that allow for this diffuser to truly work. One of the main concerns of most consumers found, especially when coopering to the nebulizing diffuser, is that this diffuser produces a ton of moisture in the air. Making the air quality of the room more humid. This type of diffuser is the main cause of residue in your essential oils because of its needed combination with water. It produces mold, bacteria, and allows viruses to grow when left unchecked and uncleaned.
One of the main reasons why most consumers still give value to this type of diffuser is the fact that if they live in a less humid environment, this diffuser is the perfect diffuser to use. And need I to mention that this classic diffuser is cheaper than the first type of diffuser mentioned.
ASAKUKI 500ml Premium Diffuser is a popular ultrasonic diffuser that you can find on Amazon and made available for your convenience and purchase by clicking here. It’s an amazon’s choice product, famous for its humidity density production of only about 50%. Another driving factor for this diffuser is it has an effect on your skin, particularly it moistens your skin while releasing the essential oil through the air. If you’re looking for a great classic diffuser and have the perfect environment for it, I suggest this product to the first one mentioned.
Other Conventional Methods of Diffusing
One of the best ways to naturally diffuse essential oils if you don’t yet have a diffuser is by adding a few drops of essential oil to your palms and cupping them over our nose. And on-the-go technique for when you don’t have time to prepare a diffuser or have one in the first place.
Products For Removing Residue On Your Diffuser
Considering the fact that you already have a diffuser, and that diffuser is an ultrasonic diffuser that uses water. There are products on Amazon where you can buy certain products that will help you clean your diffuser rather than thinking of just throwing it away after reading this article.
SpaRoom Klenzor Diffuser Cleaning Tablets is an amazon found product that specifically cleans your diffuser. Now you don’t have to worry considering the idea of buying a new diffuser or throwing the diffuser you already have. It contains six dissolving tablets plus it includes a cleaning brush to brush the accumulated residue away. All you have to do is place a tablet inside your ultrasonic diffuser, turn it on and wait for about 2 hours. After this, you just throw away the water. Clean the remaining parts with a cotton swab, especially the hard to clean parts. If you regularly use this cleanser after every build-up, it guarantees the extension of your diffusers’ life. Interested in buying this product? Click here to proceed to amazon.
AromaHouse Aromatherapy Diffuser Clean Tab, this other product almost the same as the first product mentioned. It also comes with six tablets that will not alter the oils that were already placed inside. All you have to do is follow the instructions that come with the product, almost the same instructions as the first product mentioned then you’re good to go. It’s better to have more options than one, so if you’re considering in purchasing this product instead of the first one click here.
Final Thoughts
Now that you’ve read through the entire article, learned a lot about the dangers of diffuser residue left by essential oils, and even found out about the different types of diffusers you can use or purchase that guarantees the right utilizing method of essential oils, it’s to consider the right ways of diffusing essential oils while finding out why you have to do it. Here is a video by YouTuber Mama Natural who published a video about diffusers. She has a subscriber count of over 373 thousand.
