DIY Essential Oil Diffuser Pads
The synthetic fragrance industry has bombarded the public with endless choices of seemingly delightful scents for their homes.
And, as the move to eliminate toxins from our personal environments has grown, they have shamelessly participated in misleading labeling to promote the illusion that their products are imbued with natural essential oils.
Most often the essential oil they use comprises just a minute portion of their products. It makes little to no difference in the toxicity levels.
Not to mention, that these products are full of other undesirable ingredients as well; including synthetic fragrances.
Reasons To Make Your Own Essential Oil Diffuser Pads
If you want a home that smells pleasant and inviting, but you don’t want to risk the chance of exposing yourself to all of the harmful chemicals found in these mainstream products, than you will find that DIY essential oil diffuser pads are the perfect solution for you.
They are inexpensive to make, which will save you quite a bit of cash. They take very little time and effort to make. And they’re very versatile. Because you can scent them with the oils of your choice you’ll find that they meet many different needs.
You’ll easily find a use for them in every room in the house. You can use them to scent a specific small problem area. Or they can be used in large quantities to freshen a full room. However, that admittedly, is a bit pricey.
They are particularly great when used as aromatherapy aids. And they work very well to repel rodents and insects.
How To Choose Essential Oils
There are several essential oil companies out there making claims about how important it is to purchase oils that have specific grades; like, therapeutic grade for health issues or food grade for consumption.
Years ago, when I had an apothecary, I did some research on this subject. I found that the multi-level marketing companies making these claims are doing so in order to increase the value of their product.
More recently they have been called out on this subject. I’ve not kept up with the end result of the accusations made against them, because as a general rule I’ve never concerned myself with the grade of the oil I use anyway.
In my opinion, the quality of the oil is important as it will have an effect on the strength and scent. However, the grade of the oil is irrelevant.
This is a call that only you can make for yourself. There is no official testing system in place to determine whether or not essential oils meet the criteria for the grade they are marketed under. Their level of quality is determined solely by the supplier.
If you want to do a little research and pick your oils up from a reputable small supplier, that is probably the best way to go to ensure that you’re getting a high quality product.
Tools And Supplies Needed For This Project
This simple project doesn’t require many tools or supplies. It is very likely that you can do it using what you have around the house.
You will need natural essential oil in the fragrance(s) of your choice. You can use single scent oils, pure oil blends, or you can make your own blends. I’ll provide a few scent combinations for you to try on your own, further down in this blog post, if you’re inclined to go that route.
You’ll need a material that will provide good absorption of the oils you’re using; a cotton ball or cotton pad both work well for this purpose. You can also upcycle an old terrycloth towel or washcloth to make essential oil pads.
I’ll be using a felt pad for this project. It is another great option. I always have it on hand, it lasts a long time, and the edges don’t fray.
If you use a material that you need to cut to fit the container, like the felt I’m using, you will need a piece of paper, a pen, a few sewing pins, and scissors as well.
In order to prevent the essential oil from staining the surfaces that you place your diy diffusers on, you will need a container to place the diffuser pad in. Do not use a plastic container as some oils will eat through it.
Additionally, this container will have to be ventilated so that the scent of the oils can emit into the space you set it in.
Be creative. Look around the house and see what you can find for this purpose. I found a few metal tins in my craft box that worked perfectly for me.
If the container you choose is not ventilated, as my tins were not, then you will need a drill and drill bit to make a few holes in it.
How To Make DIY Essential Oil Diffuser Pads
Essential oil diffuser pads are easy to make. The first step is to choose a container that you can use to place them in so they won’t leave behind stains where they are placed.
This should be a small, non-plastic, container that is well ventilated. I used small metal tins that I had in my craft supplies. They weren’t ventilated. So, I drilled a few holes in the lids to create this feature.
The second step to making a diffuser, is to fit the ventilated container with an absorbent material to hold the essential oils.
I used the bottom of the metal tins to trace a circular pattern onto a piece of paper. I cut the pattern out of the paper; making it just a bit smaller than the trace line.
Then I pinned the pattern to felt and cut pieces from it. This created rounds of felt that fit perfectly into the bottom of the metal tins.
See the above section on tools and supplies for suggestions on other materials you can use if you don’t have felt on hand.
Once you have a ventilated container and you’ve fitted it with suitable absorbent material, you can place a generous amount of essential oil on the material.
Then pit the lid on the container and place it in the desired location.
How To Use DIY Essential Oil Diffuser Pads
These great little diffusers can be used in many different ways. They work very well as air fresheners; particularly in small spaces. Use them to freshen closets and drawers. Place one in the bottom of your garbage cans. They make great car diffusers too.
You can use them as an aromatherapy diffuser. Just fill them with oils that work for the purpose you’re using them for and place them in a location that allows the scent to reach you. Or wave them under your nose as needed.
They make great repellant aids in areas that are prone to insects or mice when filled with oils that are unpleasant to them.
It’s difficult to say how much oil you will need to place in your diffuser. The strength of the scent of natural essential oils can vary quite a bit. Simply start with 10-15 drops of essential oil and increase the amount as needed.
Make Your Own Essential Oil Blends
If you choose to make your own essential oil blends instead of going with single scents or preblended mixes, there are endless possibilities to do so. You can make a small amount of your own blend, and keep it in a bottle so that it is always ready to use when you need it.
Or you can drop your favorite oils right onto the diffuser pads to scent them. Placing oils directly on the diffuser pads will not create a reliable, stable scent each time you do it. The results will be a bit random.
But it’s a great way to go when you’re in a hurry. And sometimes, like when you’re just trying to freshen up the garbage can, the purity of the fragrance is not all that important; at least not to me.
An easy way to know how a blend will smell before you place it on a diffuser pad is to simply make a small amount in a little oil safe dish first and let it sit. When I was creating scents for my apothecary I used to do this often.
Let the blend sit out on the counter for a full day. Smell it a half dozen times or so throughout the day to get a true idea of it’s scent. And then, if it works for you, use the diffuser pad to soak it up.
Following are a few essential oil recipes for blends that were always very popular in my apothecary. If you feel a little nervous about creating your own blends these will help to get you started.
- CLEANSING BLEND – Equal parts basil oil, cinnamon oil, clove oil, eucalyptus oil, and lemon oil.
- PURIFICATION BLEND – 10 drops lavender oil and 8 drops white pine oil.
- CREATIVITY BLEND – 10 drops orange oil and 5 drops geranium rose oil.
- ROMANCE BLEND – Equal parts nutmeg oil, orange oil, and geranium rose oil.
- COLD WEATHER BLEND – 10 drops nutmeg oil, 5 drops cinnamon oil, and 5 drops clove oil.
- WARM WEATHER BLEND – 4 drops peppermint oil, 8 drops lavender oil, and 12 drops lemon oil.
- FEEL BETTER BLEND – 10 drops eucalyptus oil and 5 drops wintergreen oil.
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