DIFFUSER REED and SAFETY

Reed Diffusers use solvent or alcohol-based diluents for their fragrances, together with 'technical grade' colours (if applicable). Keep diffuser reed products away from babies and young children. They are NOT cosmetic grade products and should NOT be used in products for skin application or internal use
Reed diffusers are extremely popular, attracive ways of fragrancing a room. Very simple to make, you can save a lot of money by sourcing the separate items and ingredients yourself and simply 'assembling' your reed diffuser.

WHAT YOU NEED.....

1. A suitable glass bottle (glass is ideal because it completely resists the effects of fragrances and their diluents).
2. Enough fragrance oil to 1/4 fill your bottle.
3. Suitable diluent to fill the remainding 3/4 of your bottle (we recommend non-alcohol diluents such as Dowanol or Augeo Clean Multi).
4. Suitable dye to colour your fragrance content (if desired).
5. Suitably sized reed 'wicks' (6-10 ideally).

BEFORE YOU START.....

Choose the size of diffuser you'd like to make. A small room needs a small diffuser (maybe up to 100ml) and a larger room a suitably larger diffuser (maybe 200ml or more). Once you know your likely bottle size (capacity, height, neck size) you will need to choose reeds of a suitable length and thickness. Typically, but not necessarily, choose a thinner reed (2.0 - 3.0mm) for up to 150ml bottles, and thicker (3.0 - 4.0mm) reed for larger bottle sizes. By knowing the neck size (internal) of your bottle you should be able to work out how many reeds of a certain size it's likely to accommodate. Choose to use smaller reeds or less of the larger reeds in a narrow necked bottle. Remember when choosing reeds that longer, thinner reeds can be cut down if necessary. Decide if you'd like to colour the content of your diffuser, and if so, choose the correct dye (or dyes to mix) to complement the decor or surroundings.

HOW TO.....

Once you know the size diffuser you're making it's a very simple process. First, choose your bottle. We suggest an attractively shaped bottle with a large-enough base to keep stable, not too tall and with a large enough neck size to accept 6-10 of a suitable reed size. You will need enough fragrance oil or essential oil to make up 1/4 (25%) of the volume in your chosen bottle. This is not a rule but a suggestion, as different fragrances and essential oils will vary in their intensity, but as a guide, no more than 30% fragrance should be used and 25% represents a typical average.
There are several diluents that can be used in most room fragrance applications, but not all are suitable in reed diffusers or for home use. Many intructions suggest using DPG (Dipropylene Glycol), but this is not always a good choice, as it is too' thick' to effectively rise in the reed 'wicks'. If you choose to use this, then adding a small amount (typical 3%) of perfumers alcohol will thin it quite successfully, but in order to obtain perfumers alcohol (in the UK) you will require a license, so if you have no license and would like to use an alternative product we would suggest using either Dowanol or Augeo Clean Multi.
It is preferable to mix your fragrance and diluent in a jug, as then, if you choose to make up more than you need for a single diffuser it will be consistent, especially if you choose to add a dye. Dyes should be specific products for colouring solvents etc. (on our website as Solvent Dyes). They come in powder form and are best added to a small amount of the diluent and mixed thoroughly as a 'concentrate' to then add to the mixed fragrance/diluent content. Be careful to add just a tiny amount as necessary as they are typically a very concentrated product and over-colouring is best avoided.
Once you have your mixed fragrance/diluent/colour, you simply need to fill your diffuser/s and add the reeds. Remember when filling your bottle to leave room to add the reeds, so don't overfill. Using a small funnel will make this process safer/cleaner. Once filled with fragrance, simply take 10 (suggested) of the correctly sized reeds for your bottle and place them into the neck of the bottle and into the fragrance mix, allowing a short time to absorb some of the fragrance content. It will speed the time the diffuser takes to start working if you then carefully remove your reeds and upturn them, placing them back in the bottle so there is already fragrance on the top of the reeds to start your diffuser working.
Tip... Reeds come in several lengths and these are not always an ideal length for shorter diffusers, so if your chosen reed is too long, simply trim to length. Reeds should not be so long as to make your diffuser unstable, so this is important for smaller diffusers which could easily be knocked-over. You may choose to use fewer thicker reeds in a short or small diffuser in order to get the right look for the surroundings.