Reed diffuser, room spray or essential oil: which one for which room
There are several ways to scent a room. Three of the most common are a reed diffuser, a room spray and essential oil in an electric diffuser. They differ in how fast the scent arrives, how long it stays and how much care they ask of you.
A reed diffuser works on its own
A reed diffuser is a bottle of scented oil with thin reeds standing in it. The oil climbs the reeds and passes into the air. The scent is soft and steady, and it is there all day without a switch.
A room spray works at once
A room spray scents the air the moment you use it, and it fades soon after. It is made for moments, such as before guests arrive, after cooking, or to freshen a bathroom. Spray upward toward the middle of the room, away from faces, food and polished wood.
Essential oil works when you switch it on
An electric diffuser, which many stores call an oil diffuser, turns a few drops of essential oil into a fine mist. You decide when it runs and how strong it is, and you can change the scent from one day to the next. In return it needs more care. You fill it before each use, and you rinse it between oils so that the old scent does not mix with the new one. Without a diffuser, put a few drops on an aroma stone and set it on a small dish. It scents a desk or a shelf with no power at all.
Match it to the room
For an entrance, a living room or a bathroom, where a constant background scent is welcome, a reed diffuser is the easy choice. In a kitchen or dining area, a spray after the meal works better than a scent that competes with the food. In a study or a bedroom, any of the three can work. A reed diffuser with a few reeds gives a light background scent, an electric diffuser lets you scent the room for a while and then stop, and a room spray freshens it in a moment.
Mind the size of the room
A small, closed room fills quickly, so start with less. That means fewer reeds, fewer drops or a single spray. A large or open room thins a scent out. Place the source closer to where people sit, away from direct sun and from spots where it could be knocked over.
Keep to one scent per room
Two different scents in the same room rarely improve each other. If you use a reed diffuser and a spray together, choose the same scent or two that are close, such as two citrus scents or two woody ones.
One more habit
NOTE suggests stepping out of the room for a few minutes and walking back in before you add more. Your nose gets used to a room scent, just as it does to a perfume.