We test the best homemade reed diffuser oil recipes

by Sarah - Craft Invaders

Love Reed Diffusers but not the price? We test 3 homemade reed diffuser oil recipes to find out which works best, and if any of them are as good as the expensive ones you see in the shops.

 

Love Reed Diffusers but not the price? We test 3 homemade reed diffuser oil recipes to find out which works best, and if any of them are as good as the expensive ones you see in the shops. #essentialoils #homefragrance #reeddiffuser airfreshener #DIYReedDiffuser

 

What is a reed diffuser?

Reed diffusers are a home fragrance system where reeds are used to continually disperse a fragrance held within the carrier solvent that the canes sit in. Requiring no electricity or heat source, they are a great alternative to fragranced candles and plugins and are a favourite way to introduce fragrance into the home.

 

 

They can also be ridiculously expensive. Before making my own DIY reed diffuser oil, I tried to research what ingredients the big brands used in theirs. Turns out home fragrance is big business, and they’re not giving their secrets away easily. Which is more than a little frustrating, as I would prefer to know what chemicals I am introducing into my family’s environment.

 

Love Reed Diffusers but not the price? We test 3 homemade reed diffuser oil recipes to find out which works best, and if any of them are as good as the expensive ones you see in the shops. #essentialoils #homefragrance #reeddiffuser airfreshener #DIYReedDiffuser

 

There are 4 elements to a reed diffuser. 

  • The vessel. Usually made of glass to avoid any reaction with the carrier oil or solvent and the fragrance itself. Narrow-necked glass containers (Amazon affiliate link) work best reducing evaporation of the solution inside. You want the scent to be diffusing from the reeds at a controlled rate rather than just all evaporating into the atmosphere at once.
  • The reeds. Rattan reeds (Amazon affiliate link) are the reed of choice for reed diffusers. They contain many little tubes which allow the fragrance to wick up the stem unhindered, and work for many months before they eventually clog and need renewing.
  • Fragrance. Good quality essential oils (Amazon affiliate link) produce the best aroma. You can use a single oil, mix your own combination or buy a fragrance oil where the hard work has already been done for you.
  • Base oil or solvent. This is the magic ingredient in a reed diffuser and the one that we will be testing alternatives for below. This diffuser oil needs to combine successfully with the fragrance and be thin enough to travel through the reeds at the appropriate rate. For me, it also needs to be an ethical product and something safe to use in my home.

 

We tested 3 popular DIY Reed Diffuser Oil bases in our experiment.

Almond Oil (Amazon affiliate link)
• Vodka and Water Mix
Augeo Clean Multi (Amazon affiliate link)

Since we wanted to test how well each solution travelled up the reeds we used 3 identical lidded jars for our experiment. We cut an equal number of holes in each lid and pushed the canes through them into each solution.

We used the same ready mixed fragrance oil for each of our reed diffuser oil tests and added the same quantity to each.
 The same number of good quality Rattan Reeds designed for reed diffusers were used for each of our solutions.

 

Almond Oil Reed Diffuser Test

 

Love Reed Diffusers but not the price? We test 3 homemade reed diffuser oil recipes to find out which works best, and if any of them are as good as the expensive ones you see in the shops. #essentialoils #homefragrance #reeddiffuser airfreshener #DIYReedDiffuser

 

We mixed 100mls Almond Oil (Amazon affiliate link) with 15mls fragrance Oil. The oils blended well and produced a pale yellow base oil which looked quite attractive but might be an issue if you planned to add your own colour.

After 24 hours the reeds in the almond oil were diffusing the fragrance effectively. The scent on the canes smelled true to the original (which was not the case with all our samples), although the smell was not the strongest of all our samples.

After 7 days the reeds in the almond oil base still smelled pleasant, but the strength of the fragrance had diminished suggesting that the reeds struggled with wicking the oil to their tips due to its thickness.

Overall Impression: The Almond Oil and fragrance combined really quickly, and the aroma stayed true throughout our experiment. The effectiveness of the reeds to suck up the solution appeared to diminish quite soon – possibly due to the thickness of the oil. Some DIY recipes do suggest diluting almond oil with a splash of vodka to avoid this. We would recommend you read our vodka results below carefully before trying this. Since almond oil is quite expensive, I personally wouldn’t repurchase it to make a reed diffuser as one of our other bases gave a far better result.

 

Water and Vodka Reed Diffuser Test

 

Love Reed Diffusers but not the price? We test 3 homemade reed diffuser oil recipes to find out which works best, and if any of them are as good as the expensive ones you see in the shops. #essentialoils #homefragrance #reeddiffuser airfreshener #DIYReedDiffuser

 

We have read many recipes that suggest using water with a splash of vodka as a DIY Reed Diffuser solution. We combined 90mls water with 10mls vodka and added the 15mls fragrance oil. Despite lots of mixing we couldn’t get our diffuser base and fragrance to combine. The lid and reeds were attached as before and left for 24 hours.

After 24 hours the diffuser reeds appeared to be saturated in the solution, but the fragrance they were giving out was not an accurate representation of the original aroma and was actually quite unpleasant. The oil, vodka and water mixture remained uncombined, which the kids thought looked cool but didn’t give a professional look I was hoping for.

After 7 days the solution still smelled a little unpleasant and at least half the solution had evaporated through the reeds.

Overall Impression: The water/vodka/fragrance combination yielded disappointing results in our test and is not a combination I would try again. Due to the effect this mix had on the aroma of the fragrance oil, I would also be reluctant in adding vodka to another mix to thin it.

 

Augeo Clean Multi Reed Diffuser Test

 

Love Reed Diffusers but not the price? We test 3 homemade reed diffuser oil recipes to find out which works best, and if any of them are as good as the expensive ones you see in the shops. #essentialoils #homefragrance #reeddiffuser airfreshener #DIYReedDiffuser

 

Augeo Clean Multi (Amazon affiliate link) is described as an eco-solvent made from glycerin that is a sustainable alternative to petrochemical solvents. It is widely used as a diluent and carrier for the fragrance for environmentally friendly reed diffusers and room sprays and is readily available from soap making supplies outlets as well as on Amazon.

Augeo clean multi is the product that I suspect is the base of many of good quality reed diffusers, so I was really keen to see how it performed in our test.

We mixed 100mls ofAugeo Clean Multi with 15mls of the fragrance oil. The products blended together easily, resulting in a clear solution.

After 24 hours the reeds in the Augeo Clean Multi were diffusing the fragrance effectively. The perfume on the canes smelled true to the original and had the most potent aroma of all our tests.

After 7 days the reeds in the Augeo Clean Multi were still emitting a pure and intense fragrance, and the solution continued to look bright and attractive in the bottle with no sign of evaporation.

Overall Impression: It has now been 3 weeks since we started our experiment and this sample continues to fragrance the room effectively, making it the clear winner in our DIY reed diffuser oil test.

 

Our Best DIY Reed Diffuser Oil Recipe

 

Love Reed Diffusers but not the price? We test 3 homemade reed diffuser oil recipes to find out which works best, and if any of them are as good as the expensive ones you see in the shops. #essentialoils #homefragrance #reeddiffuser airfreshener #DIYReedDiffuser

 

The Augeo Multi Clean  gave by far the best results in our homemade reed diffuser oil experiment. We think this product gives professional results and makes a oil diffuser solution that is as good as any store bought one. If you would like to try this recipe at home you can purchase both The Augeo Multi Clean (Amazon affiliate link) and the diffuser reeds (Amazon affiliate link) through these links.

Update: We have been using Augeo Multi Clean to make diffusers for a year now with fab results. Our latest reed diffusers are these super cute Christmas Bauble Reed Diffusers which only take minutes to make and are perfect for gifting.

 

These Christmas reed diffusers use fillable Christmas baubles as diffuser bottles and Christmassy essential oils for fragrance.

 

For more homemade gifts you can make at a fraction of the cost of shop bought, check out our favourites below.

 

How to Make Fantastic Homemade Peppermint Foot Scrub 

This simple recipe for Rosemary and Peppermint Foot Scrub ticks every box. It is super quick, super easy and super cheap to make. You probably already have all the ingredients you will need at home.

 

This simple recipe for Rosemary and Peppermint Foot Scrub ticks every box. It is super quick, super easy and super cheap to make. In fact, you probably already have all the ingredients you will need at home.

 

How to Make Homemade Mulling Spice Bags

DIY Mulling Spice Bags make a lovely, thoughtful gift, and can be adapted to suit the taste of the recipient.

 

 

From Craft Invaders DIY Spice Bags make a lovely, thoughtful gift, and can be adapted to suit the taste of the recipient. Includes lovely apple juice recipe

 

How to Make Wonderful Herbal Bath Soaks at Home

These wonderful herbal bath soaks are great fun to make, fabulous for your health and well-being and are easy to tailor to suit the recipient

 

Home made presents are such a lovely thing to give and receive, and are perfect for teacher appreciation gifts, hostess gifts or to pop into home made hampers. They are also a fabulous way to get children involved. These Bath Tea Bags are such fun to make, and can be tailored to suit the recipient.

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32 comments

Erin October 3, 2023 - 3:16 pm

What are your thoughts about vegetable glycerin

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Sarah - Craft Invaders October 3, 2023 - 3:25 pm

I think it’d be too viscous as is Erin. However, Augeo Clean Multi is glycerin based so you could try diluting your glycerin down. If you can find a data sheet for Augeo clean it’d state exactly what its consituents are in there. Please let me know how you get ion if you try it :)

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debbie April 22, 2023 - 2:51 am

I wonder if you could use this in a plug in refill-like glade. I have tried with no success to refill the glade canisters.

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Sarah - Craft Invaders April 22, 2023 - 9:44 am

You can’t, it needs to be a special solution that is safe to heat due to the fire risk.

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Margaret November 3, 2022 - 2:49 pm

Thank you for taking the time to do this. I really appreciate it.

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Arcy August 26, 2021 - 12:13 pm

What are your thoughts on fractionated coconut oil? Have you tried it?

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Sarah - Craft Invaders October 30, 2021 - 11:35 pm

I haven’t Arcy but I wonder if it’d be too thick to travel up the reed. I’ll come back and update this comment if I find any reference to it :)

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joanne smith May 18, 2021 - 7:39 pm

absolutely helped me loads thank you for the idea

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Bernita February 20, 2021 - 4:28 pm

Was just wondering the oils are they by weight or a pipette?

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Sarah - Craft Invaders March 8, 2021 - 11:06 am

I measured them in mls Bernita. I wanted to be accurate because I was comparing the different bases so wanted to make all of the samples the same. When I make it for myself I tend to just estimate the amount as I know roughly how much scent I like. Hope that helps :)

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Siva November 24, 2020 - 10:16 am

I was investigating Augeo Clean multi product to see if I would want to try it, and it has been tested on rats and it’s not classified as vegan. I was looking up the INCI on thesoapkitchen webpage.

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Sarah - Craft Invaders January 3, 2021 - 11:14 am

Thanks for the information Siva :)

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Erika May 19, 2020 - 3:13 am

Hi Sarah, I live in country where I can’t find Augeo. Any suggestions on what should’ve been the diffuser base oil? Thank you!

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Sarah - Craft Invaders July 5, 2020 - 11:06 am

I’d look for a shop that sells soap making supplies and ask them what’s available in your country Erika, I’m sure they would be happy to help :)

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Zana May 18, 2020 - 5:42 pm

I’m having terrible finding Augeo in the states, even on Amazon. Do you know of a similar product I could search out?

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Richard Nicholls January 28, 2020 - 6:54 am

Hi Sarah, would you think that all of the augeo clean multi base oils would be similar in quality if they cost between £12 to £15 per litre ? I ask because I tried an ebay sweet almond oil which did not wick at all and retrospectively looked quite thick compared to a bought reed diffuser oil

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Sarah - Craft Invaders January 28, 2020 - 7:54 am

I suspect that they’d be exactly same Richard. I found the reeds couldn’t cope with the almond oil as well.

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Lula Leus January 3, 2020 - 11:35 am

Thank you for good article and links. There is so much nonsense on the web how you can mix oil and alcohol and essential oils together (when alcohol and oil are unmissable)

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Sarah - Craft Invaders January 14, 2020 - 8:26 am

Thanks Lula, I love trying to find out if thing really work – you are so right about there being a lot of nonsense!

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Moya September 11, 2019 - 9:09 am

Is there a vegan equivalent to augeo clean?

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Sarah - Craft Invaders September 11, 2019 - 9:57 am

Hi Moya, thanks for your question. Although Augeo Clean is derived from plants, it has in the past been tested on animals so is not vegan. Two other products used in diffusers that are classed as vegan are DOWANOL DPM (DPM / Dipropylene glycol methyl ether) which is a synthetic product and Dipropylene Glycol (DPG) Hope this helps!

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Ichan May 16, 2020 - 12:58 am

Yes its not Vegan but do the fragrances we add info to the diffuser are cruelty free? Moreover, DPG and Dow DPM do contain CMRs. The choice is thigh.

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Sarah - Craft Invaders July 5, 2020 - 11:06 am

Thanks for the information Ichan :)

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Laurie April 24, 2019 - 8:37 pm

Thank you for sharing the results of your research with us! I think I must give homemade oil diffusers a try.

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Sarah - Craft Invaders April 28, 2019 - 10:08 am

I’ll never buy one again Laurie, The winner of our test is still going strong and I made it over two months ago now :)

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Miftah October 23, 2019 - 3:28 am

Sorry, but can u share what diffusers u used and the composition for essential oil and diffuser.. thanks a lot

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Sarah - Craft Invaders October 25, 2019 - 9:32 am

Hi Miftah I used 15mls fragrance oil with 100mls diffuser base – you can scale this up to suit your container, my favourite diffuser base is Augeo Clean Multi. Hope that helps :)

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sam April 24, 2019 - 5:33 pm

What a brilliant idea, thanks for sharing X #abitofeverything

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Sarah - Craft Invaders April 28, 2019 - 10:09 am

Thanks for checking out our post Sam :)

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Tracey Abrahams April 24, 2019 - 2:05 pm

I love reed defusers, but like you am not keen in the price. I quite fancy making my own, so will check out the kit you suggested.
#abitofeverything

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Sarah - Craft Invaders April 28, 2019 - 10:10 am

They really are expensive for what they are Tracey, It’s homemade for me all the way now :)

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