DISCOVER NEW AND CREATIVE WAYS TO DIFFUSE ESSENTIAL OILS IN YOUR HOME

 Have you seen all the ads for some super-exclusive home fragrance system? They feature celebrities talking about how everyone who visits their home exclaims that it smells like a high-end hotel. Whatever that means. 

Two summers ago I stayed in a very fancy historic hotel in Chicago’s Miracle Mile and it reeked of weed, inside and out. The one slow elevator couldn’t keep up with the guests’ demand so we took the stairs to and from our room. Unfortunately my allergy to marijuana had me wheezing so bad I could  barely climb up the 2nd flight. So, that's not how I would describe it!

Anyway, recently I was indulging in my bad habit of reading trashy online magazines about “famous” people and one article caught my attention. Some lady I’ve never heard of who is “famous” for some reason I can’t remember ~ she might be on a reality tv show I don’t watch or married to some sports player. Anyway, the reason I clicked on the article is the headline said amidst whatever controversy is going on with her right now (she might be declaring bankruptcy, getting divorced, losing her house, going to jail or all of these, I wasn’t paying attention to that part) she spent $100,000 on essential oils.

So I was like “what?!” And that’s why I read this story about the lady I’ve never heard of. It seems she spent all this money on the home fragrance system currently blanketing the airwaves with ads. The premise of the system is it goes inside your air vent system. It seems basically to consist of a diffuser you put in your air intake so it blows all through your vents.

So, first of all, I am on board with essential oils, specifically Young Living’s, because at least one study has shown the chemical fragrances in 98% of home products are carcinogenic. This effect is enhanced when these chemicals are exposed to heat, such as in the clothes dryer or those little electric air fresheners you plug into the wall or the ones you melt in a little burner. 

Pure, all-natural steam-distilled essential oils, such as Young Living’s, not only freshen your home but may have therapeutic benefits as well. I certainly don’t want my “clean” home giving us all cancer! And it’s a great decision to avoid heat dispersal, even for essential oils, because that can break them down. You want a diffuser that disperses the oil with ultrasonic vibrations or passive means, such as air flow.

But seriously, $100K?! Are they insane? Diffusing essential oils is the most economical way to use them because only a few drops can travel all through your house as the tiny particles of oil are blown around in the air. That’s why I can justify my more expensive splurges on oils like lemon verbena or Melissa (lemon balm); one bottle lasts practically forever. I can’t believe anyone would spend so much, especially if they are facing all the troubles this lady has.

I have an even cheaper way than traditional diffusion: use your vent filters. Just sprinkle a few drops of your favorite oil over the vent filter when you change it out and as the air blows through your home the oil will be dispersed along with the scent, no crazy-expensive “system” required!

Some more tricks: Add a drop or two inside the cardboard tube in your toilet paper when you change the roll. When the roll turns it will release the scent. Or put a few drops on your vacuum cleaner filter and you will release the scent when you vacuum. Or a few drops on a cotton ball inside your trash can… etc etc. The more you think about it the more opportunities you’ll see. A note of warning: undiluted essential oils will eat through plastic and take the finish off wood furniture so don’t use them on or in anything like that.

​I made a short video showing how I add fragrance to our air system to keep our home smelling fresh. And people do always comment about how great our house smells but they usually just keep asking “What is that that smells so good?” No one has ever said it smells just like a “high-end hotel”! Watch the video here.

Then, I made another video while suffering from having stinky wet dogs running in and out of the house on a rainy day. Don't let bad odors rain on your parade – let me show you how to reclaim your home's scent and enjoy a clean, odor-free living environment. Watch that video here.