Essential Oils And Using Vaporisation

This method can be used to purify the air when infectious illness is around. It can also be used to rid the air of cooking smells, repel insects, subtly influence mood - or simply to create a delightful ambience in the home or workplace.

 

Although there are many ways to vaporise essential oils, the purpose-designed essential oil vaporiser or 'burner' is by far the most effective. The essential oil burner is usually earthenware (sometimes glass, porcelain or marble), with decorative openings cut out of the sides to afford a free flow of air for the nightlight candle which is placed inside. A small, sometimes detachable, reservoir fits over the nightlight and is filled with water with a few drops of essential oil floated on the surface. This is gently heated by the flame. As the water evaporates, the room becomes permeated with fragrance.

 

There is one drawback, however: if you forget to refill the reservoir after the water has evaporated (which can be quite soon with some vaporisers) you may be left with a sticky blackened residue of burnt oil. This can be difficult to remove unless you use an alcohol-based substance, such as surgical spirit. To reduce the possibility of the nightlight vaporiser running dry too quickly, ensure that the model you choose has a reservoir deep enough to accept at least two dessertspoonfuls of water.

 

There is a high-tech alternative to the humble nightlight vaporiser in the shape of the electric diffuser. Here, a few drops of undiluted essential oil are dropped on to the ceramic or filter surface which is kept at a constant warm temperature. Some electric fragrancers, like the classic nightlight vaporiser, are designed to accept water as well as essential oil. These are to be preferred, partly because they use less essential oil in the long run, and also because the oils smell much better in dilution. Electric diffusers are particularly suitable for the workplace (they do not pose a fire risk) and certainly much safer than nightlights for use in the bedrooms of children and elderly people.

 

The most recent innovation is the stream diffuser. A cold-air pump blows minute droplets of neat essential oil into the atmosphere. Although manufacturers extol the virtues of this method on the grounds that heat radically alters the chemical structure of essential oils, I am not convinced that this is a superior method. Indeed, gentle heat actually enhances the aroma of essential oils, and other aromatic materials. Stream diffusers are often exorbitantly priced, which says it all!

 

When using the vaporiser, you will need between four and ten drops of essential oil depending on the odour intensity of the individual oils used (let your nose be your guide) and the size of the room. As a rough guide, six drops of essential oil will be enough to perfume a room up to three metres square. For a larger room you may need up to 15 drops; and for a very large space, such as a community centre, you will need more than one vaporiser.