Oil diffusers are a great way to fill a room with an enticing scent. They are usually made with attractive containers and they release aromas more effectively than scented candles. In general, there are two ways to diffuse scented oil in your home. One way is to make a simple oil lamp that has scented oil added into the fuel, and the other way is to make a reed diffuser.
Scented Oils
Oils for oil diffusers are usually sold in craft stores where soap making or candle making supplies are sold. Synthetic oils come in a variety of fruit and spice fragrances or exotic fragrances like coconut. Some people don't like the smell of synthetic oils, however, because they can be too strong and unnatural smelling. Another option is to use pure essential oils or scented oils. Essential oils are more expensive, but you won't need more than a few drops. Scented oils are essential oils mixed with a carrier oil like olive or almond oil. When you use natural scented oils, you can mix fragrances to make interesting aromas that suit your tastes.
Oil Lamps
To make a simple oil lamp, you need a container like a small, shallow glass jar and olive oil for fuel. Put several drops of the desired scented oil into the olive until it smells the way you want and mix it well. You can make a wick by wrapping wire around a nail with some wire sticking up, and then twisting some thick cotton string around the wire. Place the wick into the oil lamp and fill it with enough olive oil to cover the nail. Let the string soak up oil until it's saturated, take it out of the jar to light it, and carefully drop it back in. Do not use synthetic fragrance oils unless they're made for oil lamps because they can be highly flammable or release toxins while burning.
Reed Diffusers
If you don't feel safe with an open flame, try a reed diffuser. You can use both synthetic and natural oils in these. For the reeds, you need a dozen pieces of rattan, which soaks up oil more effectively than other types of reeds. Fill a container with a few tablespoons of synthetic fragrance oil, or mix 3 tablespoons of jojoba oil with essential oil. The amount of essential oil you should use depends on whether it's pure oil or not, and how intense you want the aroma to be. Pour the oil into a small, decorative container, stand the reeds in it, and fan them out. It can take a couple of hours for the oil to travel up the reeds, but the scent should last up to a month.
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