Best essential oil diffusers for 2021 – CNET [CNET]

Anyone who has felt instant calm after encountering a particular scent knows that aromatherapy is a soothing health and wellness booster, especially if you want to relax your body, quiet your mind and get a good night’s sleep. Refreshing your living space with a scent that makes you feel relaxed or rejuvenated is especially important these days because so many of us are still working remotely and spending a lot of our downtime at home.

There are lots of ways to infuse your home with great smells. Candles are popular, but our favorite method is essential oil diffusers. They’re safer than candles (no fire hazard), just be careful to research the potential downsides of essential oils and make sure no one in your home is allergic. Further, with essential oils, you’re not just stuck with one scent — you can mix and match and create a blend that works specifically for you and your home

These picks for the best essential oil diffuser include nebulizer models and ultrasonic ones — we’ll guide you to which type will best work for you.

How to choose an essential oil diffuser

You could choose from literally hundreds of types of aromatherapy diffusers that range in price from $10 to more than $100. Before you buy, consider these factors in selecting the best essential oil diffuser.

Reservoir capacity: Diffuser water capacity can run anywhere from 100 milliliters (3.4 fluid ounces) to more than 1 liter (33.8 ounces) of water, but the average water reservoir holds around 300ml. You may want a larger water reservoir capacity if you don’t want to be bothered to refill the water very often, or if you need your diffuser to run for a long time in a large space.

Run time and timers: Do you want to be able to set your aromatherapy oil diffuser for one, three or five hours? Do you want a continuous-run option for aroma and mist? How long do you need it to run? These are all important questions to consider when purchasing a diffuser.

Automatic shutoff: Even if you’re typically not a forgetful person, choosing a diffuser with auto shutoff is a smart move. If you forget to power down your diffuser when there’s little water left, it can overheat and fail.

Area coverage: For small rooms, such as a bedroom, bathroom, kid’s bedroom or a small yoga studio, you don’t need to worry too much about the square footage your diffuser covers. If you’re looking to use it in an open space or large room, however, look for diffusers with a high square footage.

Lighting: Many diffusers offer ambient LED lights or double as night lights. This is very much a personal preference, so if you definitely don’t want a light, make sure the aromatherapy diffuser you want to buy doesn’t have one, or you can easily turn it off.

Mist settings: Do you want a continuous cool mist that runs for hours for diffusing essential oil drops or an intermittent mist?

Intensity: For a stronger scent, look for nebulizing diffusers. A nebulizing diffuser is a device that vaporizes the oil drops without using heat, before pumping out the smell in a fine mist into the air. These are often more expensive than standard diffusers but can be worth it if you find standard diffusers to be not effective enough.

Humidity: Many essential oil diffusers double as a cool mist humidifier. This can be a great two-in-one option if you live in a dry climate.

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