You likely just paid a pretty penny for your diffuser. Regular cleaning and maintenance of your unit will make sure that you get the most out of it!
Below are a few cleaning hacks that have worked well for me with a dōTERRA Petal Diffuser, as well as a few other models that I’ve tried off of Amazon.
How Often Should You Clean Your Diffuser?
I recommend cleaning your diffuser at least once a week, especially if you use it daily.
Without cleaning, diffusers can get clogged. Most diffusers will have a little white plate on the inside with the silver ring around it. That plate needs to vibrate freely in order to diffuse powerfully. Essential oils can clog that plate, minimizing its ability to vibrate. Cleaning your diffuser ensures that your unit works its best and that you don’t waste oil.
Be sure to clean the reservoir and the lid! Here’s how:
How to Clean Your Diffuser
There are several ways to clean a diffuser. Below are four techniques that have worked best for me.
Method 1: Casual Wipe Down
Tools: Warm water, paper towel
Method: Immediately after use, rinse out the diffuser with warm water. Wipe out any remaining essential oil with a paper towel. Let the the unit air dry. This method works well for light, runny oils like lavender and tangerine.
Method 2: Fight Oil with Oil
Tools: Water and lemon essential oil
Method: For slightly tougher jobs, fill reservoir to capacity and add 1-2 drops of lemon essential oil per milliliter. Run the diffuser through a full cycle. Lemon essential oil breaks down most other oils, helping to clean your diffuser naturally. As an added bonus, you’ll fill the room with an essential oil that is antibacterial and antiviral.
Method 3: Hand Wash
Tools: warm water, white vinegar, cotton ball
Do not diffuse the vinegar! Instead, fill your diffuser halfway with warm water. Add .5 teaspoon of vinegar. Let the vinegar solution soak for 5-10 minutes. Pour out most of the solution, leaving a little in the bottom. Dab the cotton ball into the remaining solution and use it to clean the walls and lid of the diffuser. Gently clean around the disk. Rinse the diffuser with warm water.
Method 4: The Scrub Down
Tools: warm water, gentle soap, gentle scrub pad
I’ve only done this once in a really icky situation. Myrrh, a super thick oil, takes forever to come out of a dropper. In my haste, I removed the orifice reducer, and poured a few drops into my diffuser. That was great–but I forgot to put the reducer back on. The next time that I used myrrh, I poured about half the bottle into the diffuser by mistake! Long story short, I diffused a high ratio of oil to water and ended up with a stuck-on mess. I tried methods 1-3 to no avail and resolved to this:
Method: Fill the reservoir 1/3 with warm water. Apply a drop of soap to the edge of your scrub pad and use it to agitate any stuck-on oil. Be very careful around the little plastic plate, since you don’t want to tighten/losen it by mistake or damage the plate itself. Rinse the unit with warm water.
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