Essential oils and diffusers - does anyone here use them?

I just bought a diffuser and one little bottle of essential oil. To me, it's really just kind of a fancy air freshener, but I do like it. The scent I bought is "Nag Champa." It's a sandalwood based scent that reminds me of some incense that I smelled at a record store back in the early 80s. Anyway, if you are into essential oils, which scent do you recommend? I am using this diffuser: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073F4R7GR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

Bamboo Jasmine is my goto relaxation smell while having a collection of other smells.

Though they smell nice they will wreck your PC. The oils in the air will cause any dust to stick to your PC components in such a way that even a good blower will not remove them. In short, they are bad for every electronic component with an air intake.

Any specific brand?

I got a similar bamboo looking one for Christmas a few years ago. I like it. I like candles too but its nice not having to think about a hot candle burning from time to time. I've had sever dangerous episodes with candles.

My favorite scent that was gifted to me with the device was called "Trauma Gone" and it says RMO on the bottle. Not sure if that's the brand.

Peppermint oil, laurel, eucalyptus, lavender, cinnamon, camphor. Mixed together, is great for breathing during allergy season. I use it in the shower rather than a diffuser, since it's a pretty strong smell.

Wife likes to diffuse White Fir to make the house smell pleasant and calm.

Lavender in the diffuser for sleeping in our bedroom sometimes.

Straight peppermint oil on the temples (it burns like fire for a minute or two) for headaches. Works great for pain eduction, but doesn't get rid of it.

And last but not least: aloe vera with peppermint oil to abolish sunburn pain. Seriously. It's better than lidocaine by a country mile.

Essential oils seem really trendy, but we've been using them for years and found certain combinations to be very helpful.

A
A filter will work even if it a paper towel and not clog the air intake.


Mostly Walmart brands

Nope. Anything that will work will reduce airflow by so much that you may as well not bother venting the box in the first place.

Also harmful to dogs, particularly Greyhounds and Lurchers

Certain essential oils will melt plastics if they splatter or are attached to dust particles that land on something made of a plastic not designed to handle it.

In particular, anything made from citrus fruits will do this, but any oil which has a very pungent smell will also do this.

Basically, anything you wouldn't put on your skin shouldn't be put around PC components or other plastic items you value.

Essential oils, even the cheapest brands, generally don't contain weird chemicals, they're simply an extract of parts of a plant, mixed in with a base oil in cheaper brands such as coconut oil or canola oil. If you buy a semi decent brand it may list whether or not it's been mixed with another oil. Cheap "aroma oils" may contain synthetic fragrances, these might smell nice but aren't essential oils made from real plants.

I'm a big fan of aroma oils for relaxation purposes but would not count on them to provide any major medical benefits. They may provide some minor benefits through stress / blood pressure reduction, and might have some local effects if applied on skin but the current holistic movement of using them to treat stuff like cancer is nonsense for the most part.

Try making your own version of febreeze by making a spray diluted with alcohol and water and a tiny amount of baking soda put into a spray bottle. I have one made from lavender, jasmine, chamomile and bergamot. The room smells like a spring meadow after a few sprays of this.

Diffusers are wonderful but need cleaning every few days, so don't forget about that. If you don't run some plain water and alcohol through the diffuser once every couple of uses, sticky oils will clog up the filter mechanism at the bottom and cause it to make weird sounds like it's broken. Running a bit of alcohol and water through it will restore one that sounds like it's toast, and prevent it in ones that are still running fine.

Wow, I got way more useful information than I expected. Thanks, everybody. I may decide to limit using the diffuser in my bedroom since there are no electronic devices to be affected there as opposed to my living room where my PC, X-Box, and TV are.