Diffusing to Purify the Air
Did you know indoor air quality is five to seven times more toxic than outdoor air quality? This is mainly due to conventional cleaners and synthetic air fresheners. Synthetic fragrances added can contain a mixture of hundreds of chemicals and are known to emit harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Research shows that some VOCs can irritate your eyes, nose and throat; create difficulty breathing; and cause harm to the central nervous system and other organs. In the winter, people tend to stay indoors, trapping all the poor-quality air inside. Instead of emitting harsh toxins in your home and making your air quality worse, try diffusing essential oils. Diffusers are like miniature humidifiers that emit a mist infused with essential oils into the air. Diffusing essential oils makes your home smell amazing, helps purify the air, and gets rid of unwanted odors.
The essential oils below are some of the best in purifying the air
Use the bottle links to learn more about each oil
Thieves
Thieves® essential oil blend is a powerful combination of Clove, Lemon, Cinnamon Bark, Eucalyptus Radiata, and Rosemary essential oils that fills any space with a rich, spicy aroma. When used aromatically, Thieves neutralizes and purifies the air from strong odors and can freshen any atmosphere.
Lemon
Lemon is a bright and uplifting essential oil. Keep Lemon on hand for its clean, energizing, and invigorating aroma. Lemon essential oil can be diffused to create a more focused environment, or to help create an uplifting atmosphere.
Purification
This blend is made up of six essential oils for the ultimate weapon against odors. With Purification oil, you’ll never need to feel embarrassed by bad odors from cooking, laundry, pets, or anything else life throws your way. Purification clears the air of unwanted odors, freshens musty and stale areas with its lively scent, and contains lavandin, an ingredient that helps clean and purify the air.
Tea Tree
Tea Tree oil has cleansing properties and a refreshing scent, making it great for everything from home cleaning solutions to skin care. Tea Tree helps to eliminate musky odors, so diffuse it around your home to keep things smelling fresh and clean.
Kunzea
Kunzea is in the same family as Tea Tree, and has similar properties. It offers a clean, spicy and woodsy aroma and can help purify the air from unwanted odors. Diffuse this oil or try putting a few drops on cotton balls and place them around your home and near your air filters!
Citrus fresh
Citrus Fresh is a blend of Orange, Tangerine, Grapefruit, Lemon, Mandarin, and Spearmint. Not only is its aroma cheery and uplifting, it also helps purify the air from unwanted odors! Add this to your diffuser to help any room smell more positive and fresh!
Humidifiers & Diffusers
If you want to take the benefits of diffusers to the next level, turn up the humidity! A 2013 study found that humidifiers may help fight the flu. Scientists used a simulator to send the flu virus into the air and then measured how long it survived at varying levels of humidity.
They found that at humidity levels less than 23%, up to 77% of the virus remained viable in the air just one hour later. However, at humidity levels greater than 43% as little as 14% of the virus remained viable an hour later. 23 hours later, 100% of the viruses in the humid air were all dead, while 60% still survived in dry conditions(1).
Humidifiers are diffusers on a much larger scale. Typically, the output on a humidifier is much heavier and denser than a diffuser and most humidifiers do not recommend adding oils into their tanks.
We recommend diffusing essential oils and running a humidifier simultaneously! Make sure that if you consistently use a humidifier and diffuser, you clean it frequently. Mold and mildew can build up in humidifiers and make your air quality worse.
Sources: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0057485
This post first appeared in the Young Living Training and Education Group
