Essential oil diffusers break down the essential oils so that the aroma can be dispersed throughout the whole room. It’s a great way to use essential oils since this brings a soothing and relaxing atmosphere that you can enjoy.
However, it’s troublesome when the diffuser starts functioning improperly or even breaks. At times, all it needs is a good clean-up, but it may also need some other tune-ups for it to get fixed if you experience some issues.
Below, I’ve outlined the most common reasons for problems, and how to easily fix your essential oil diffuser at home.
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If your essential oil diffuser is experiencing some hiccups, give these tips a try, and also don’t be shy to share your own experience in the comments.
Make Sure You Clean Your Essential Oil Diffuser
It is vitally important that you clean your diffuser properly on a regular basis. While it can be a challenge at first, you’ll slowly get used to the process of cleaning the diffuser and you’ll be maintaining it yourself instead of paying someone to do it for you, or waiting for the diffuser to break down and having to expense the replacement cost. It’s an incredible hassle to bring in or send back a diffuser just for cleaning, and it becomes of an even bigger problem if the diffuser gets broken because you didn’t clean it properly.
Essential oil diffusers come in many types and shapes. This one here is the Young Living Aria Diffuser. It’s beautiful, but also quite expensive.
Exact cleaning recommendations and steps will vary depending on which diffuser you use. PLEASE give your diffuser manual a quick read before you start its operation, just so that you know what you need to do to maintain it’s best functionality and most effective diffusing of aromatherapy.
To be used only as a general rule of thumb, here’s a list of steps you can follow to clean your essential oil diffuser:
8 Simple Steps To Clean Your Essential Oil Diffuser
*** ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOUR DIFFUSER IS UNPLUGGED FROM ITS POWER OUTLET BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO CLEAN IT ***
- Fill your diffuser about half way with clean water. Make sure you stop well below the max line.
- Add up to 10 drops of pure white vinegar. This will help in removing the oils that are stuck inside the diffuser and on the glass or plastic pieces.
- Let the diffuser run for about 3-5 minutes to allow the water-vinegar mixture to disperse throughout the unit and clean it.
- Drain the diffuser completely.
- Using a cotton swab dipped in vinegar, clean the tight spots and corners of the diffuser to make sure that no spots are left dirty.
- Rinse with clean water.
- Empty again and you’re good to go.
- Use a dry cloth, or more cotton swabs or cotton balls to wipe the diffuser and dry it thoroughly.
Please note, some people have told me that cleaning your diffuser with vinegar voided their diffuser warranty – specifically on Young Living diffusers. If your unit is still under warranty, it would be best to call customer service of your diffuser brand or product seller first before you attempt any home remedies to clean your unit.
Some diffusers also give you specific cleaning instructions in their diffuser manuals. Please always consult these avenues first before proceeding with my general cleaning tips.
After Each Use
Most manufacturer instructions will tell you to clean out your diffuser after each use, which at first may seem a bit excessive. While I owned my first diffuser unit, I didn’t do it properly each time. I’d leave water plus essential oil mixture in the diffuser, thinking “oh I’ll just run this again tomorrow”.
Please DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE. The oils used in your essential oil diffuser can be very corrosive and you really do have to clean it out after each use for best longevity and performance of the unit. Further, the smells and leftovers of one oil can severely effect the experience you have when you put another scent or oil in your diffuser.
So, after each use, please fully empty your essential oil diffuser of all water and oils, and give it at least a quick wipe with a damp cloth, Kleenex, or Q-tip.
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Troubleshooting Your Diffuser
If you’re using your essential oil diffuser on a regular basis, it can from time to time come up with some troubles or hiccups. But do not panic! Most common problems can easily be solved with the following few simple tricks.
Ways to troubleshoot these problems
Diffuser Doesn’t Have Power
- Check if the power plug is securely plugged to the electrical outlet
- Make sure that the bowl contains water and the levels are correct
- Check if you’re using the right power adapter
- Check if the power supply socket is plugged into the diffuser
- Empty the diffuser, wait for a few days to dry it out and try plugging it in again
Very Little Diffusion
- Check if the water levels are correct/high enough
- Make sure that the fan inlet is not blocked by dried up oil essential oil > give your diffuser a clean-up if you can see left over dirt
- Re-check the mist settings of the diffuser and ensure you didn’t turn it down
Water in the diffuser is hot, level is high
- This means that the diffuser has been overfilled with water
- Turn off and unplug the diffuser from the power supply
- Empty the diffuser and let it cool down a bit
- Refill the diffuser at the right water level and restart
- If the diffuser doesn’t start up, that means it has been damaged by overfilling and will need proper repair
Water in the diffuser is hot, level is normal
- The fan intake may be obstructed
- Remove any towel or cloth that may have been placed below the diffuser
- Check to see if there are hairs or fur pieces stuck in the fan blades and remove
- Turn off and unplug the diffuser, letting it cool down for a while
- Refill the diffuser at the right level and restart
- If the diffuser doesn’t start up, that means it has been damaged and will need proper repair
Light indicators flash but diffuser doesn’t start
- The diffuser may have malfunctioned or there has been a detected fault
- Turn off the diffuser and unplug from the power source
- Empty the diffuser and allow to cool down for a bit
- Refill the diffuser at the correct water level
- Reconnect and restart the diffuser
- If the diffuser doesn’t start up, it may need to be checked by a professional for assessment or repair
Using a diffuser to use essential oils is very convenient. However, you also need to remember that you need to clean and maintain it regularly to ensure that it doesn’t get damaged. Read your particular diffuser’s manual to learn how to effectively clean your unit yourself and also know the proper way how to use it to prevent damage from occurring in the first place.
It’s fixed….I wiped it out, and wiped the overflow light….maybe it was wet?
It turns out the “middle” sink is the actual res where the water is suppposed to go.
Thanks for your kind assistance and site. Dgunde
I read most of this page but didn’t find my answer. The properly filled upper res drains not into the
bottom res but to the middle sink…..and then of course, it’s not going to run. 1st few times I was
able to drain and worked on retry. Now I drained the entire upper res 5x straight times and
same epsode again…..thanks!
I can’t get the top off to add more water and oils. Only used once. Hope you can help. It is URPOWER Essential Oil Duffuser.
My diffuser seems be working properly but all of a sudden there’s no aroma coming from it. I used to only add like 5-7 drops and the aroma was strong. I even added more and still no aroma.
I have a saje diffuser, mine on 1st setting stopped misting after a few minutes…. just needs a toothbrush and a good cleaning in the “circle” on the vibration plate inside machine. .. when you think you’ve done a good job, do it again! Mines back to normal.
My dew drop is leaking water. ??????? It’s coming out from the bottom.
I love my YL Aria, but even if the timer is set for 3 hours, it runs about an hour and shuts off. There is also quite a bit of water left in the diffuser after it shuts off. What’s up with that? Everything else seems to be great!
Hi Sherry, I have heard about other diffusers doing the same thing and the answer seems to be that exact climates, water quality used and evaporation rates cannot be controlled and some diffuser units are programmed a bit more conservatively and might shut off a bit earlier than expected. Personally, I’d rather have the unit shut off a little early than a little too late! However, I do not own the YL Aria myself so I cannot actually really speak to this. Your best bet is to contact your YL customer service rep and ask if this is a known or common issue with your type of diffuser. You might be able to get a replacement unit.
If anyone can help me-
I cannot seem to remove previous scents from my unit. No matter what I do, I keep smelling Lemongrass. It seems to be permeated my machine and is mixing with every other scent.
Thank you!
Hi, I purchased the Greenair Spa Vapor 2.0. Can someone help me find out what is wrong with it? It will not put out any mist. I tried bringing it to my work and my boss has one. I filled the water to the fill lines on both with the same temp water and same amount of oil. His starts to mist instantly as mine does not. So I tried switching the cords to see if maybe my cord was damaged. It shoots the water strong in his as well and his cord does the same on mine. When they are plugged into my unit the water barely bubbles at the top. On his it actually shoots the water above the actual fill…I do not see a power level button on here so I don’t see why mine is not working. Can someone please help me out???? Thank you very much in advance!
Hi Nick, you might have to take this issue to the manufacturer directly as it sounds like your unit has some more serious problems, especially if what you’re describing is happening to it since it’s new. Call the people on your order form or where you’ve purchased the unit from.
Love my defused, I like the lemon grass. My steam comes out very well but my scent is not good! What could be wrong?
Kimberly – try adding 5-10 drops of oil to your diffuser. If you have a regular tank size of around 100ml, that should make a nice strong smell. If it still doesn’t, perhaps try another essential oil, it could be that you’re using an older bottle of oil. If you still don’t get the scent, talk to the manufacturer of your exact diffuser, they might have some more insight for you.
I’ve only used my diffuser once. I tried it again not too long after and it didn’t work. It was properly plugged in and the water level were right. I cleaned it out, but nothing, not even the light, turned on. Should I try letting the entire machine dry? Or should I try white vinegar. I don’t know what could’ve gone wrong.
Need advice please….I thoroughly read my art naturals diffuser manual.. No mist will come out. It makes mist.. When I remove inner cover.. But when I replace it it does not release mist. Three fam members tried to help, but we are stumped. Only when I remove inner plastic lid do I get mist. Any ideas? Yes I played with water levels and no change.
I have the same problem !!!!!! Can someone help. I used the diffuser twice and bam piece of junk!!!!! No help from the company
I have read many questions about their diffusers spitting water but NO replies. We are having the same issue, what can we do?
Hi Tim – I’ve only seen diffusers spit water if they’re filled too close or over the max. line. Try running your diffuser with the tank on half full only and see if the problem persists.
my diffuser is misting enough it seems but i cant smell it and im putting in a squeeze or 2 of eo any thoughts?
or is it my eo
My aroma lite does not produce the mist anymore. I hear the fan but the high pitch sound that accompanies is absent. Is it fixable?
Matt
Hi Matt, you might like to give your diffuser plate a good cleaning with Q-tips dipped in vinegar to try and remove any possible oil residue that might prevent it from misting. Otherwise, please contact customer service of where you purchased your diffuser; they might have more model-specific insight.
Hi all! Cleaned my diffuser inside but unable to get the spots off the sides….almost like some yellow, lemon lines…any advice here? Vinegar isn’t working…
Hi Lindsey, some essential oils like Lemon can actually permanently leave stains in plastic diffusers… It depends a bit on which brand of oil you’re using and what diffuser. Most citrus blends or citrus oils that are NOT Lemon (for example, Orange) should be fine. But pure Lemon oil can be corosive. Read more here:
http://www.amazon.com/citrus-essential-diffuser-without-damaging/forum/Fx2T8XE334GT4I4/Tx1WJ362WBYZC9I/1?_encoding=UTF8&asin=B008RP6GGC
Might this be why I cannot rid my machine of a Lemongrass scent!?
Just got mine. Working but led lights worked at first then stopped. Anyone else have this happen.
I’m having the same issue It worked when it got here 2 days ago and yesterday the lights just went out
This is what happened to me, I never fully immerse my unit in water, but yesterday I went a little crazy with cleaning my clothes irons, Rowenta steam iron, Steam Vaporizer, and Diffusers with White vinegar/Distilled Water ONLY/Alcohol. But before using vinegar/distilled water application I cleaned all above appliances with soap and water and went a little crazy with the soaking water into diffuser. I went to turn on Diffuser using the White Vinegar/Distilled water mixture and light turned on for 2 seconds then turned off & no mist. Got online and found this site & I first cleaned out diffuser with rubbing alcohol tip, put a little alcohol in it then emptied it. Then I dried it completely using my space heater inside alcohol d n der bottom where you plug it in to fully dry ithe or 30 mins. I then poured my distilled water n white vinegar mixture in, plugged it to and voila, it works again (mist and colors)
?Awesome, I’m glad to hear it!!
I thought these diffusers were great just bought one last night no mist only colors.
had plans on buying like 3-4 more for x-mas but since reading all of this on this forum
I don’t think so. Sorry
Can’t get the lid off to put water in the diffuser
Hi I recently got a Young Living Dew drop diffuser. When on, the light is on for about 10 or 12 minutes. Still I cannot see the mistake either. To restart it have to disconnect from the small DC power plug. I also noticed that the manual shows a groove on the outer lid and a lid positioning notch. They are not there.
I have water leaking from where the 2 pieces come together. No sign of damaged parts…….Help
My first search in needing help led me right here. Thanks so much for the help! I have the Aria and I really didn’t want to replace it yet!
Thanks Laura, glad to hear!
I use the Tierra Essentials diffuser…it also can be used as a night light or light can be turned off. Uses tap water and only 2-3 drops of an oil or blend of oils.