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Diffusing outside can be a bit problematic because
- Many diffusers need to be plugged in to an outlet or a USB port
- Some diffusers are fragile
- The mist is being diluted into the whole of the great outdoors
So, sometimes the best solution is the simplest. You can make these easy mason jar outdoor diffusers and place a few around your patio–especially near where you hang out. And you know, the web needs another mason jar project.
All you need are:
- mason jars
- lids with holes (like these ones at Amazon, affiliate link)
- some coarse salt
- essential oils
- Fill your mason jar with coarse salt—I used dead sea salt because I had a bunch on hand, but Himalayan or any other coarse salt works too. Instead of salt, dumping in that old box of baking soda from the back of your fridge would work too.
2. Add essential oils of your choice and put the lid on.
Because this will be sitting outside, and you wont be touching the contents, you don’t have to worry about dilution rates. Sprinkle on enough oils that you can smell it without having to put your nose right up to it. You can put a little bit of carrier oil in the jar as well, which may help to slow down the evaporation of the essential oils. This is a great project to get rid of those oils of dubious quality oils that you bought from eBay when you first started 🙂 (yeah, me too).
Citronella, Lemongrass, Geranium, and Peppermint are a few good choices. For the best essential oils to diffuse for different types of bugs, I give several suggestions and recipes in this post.
This seems like a good time to talk about perfume notes—for outdoor use, you may want to sway towards including some middle and base note oils as their scent will linger longer instead of evaporating right away like top note oils. Adding middle or base notes can also make the top notes have more staying power.
This project is so easy and you probably have almost everything you need already! You could even put a regular lid on this and take it camping or on a picnic, switching to the lid with holes once you reach your destination.
Hey how long will the salt last and how many times can I keep adding oils to it before I have to change it in the patio diffuser using the coarse salts thanks
The salt really won’t “go bad” but it may dissolve over time depending on exposure to rain or humidity. I live in a wet area so once water gets in and it starts to discolor, I change it.
Just wondering what is the purpose of the salt? Does this help with the essential oil’s staying power or do bugs not like salt? Thanks!
You don’t need to use salt. I have done this with baking powder as well. If it rains though, I find a coarse salt holds up a little better.
Hello. In your post you talk about using middle and base note oils for outdoor use. I don’t know what that means. Can you please explain?
Hi, “notes” are a perfumery term and refer to how long a scent lasts. A top note evaporates pretty quickly, a base note lasts much longer, and the middle notes are somewhere in between. So, using essential oils that are middle and base notes will retain their scent longer. Being outdoors, warm temperatures and wind can speed evaporation of essential oils which is why I made that statement. Hope that helps 🙂
Can I do this without a lid? I have a ton of jars but none of the lids have holes. Thanks!