If you want to saturate the air of a room with your chosen essential oil or aromatherapy blend the nebulizer is for you. When someone in my family feels like they are "coming down with something", that virusey, achy feeling, I fill the glass nebulizer with our favourite anti-viral or anti-bacterial oils and let it run all night, filling my bedroom with really powerful oils. Odds are when I wake up in the morning, I'll be over whatever big bad bug was trying to attack.For strictly therapeutic/medicinal/germ killing effects, I use one of our Amrita nebulizers. There are many brands on the market. All have a convoluted glass attachment, powered by an air pump. The glass breaks the oils into microscopic droplets, capable of remaining suspended in the air for up to two hours. The advantage of the Nebulizer is obviously that it does the most effective job of filling the air with microscopic particles of your chosen oil.
The disadvantages are twofold. First, most nebulizers are fairly noisy. They are, after all, powered byaquarium pumps . Some people don't mind the noise, reacting to it as a "white noise" background hum. Others find it bothersome. If noise is apt to be an issue, and your area is small, by all means choose the "Tranquillity" model.
Second: The nebulising diffusers tend to require higher maintenance than any of our other options. First, putting the essential oil into the glass nebulizer can be a bit tricky. I finally gave in to reality and started using a pipette, after spilling oil while trying to pour from the bottle into the glass orifice. Also, the glass nebulizer (together with the attached Silicone tube) needs cleaning occasionally. I suspect I'm not the only one who has let the nebulizer stand with oils in it, allowing them to react with the oxygen in the air and get all thick and "gunky" The best way to clean them is to add high proof rubbing alcohol (90% works best!) to dissolve the accumulated oils, drain, and air dry.
Also, the nebulizer cannot be used with the very thick, viscous oils... benzoin, vetiver, etc. They will totally clog it and won't diffuse unless blended with other, thinner, essential oils. Never use a carrier oil in the nebulizer, or an essential oil diluted in a carrier. It will ruin the glass nebulizer and void the warranty.
