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DIY Plug-in Scented Oil Air Freshener Refill

DIY Plug-in Scented Oil Air Freshener Refill
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This is a little write-up on how to refill your scented oil air freshener on the cheap. These units work pretty well, they are long lasting, more gentle and natural smelling than other types. However, refills are whether expensive, sometimes costing over half or as much as the price of the starter kit (plug-in & refill). Ouch !

So, here is how you could recharge an empty refill glass container yourself. This is just an example of how it is done for one brand, but I imagine the others are similar.

***Caution – Even tough the warmer uses a small amount of heat to release the fragrance by warming the oil up, it is still a good idea to test the oil first and keep on eye on the new refill before letting the unit run by itself.***

Okay now, if you still want to proceed, here is what you will need:

1) An empty refill
2) Scented oil for oil warmer
3) A knife or something thin and stiff

 
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Step 1Have Your Material Ready

Have Your Material Ready
The toughest part maybe finding the scented oil. The ones in the picture I got from the dollar store and they are the perfect size for the my refill at 10ml for each bottle. Once again, I caution you will need oil designed for oil warmer, don't mix them up with lamp oil and other type of oil you may find.
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29 comments
May 22, 2012. 2:15 PMAmazonQueen says:
oooo! Gonna try the scented oils they have at Walmart. Should work just fine right? They're for electric oil warmers anyway. And they're cheap too, like .98 cents a bottle. I'll let ya know :D
Feb 22, 2012. 9:24 PMCortneydea28 says:
I'm not sure about the other plugins, but I've refilled AirWick plugins with liquid potpourri and it didn't work so great. The warmer doesn't get warm enough to release the scent, and the wick just expands if you use the original wick. Not sure if it'd do that with a new wick or not. I think I'm going to go back to the store though and find some scented oil made for warmers. I have a Febreze plugin just like the one in this instructable too. Thanks so much for posting this instructable!!!!! it's really helpful!!
Nov 10, 2011. 3:55 PMCheapPlugInRefill says:
Guys and girls...

I'm in the UK and the refills sell for anything upto £6GBP, especially these new triple scent plug versions....and all for just 12ml in each, outrageous.

Making your own is perfectly do-able, but to be cost effective you will need to buy approx 25kg of fragrance and 400kg (1 kg roughly 1Litre) to do it.


It really scares me to see people suggesting carrier oils at a guess eg: Olive Oil (really?!!?)

Firstly you would have a house that stinks of Olive oil and secondly it would not carry. The 'carrier' oil is a closely guarded secret in the fragrance industry. It has no real name but a series of letters...it has no residue and a very high temperature tolerance for safety. It also diffuses into the air and holds. I took me 8 months to find out what it is.

So there is one other thing, its called FLASHPOINT...that is the temperature at which a liquid becomes flammable. (for example Olive Oil is upwards of 185Celcius....that wont happen you think, if the plug becomes faulty and electric hit the oil.... it will).

Q: Do you still want to leave your home, belongings, kids and pets at risk to a liquid you bought at a DIY store then plugged in to an electrical socket to save £3 or a few dollars, if so you are totally nuts.

I know this because I have spent the last year in my spare time trying to develop a refill product that can sell at a price that means refills are just £1.

I started off thinking a bit of clear oil and some smelly and job done, I was so wrong, and I was scared when an expert asked how I'd feel when a house fire with dead kids was found to be because of the juice I knocked up in my garage and flogged on ebay.

So a year has gone by, I have sourced packaging suitable for oils, gained lab tests and contractual assurances that the liquids are safe and suitable and have had several meetings which are very promising.

I really really am not trying to scare you guys off, I found this site a while ago with the same idea as you, good luck but for your own sake do the research.

For anyone interested, I will post back details of our product launch and actually it would be cool if I could send interested parties a single shot refill to trial and give feedback on. Again, I will post an update on that back here soon.

All the best,


Ty
Mar 16, 2011. 7:06 AMAmberosa says:
Dear HomeFragrance,
Thank you for the wick info. I order some today.
Have a good day everyone!

This is a great site.

Amber
Aug 1, 2010. 8:26 AMGrammaKx7 says:
Boy, am I glad you had this. I've been trying to find a way to refill the warmers. Now all I have to do is find out how to make the wicks. Or where I can buy them. Thank you so much.
Apr 6, 2009. 9:03 AMPUDS says:
THE WICKS DONT LAST LONG WHEN YOU DO THIS. WHERE CAN YOU BUY REPLACEMENT WICKS FOR SAY FEBREZE AND AIRWICK BOTTLES THANKS
Apr 20, 2009. 7:09 AMhomefragrance says:
You can purchase the replacement wick at Abundant Health website for 30 cents/piece. Here is the link:

http://www.abundanthealth4u.com/Plug_in_Diffuser_Wick_p/9392c.htm
Apr 22, 2009. 12:10 PMPUDS says:
MANY THANKS BUT IF I ORDER 100 WICKS THEY WANT 45 DOLLARS FOR POSTAGE.........SEEMS VERY HIGH COST FOR SUCH A LIGHT WEIGHT ITEM
Apr 22, 2009. 1:55 PMhomefragrance says:
Yikes!!!! Regular USPS Priority Mail International can be really high. However, I would say those wicks can easily weigh under 4lbs which could be shipped using a USPS Priority Mail International Flat Rate Envelope for around $13 max from US to the UK.
Feb 8, 2009. 7:56 PMtoni21 says:
Can you buy the cotton stem for the oil refill, if where!
Jan 16, 2009. 9:59 AMSkaboom says:
I had been searching for this information for a while too. I knew it wasn't that difficult but I thought that one might have to mix the essential oil with another oil to dilute it. Though this doesn't look to be the case. Thanks.
Nov 27, 2008. 4:58 PMwetwork says:
Hey would this work good with liquid potpouri??
Mar 27, 2007. 6:18 PMnoahh says:
This is cool, but is there any way to make your own oil? That would be awesome.
Sep 1, 2007. 7:44 PMwitchdragon13 says:
noahh have you found a way to make your own oil yet. I have been filling my plug ins for about a year, but would like to mix differnt scents.
Sep 2, 2007. 10:11 AMnoahh says:
Ya. that would be cool.
Jun 21, 2008. 12:46 PMtheburn7 says:
5/5 Good Instructable!
Apr 10, 2008. 1:49 PMColumbusGEEK says:
Awesome. I came to Instrutibles today looking for a tip like this and found it first try. Nice one.
Mar 9, 2008. 10:02 PMgreatfinds says:
(removed by author or community request)
Apr 10, 2008. 1:47 PMColumbusGEEK says:
True, but they only have 2 flavors.
Feb 6, 2008. 4:44 AMNichole says:
I tried simmering liquid and don't think that it is working. How about fragrance oils like used for homemade candles or does it have to be essential oil and should you mix the fragrance oil with a carrier oil or use straight.
Feb 5, 2008. 3:44 PMNichole says:
can you use simmering liquid like what is sold at wal-mart in the large bottles or is it only going to work with oil that is usually only sold in very small bottles
Jan 24, 2008. 3:25 PMPursuer says:
I found that to cut the cost even more, I add 8-15 drops of essential oil, then fill the rest of my glade plug-in with extra virgin olive oil works really well too. :)
Jan 24, 2007. 11:51 AMCalltaker says:
*runs to the bathroom to grab the plug in air freshener* Dude... this is awesome. Thanks for this instructable, I never would have thought of refilling them!! This is a great way to save $$, I don't know how much they cost for the rest of you, but here at Wal Mart, the refills are $4 and up. Figure yousave on average $3 per refill, that adds up after a while. Keep up the great work!!
Oct 15, 2006. 7:36 PMziggygirl says:
Brilliant!! Great!! Excellent!! Thanx
Sep 16, 2006. 11:13 AMwichypoo says:
Thank you so much been looking for the info for weeks I love saving money. Wichypoo
Aug 23, 2006. 4:04 PMcamiller says:
I'll have to try this for the car scented oil air freshner in my car. The bottle only has one resouiver but the top looks the same.
Aug 21, 2006. 8:08 AMmrbob1000 says:
i like this idea verry mutch i think i will go try it
Aug 21, 2006. 8:03 AMTheCheese9921 says:
cool

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