DIY Plug-in Scented Oil Air Freshener Refill

by hugedom

457K10262

Intro: DIY Plug-in Scented Oil Air Freshener Refill

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

STEP 1: 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.

STEP 2: Remove the Rubber Lids

Use a knife to slowly lift the rubber plastic lid cover around the glass container. You want to be careful since you will need the lids again. Slowly and gently the lid will separate from the glass part.

STEP 3: Pour the Oil

With the lids removed, slowly pour the oil into the glass refill container. Once again, slowly and gently, you don't want to have scented oil all over the place.

STEP 4: Done

Just snap the plastic lids back on the glass container tightly and you are DONE !. If you still have the screw on covers from when you brought the refills, you can screw them back on now you have a refill ready to use whenever you need. ;)

61 Comments

simmoj20 2 years ago

I can't seem to get the Febreze Fade Defy with the plastic wicks to work after refilling them and I am using warmer oil refill. Does anyone else have this issue or know a trick that I don't to get them to start oworking again ?

Mdcalliso. 7 years ago

a source for wicks 10 or 5 packs and natural essential refills

https://scentfill.com/collections/wicks-warmers/products/wicks

haeli.williams 9 years ago

Do you think it's safe to refill them with the Febreze Fabric Refresher Spray?

RyanMBecker 7 years ago

It's safe but I'm not sure why you would want to. First of all, Febreze works by wetting a surface, where it molecularly surrounds odor particles, which evaporates away as the surface dries. Putting Febreze in an oil warmer does none of this since no surface or fabric gets damp. Secondly, Febreze fabric refresher is water based. That means it'll evaporate quickly so the container will be empty within days. Oil, on the other hand, doesn't evaporate unless warmed. And even then, it evaporates slowly. That's why scents are dissolved in oils , not water.

kruth1 7 years ago

No. It's not made for exporure to heat.

CheapPlugInRefill 12 years ago

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

kmccartney6 7 years ago

I know this is really old but did you start your business? I am interested!

MartinE54 7 years ago

Hi

I KNOW THIS THREAD IS 4 YRS OLD BUT IM LOOKING TO REFILL MY FRESHENER DID YOU GET YOURS OFF THE GROUND? OR COULD YOU ADVISE ME WITH A CARRIER OIL?

THANKS

MARTIN

GregoryF3 8 years ago

Thanks for the advice. I was able to put air wick refills into a febreze noticeable, after reading this. With a little practice you can pop the tops right off with scissors.

MichaelP279 8 years ago

"A healthy home has no smell"?. The minute you enter a room, you are stinking it up with your body odor. Humans have been scenting their domiciles, for good and ill, nearly since the very first hut was built. Incense existed even before body perfumes, and probably continues to be the most widely used "air freshener" in the world. The earliest human domiciles were shared with cattle, goats, and various other animals -- not much imagination is needed to get an idea of the smell. If it doesn't come to you, walk into a cow or horse barn, and take a few deep sniffs of the air.

It's fine to not like the smell of cinnamon, lavender, or any of the other odors commonly used for scenting rooms. It's not fine to make moral judgments about people who do like them.

Of course, one should be aware of what one uses in the process of scenting a room. I personally like warming oils better than the disposable wax sticks, which all seem to me to have an antiseptic smell. I shall try out the instructions here, as I do dislike the "disposable" bottle paradigm.

tonybest 8 years ago

DAMN! I did not realize this! I have been throwing them away and buying new ones...Thank you for this great lesson

PamelaC43 8 years ago

I was throwing mine away also until I went to my local oil burning shop and got some burning oil. Took the top off and refilled it and now it lasts 10 times longer than the plugins I got at Bath and Body Works

PamelaC43 8 years ago

I was doing mine away too until I went to my favorite oil shop and bought some burning oil and refilled the plugin and it lasts 10 times longer than the ones I bought at Bath and Body Works

ferfyl 8 years ago

You can buy replacement wicks at Michael's! 3 in one package for 99 cents.

olsaaronc 8 years ago

I wish someone would post a link on these. Couldn't find them and the high school girl working didn't know

Sequimania 9 years ago

Grapeseed oil might be a good carrier oil. It is a light oil and fragrance free. Stores that sell massage supplies/make-your-own bed and bath supplies should carry it. Haven't looked in the grocery store but I suppose that's possible.

Wccolonsr 8 years ago

Costco carries grapeseed oil - of you're going to do the refill with it, that's a great source!

JoffH 8 years ago

hi

Has anyone used reed diffuser oil ?

This can be had pretty cheaply and is widely available. It is also oil based but I do t know if it good to use or not ???

Joff

KarenS65 8 years ago

I've been using liquid potpourri to refill my plugins. The only problem is they empty a little faster, guessing because it's liquid & not oil. I haven't had any problem thus far. I bought liquids at Dollar Tree, they had a variety of scents. I want to replace the wicks & just saw a posting that Michael's has them. I'll check online also for a possible better deal.

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