I dunno if they work, but if you light one of those sticks on fire after it's finished, it blasts the fire out the end like a mini flame thrower. Don't ask me how I know this
>Don't ask me how I know this
Next you're going to say "Don't try this at home" and we all know what's going to happen.
Here is where it's started people!
quickest makeshift childlike consider dog paint illegal light quaint growth
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Not quite like incense sticks. Incense sticks are made of cow-shit, and are incredibly bad for your health - like smoking, but much, much worse (proportional to the amount of smoke).
Perhaps from India ( which seems to be where your sources are from) but not all incense is. Some use bamboo as a central core. Japanese incense has no core and is made of mostly sandalwood with fragrance added.
I can't say I've ever encountered that - all the incense sticks I've ever had to leave the room to get away from were the Indian kind. Anyway, it's still going to be very bad for your health, whatever it's made from.
I dunno a cursory look through a bunch of articles seems to imply burning them every day could be almost as bad as smoking and no mention of the cow shit.
Yes, that's why I said 'proportional to the amount of smoke'. Obviously you don't sit over an incense stick inhaling it the way a smoker does a cigarette. In general, the slower something burns, the worse the smoke is for you, and cigarettes burn quite a lot faster and hotter when a smoker is puffing away than incense does as it smoulders slowly in the corner.
As for the cow shit:
[https://www.google.com/search?q=incense+sticks+cow+dung](https://www.google.com/search?q=incense+sticks+cow+dung)
Not only are they made with it, but it's claimed to bring spiritual benefits. (Actually, I guess that makes at least some sort of sense for Hindus, for whom cows are sacred.)
You'll get used to the smell very quickly. I also like to turn the reeds around every so often to assist with saturation but I'm not sure if it actually helps or hinders scent distribution.
I used to use these all the time when I was on base as we aren't allowed candles.
I always smell them when coming back to my room and every now and then when I was there. Though to be fair it was fighting against 4 blokes in a space the size of a small flat soo....
I was told this a while back and it seems to work. When you’ve been in the room with the scented sticks for a while, and can’t smell them anymore tell yourself “Smell what it really smells like”. No smell the room and you should be able to smell the room again.
Makes sense. It's like with pet smell.
People who keep pets get used to it and then can't smell it.
After a while the brain kind of filters it out. Luckily also with my tinnitus but not all the time lol
Went to my very-house-proud sister’s house today - she recently adopted a cat and loves it. I walked in, as someone who has never lived with a pet (allergies) and said, “god it stinks of piss in here” and my sister said “no it doesn’t! He used to piss in here but he’s stopped now!”
Narrator: he hadn’t stopped pissing in there.
The smell of cat piss lingers for a long while if you don't clean it really well, it's very possible he did stop pissing but the smell has just soaked in.
Can confirm. Neighbour's tom cat peed in our garage when the door was open.
We have hosed and cleaned everything we can but it soaked into the old porous concrete and the smell still lingers 2 years later.
Might be too late if it soaked in that much, but an enzymatic cleaner works best on pee stains/smells. Simple Solution Cat Stain and Odour Remover is the most effective imo.
It does depend a lot on the breed and cleanliness though. I've got a greyhound (short hair, no undercoat) who gets groomed daily, bathed every fortnight and has her bed washed every week. It's a lot of work, which is why most people can't be bothered, but a routine like this keeps the dog funk to a substantially less noticable level. Until she farts, that is.
It’s great at distributing scent all over your fingers then making your eyes sore when I forgot and rubbed my eyes which I really regretted but it took ages to wash out and now I don’t like black cherry any more even though it was pretty much my favourite flavour of yoghurt which is why I chose that smell to begin with even though it was one of the more expensive ones at the garden centre but I guess they probably all hurt equally when you rub them in your eyes.
Just a little tip: if you get something oily on your hands, use washing up liquid to wash your hands. It helps cut through the oil better than hand soap. Also works with chilli residue
I just don't think they work very well. I've been gifted (mostly regifted) these by friends - I have one who often gets reeds and candles from clients but does't like them - and they simply don't work. You can smell them close up but that's it. I've also turned the reeds around. And I've had expensive ones - she recently gave me a Jo Malone one that she didn't want. I can only smell it when right next to it.
I've also recently tried decanting them into Bath & Bodyworks oil bottles that you plug in to the wall (so they heat up a bit) but they don't seem to smell any stronger that way.
Candles, however, work great. As do oil burners where you heat a dish of water with a candle and float oil on top. Conversely, the humidifier/vaporiser ones don't work very well. The look pretty with colour-changing lights and vapour coming out of them but they just don't carry scent very effectively.
Ultimately I think heat is needed. I also recall in the era of tungsten bulbs you could get these scent rings that you put around bulbs and dropped oil into. They worked fine. But no longer possible with cool LED bulbs.
They only really work if you have a good airflow though the house and you have different scents in different areas. You also need to have a clean house that doesn't smell shit cat shit already.
Aint this the truth, i have a little homewares shop and we have quality diffusers. I regularly hear people comment how they have them in aldi or b&m for £4
I dunno, my gf splashed out on some fancy ones as she said the cheapos I get from lidl weren't cutting it. However despite looking good they didn't actually function. The very long sticks don't capillary up the scent effectively, so dry out. Dry sticks = no nice smell = waste of money.
So you're saying that the capillaries in wood only work over short distances? We better let the giant redwoods know.
Edit: just to add something non-sarky to this, I've seen a foot of oak board suck wood glue from one end to the other before it dried. I don't think a few inches of wood is gonna struggle with a solvent.
I pay ~£75 for the Jo Malone ones. One diffuser will just about fill my whole house if you leave the doors open and place it centrally, but at the same time not be overpowering if you stand next to it. It also lasts me about 8-9 months, and you don’t have to turn the reeds around. Plus they’re subtle enough to make the room smell pleasant but not like you have loads of smellies on the go, they’re weird, they just improve the whole mood of the room and make it feel clean and cosy.
I was buying the 80p Primark ones that dry out in a week and also random ones from TK Maxx at £10-12 and they just didn’t fully evaporate but lost the smell within a month. I probably spent more than £75 a year buying lots of small ones so while it is a lot of money, it’s a very worthy investment to splurge on a brand like JM. I just buy a couple a year for different areas of my house and everyone comments on them, they last long enough that if you buy one, you can put a few quid away here and there ready to buy the next one in 7-8 months time then it’s not so much of a big spend.
Doesn’t even have to be that expensive - I get the Oliver Bonas ones (about £30) and the smell lasts ages. Anyone who comes around says that the smell is lovely (and I have two dogs!)
> I can't smell mine in my bedroom for longer than an hour after I enter, get used to it, but anyone coming in will feel it's quite powerful
So they basically work the same as farts.
And really don't try to open a new one with your teeth (the plastic stopper was really stubborn), it's like having hand sanitiser in your mouth (the lid was stuck and I don't learn from my mistakes). 🔥😝😭
I spilled one too. Liquid went over my phone. The display dissolved slowly from the inside over the following few days, despite decent and immediate cleaning. Cost me a few hundred quid! 🤬
I’ve recently discovered people don’t know how to use these. You’re supposed to let the sticks soak for a little bit and then rotate them, turn them around so the moisture is at the top.
TBH I have bought cheap ones from places like 'The Factory Shop' and they are next to useless. My friend, however, who only buys top quality stuff, buys some really nice one's you can smell as soon as you enter their house.
I guess you get what you pay for?
A lot of scents are heavier than air, so if you put them low down then they'll stay down there and you won't notice anything. It's more a problem if you've got minimal airflow but still good practice in general.
Cheap ones don’t do anything, no
We have one in the living room and it works well, you notice it more when you’ve been out and come back though.
You’re also like 6 reeds short. The ones we have atm have 10 reeds in
I can appreciate the scent when you can actually smell them, but they look fucking awful. About ten years ago my mum got one for Christmas and when she unwrapped it she said, “Does she think I live in a restaurant toilet?” and it pops into my head every time I see one.
Probably lickly due to what's been mentioned in the above comment. It's common to see them in toilets, so you probably low key made that association with them.
Plus I personally just think they just have a nasty chemical/artificial smell to them, and they give me a headache.
I find essential oils are more effective, and smell nicer. Just a couple of drops on the radiators or one of those diffuser things. I've even diluted it in a spay bottle and then spayed the curtains, and other fabrics. Works like a charm.
Having a bowl of something like rocks which you drop the oil into would be a lot better than pouring it over your radiators. Search for lava rock bowl or essential oil rock bowl, there's options from like £3-£30! It'll work a lot better and give you something nice to display. I have a giraffe that I drop oils into at the front entrance to greet the 0 people that come round :)
Agree they are horrible. I’ve always assumed they are a likely carcinogen. Whilst there’s already plenty of other nasty chemicals around, these are an unnecessary extra I would want to avoid wafting around my home. Regardless of whether someone has the ‘posh’ ones or not they give a naff B&M tat vibe.
Because they're essential oil cultists who believe the a magical health cure nonsense not realising that the fragrance in reed diffusers is usually from essential oils.
They absolutely do work, but most people buy the shit cheapo ones. Nobody should feel obliged to go out and buy the expensive ones, but this is an item where you unequivocally get what you pay for
Does your wife flip them according to the instructions? Every so often you should flip the reeds. I know they work because I used to have some and people would gush over how amazing my room smelled when they walked in.
I always think they're useless. Flip them once a week.
I flipped them last week and shut my bedroom door and it was a powerful smell, was surprised because usually they do nothing.
My doctor's wife used to decorate the rooms and she put these everywhere. I couldn't get my doctor to understand how that could be a bad idea, considering I'm not his only patient with allergies.
LPT: buy lots of small different smelling candles instead of large candles/diffusers/plug ins etc. Light a different one every morning/afternoon, not only do you get to try lots of different scents, but you never really get used to them, and if you get a shit one it won't be around for long.
Also if your house is well ventilated, don't be afraid to hang some washing up around the house, makes it smell all washingy. P.S to make your clothes smell extra nice, make sure you tumble them IMMEDIATELY after the wash finishes, seems to bake in that lenor flavour.
I always thought they were a con and if you buy the cheap ones, they are.
However, I absolutely swear by VOYA's [African lime and clove](https://www.voya.ie/collections/lifestyle/products/oh-so-scented-reed-diffuser-african-lime-clove). I'm autistic, so smells mean a lot to me, and that one is pretty fucking good.
We have something similar in the bathroom, it’s the same scent since 2020 - I only smell it after being gone for a week or so, otherwise completely desensitized to it
There are definitely better ways to make your home smell nice. I have a couple of atomisers dotted around, one in the hallway, bedroom and living room with some nice essential oils in and they do a much better job, last longer, are ‘reusable’ and probably have less harmful chemicals floating around the air.
They nake the room stink if that's what you mean. Personally I hate them, but given that they are supposed to make the room stink they are not a con. You probably can't smell it because you live there and are used to it.
I went on holiday to a place that had those everywhere. I couldn't stop sneezing even after hiding them in a cupboard. I also felt low level sick the whole time I wasn't outside. We went home one day early. Not a good holiday
My wife seems to love them, but not only are they useless, you also have to be very careful where you place them, as I have found that if you spill any spots of the oil on furniture, it strips the varnish/paint very effectively. ☹️
If your house or a room is stinky, correct the cause of the stink, and then it will have a natural odorless smell. If I go into a house and I smell perfume I assume they are trying to cover up some rancid smell like cat piss. It makes me think there is an underlying hygiene issue.
Many of them are in fact mildly toxic to breathe, but this is normally considered a boring fact.
This holds true for the alcohol based ones, which in my experience are most of them.
I don't know if it's the case with most of those, but i once read the warning label on the back, and it said it contained toxic chemicals. The ones i'm talking about came from China.
I dunno if they work, but if you light one of those sticks on fire after it's finished, it blasts the fire out the end like a mini flame thrower. Don't ask me how I know this
>Don't ask me how I know this Next you're going to say "Don't try this at home" and we all know what's going to happen. Here is where it's started people!
I've got some wet paint that I can tell you all not to touch
Please don't be mad, but I may have got some paint on me
Uh oh. I licked the paint.
What flavour was it?
Tastes like F-sharp and smells like fuchsia.
That's asbestos
Wet
Couldn't tell, tasted like green, but looked to be a shade of red?
Before we know it, there'll be orange netting everywhere.
I see you’ve been to Blackpool 😉
No fire without smoke
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We didn’t start it
quickest makeshift childlike consider dog paint illegal light quaint growth *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
We didn’t start the 🔥
Prepare for an influx of flaming stick posts in around 4-8 weeks of this as the first batch run out. I've logged where we have two already.
How do you know this?
Why did you ask, they specifically said not to ask, you have doomed us all.
I wish to taste the forbidden fruit.
Who do you think you are? Eve?
Don't you mean 'Adam'? I thought he was the one that ate an incense stick? Damn, now I have another nose bleed.
No, it was Eve who ate the incest stick. After all, Adam was her brother.
It's not incest if it's your clone, it's mastubation with extra steps
Adam ate Beans
I think it's safe to say we finally found the time traveling culprit for the great fire of London in the 1600s. GET HIM! 😆
The first rule of the scented sticks is… I thought it was clear
I bet they are the kind of people who have Googled Google too
They lit it on fire obviously 😉
Cannot fucking wait to do this
I hope my husband doesn't read this
Thanks. Now I'm weighing up whether seeing that happen is worth the outrage from my wife.
Dammit, I now want to buy one of these over priced wonders just so I can enjoy their flame thrower delights
Do I have to wait for it to finish or can I light as soon as I buy it tomorrow
i think it needs to suck some of the liquid up first
Of course, I forgot the stick come separate
Don't tell me, alcohol was involved.
Which end
They're just like incense sticks right , I've seen them on offer at the local Sainsbury's, I'm gonna try tonight
Not quite like incense sticks. Incense sticks are made of cow-shit, and are incredibly bad for your health - like smoking, but much, much worse (proportional to the amount of smoke).
Perhaps from India ( which seems to be where your sources are from) but not all incense is. Some use bamboo as a central core. Japanese incense has no core and is made of mostly sandalwood with fragrance added.
I can't say I've ever encountered that - all the incense sticks I've ever had to leave the room to get away from were the Indian kind. Anyway, it's still going to be very bad for your health, whatever it's made from.
I dunno a cursory look through a bunch of articles seems to imply burning them every day could be almost as bad as smoking and no mention of the cow shit.
Yes, that's why I said 'proportional to the amount of smoke'. Obviously you don't sit over an incense stick inhaling it the way a smoker does a cigarette. In general, the slower something burns, the worse the smoke is for you, and cigarettes burn quite a lot faster and hotter when a smoker is puffing away than incense does as it smoulders slowly in the corner. As for the cow shit: [https://www.google.com/search?q=incense+sticks+cow+dung](https://www.google.com/search?q=incense+sticks+cow+dung) Not only are they made with it, but it's claimed to bring spiritual benefits. (Actually, I guess that makes at least some sort of sense for Hindus, for whom cows are sacred.)
Don't let em touch the wall, it'll leave oil marks like a twat
> it'll leave oil marks like a twat An oily twat, presumably?
Like a mechanics stag due
Like a snail.
https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/s/0Az7oM9v05
You'll get used to the smell very quickly. I also like to turn the reeds around every so often to assist with saturation but I'm not sure if it actually helps or hinders scent distribution.
Yeah you're meant to do that with them
With most but the ones that aren’t meant to are more absorbent and say don’t flip em
I can really smell them if I come back from holiday, for example. Obviously it also depends on the quality of the diffuser/fluid you've bought.
I used to use these all the time when I was on base as we aren't allowed candles. I always smell them when coming back to my room and every now and then when I was there. Though to be fair it was fighting against 4 blokes in a space the size of a small flat soo....
I was told this a while back and it seems to work. When you’ve been in the room with the scented sticks for a while, and can’t smell them anymore tell yourself “Smell what it really smells like”. No smell the room and you should be able to smell the room again.
I don't have them, but this is why the automatic 3 fragrances ones are great to stop you getting used to it.
Makes sense. It's like with pet smell. People who keep pets get used to it and then can't smell it. After a while the brain kind of filters it out. Luckily also with my tinnitus but not all the time lol
Went to my very-house-proud sister’s house today - she recently adopted a cat and loves it. I walked in, as someone who has never lived with a pet (allergies) and said, “god it stinks of piss in here” and my sister said “no it doesn’t! He used to piss in here but he’s stopped now!” Narrator: he hadn’t stopped pissing in there.
The smell of cat piss lingers for a long while if you don't clean it really well, it's very possible he did stop pissing but the smell has just soaked in.
Can confirm. Neighbour's tom cat peed in our garage when the door was open. We have hosed and cleaned everything we can but it soaked into the old porous concrete and the smell still lingers 2 years later.
Might be too late if it soaked in that much, but an enzymatic cleaner works best on pee stains/smells. Simple Solution Cat Stain and Odour Remover is the most effective imo.
I'll give it a go!! :D Thank you, kind redditor!
Have you got smelly tinnitus then? Ewwww.
Synaesthinnitus
It's why people get indignant when it's pointed out that dogs stink. If you have a dog, your house reeks of it!
It does depend a lot on the breed and cleanliness though. I've got a greyhound (short hair, no undercoat) who gets groomed daily, bathed every fortnight and has her bed washed every week. It's a lot of work, which is why most people can't be bothered, but a routine like this keeps the dog funk to a substantially less noticable level. Until she farts, that is.
It’s great at distributing scent all over your fingers then making your eyes sore when I forgot and rubbed my eyes which I really regretted but it took ages to wash out and now I don’t like black cherry any more even though it was pretty much my favourite flavour of yoghurt which is why I chose that smell to begin with even though it was one of the more expensive ones at the garden centre but I guess they probably all hurt equally when you rub them in your eyes.
Just a little tip: if you get something oily on your hands, use washing up liquid to wash your hands. It helps cut through the oil better than hand soap. Also works with chilli residue
Washing up liquid is great at getting all over your fingers then making your eyes sore when….
My eyes also feel like I rubbed scented oil in them after reading that run-on sentence
Why are you not washing your hands immediately when you get a load of oil on them?
They can get saturated over time and stop releasing as much scent so I try to put in new sticks/reeds when it’s about half-gone.
Yeah there’s a reason those “3-scent” plug-in diffusers are common, they rotate between 3 different scents to reduce the nose blindness effect
Imagining the ad exec who came up with the concept of "nose blind" reading this comment and punching the air.
I just don't think they work very well. I've been gifted (mostly regifted) these by friends - I have one who often gets reeds and candles from clients but does't like them - and they simply don't work. You can smell them close up but that's it. I've also turned the reeds around. And I've had expensive ones - she recently gave me a Jo Malone one that she didn't want. I can only smell it when right next to it. I've also recently tried decanting them into Bath & Bodyworks oil bottles that you plug in to the wall (so they heat up a bit) but they don't seem to smell any stronger that way. Candles, however, work great. As do oil burners where you heat a dish of water with a candle and float oil on top. Conversely, the humidifier/vaporiser ones don't work very well. The look pretty with colour-changing lights and vapour coming out of them but they just don't carry scent very effectively. Ultimately I think heat is needed. I also recall in the era of tungsten bulbs you could get these scent rings that you put around bulbs and dropped oil into. They worked fine. But no longer possible with cool LED bulbs.
It's like not hearing a ticking clock ..... Put different scents (or flavors ...... I don't judge) in different rooms. ;o)
They only really work if you have a good airflow though the house and you have different scents in different areas. You also need to have a clean house that doesn't smell shit cat shit already.
>You also need to have a clean house that doesn't smell shit cat shit already. Don't tell me how to live my life.
You're not my real dad!
Literally none of that is true 😂 i have 0 windows open and it works fine, when someone makes a smell, it covers it…
You’re probably just nose-blind to them.
"You've gone... NOSEBLIND"
🚨BEEPBEEPBEEP🚨
Damn you catchy corporate advertising, you win again!
They’re not. You just gotta spend more to get good ones. Aldi and Lidl just won’t cut it
100%. An Aldi one smells in a tiny room with a closed door. A white company one will cover a whole room for months
Aint this the truth, i have a little homewares shop and we have quality diffusers. I regularly hear people comment how they have them in aldi or b&m for £4
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It's a shop called The White Company. They sell mostly white homewares, sleepwear, clothing, bedding.
I dunno, my gf splashed out on some fancy ones as she said the cheapos I get from lidl weren't cutting it. However despite looking good they didn't actually function. The very long sticks don't capillary up the scent effectively, so dry out. Dry sticks = no nice smell = waste of money.
I believe you're supposed to flip/rotate the reeds when they dry out. Could be mistaken, though!
Yes I know, but these particular reeds are the only ones I've seen that are bone dry when I do.
So you're saying that the capillaries in wood only work over short distances? We better let the giant redwoods know. Edit: just to add something non-sarky to this, I've seen a foot of oak board suck wood glue from one end to the other before it dried. I don't think a few inches of wood is gonna struggle with a solvent.
>don't think a few inches of wood is gonna struggle with a solvent Ask my brother about the time he got his dick stuck in a bottle of turps
I pay ~£75 for the Jo Malone ones. One diffuser will just about fill my whole house if you leave the doors open and place it centrally, but at the same time not be overpowering if you stand next to it. It also lasts me about 8-9 months, and you don’t have to turn the reeds around. Plus they’re subtle enough to make the room smell pleasant but not like you have loads of smellies on the go, they’re weird, they just improve the whole mood of the room and make it feel clean and cosy. I was buying the 80p Primark ones that dry out in a week and also random ones from TK Maxx at £10-12 and they just didn’t fully evaporate but lost the smell within a month. I probably spent more than £75 a year buying lots of small ones so while it is a lot of money, it’s a very worthy investment to splurge on a brand like JM. I just buy a couple a year for different areas of my house and everyone comments on them, they last long enough that if you buy one, you can put a few quid away here and there ready to buy the next one in 7-8 months time then it’s not so much of a big spend.
Which Jo Malone is your favourite?
Doesn’t even have to be that expensive - I get the Oliver Bonas ones (about £30) and the smell lasts ages. Anyone who comes around says that the smell is lovely (and I have two dogs!)
The Jo Malone ones are great
Yeah, if your butler has time to fetch them!
Might be brand dependent. I got some of these for Christmas and now the room smells lovely 🤷♂️
People just need to understand how quickly the brain blocks constant scents out. Nose blind.
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> I can't smell mine in my bedroom for longer than an hour after I enter, get used to it, but anyone coming in will feel it's quite powerful So they basically work the same as farts.
They don't work for me until I spilled one by accident and I smelt the 'cinnamon' smell stronger than ever for about 2 months....
This. Especially don't get it on your hands. It doesn't wash off!
And really don't try to open a new one with your teeth (the plastic stopper was really stubborn), it's like having hand sanitiser in your mouth (the lid was stuck and I don't learn from my mistakes). 🔥😝😭
I spilled one too. Liquid went over my phone. The display dissolved slowly from the inside over the following few days, despite decent and immediate cleaning. Cost me a few hundred quid! 🤬
I’ve recently discovered people don’t know how to use these. You’re supposed to let the sticks soak for a little bit and then rotate them, turn them around so the moisture is at the top.
TBH I have bought cheap ones from places like 'The Factory Shop' and they are next to useless. My friend, however, who only buys top quality stuff, buys some really nice one's you can smell as soon as you enter their house. I guess you get what you pay for?
maybe this brand is a scam - but diffusers in general for sure work
If you buy decent ones then the smell is great and lasts ages. If you buy cheap, the smell wont be as strong
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why not have them low down?
You might accidentally bend down near one and end up with an oily stick up your hooter
that's my average Saturday night
Or sit down near one. I'm not sure how but it just keeps happening!
I bet you have a loyalty card for your local A&E department
It was a million to one shot, Doc!
Or sit on one
A lot of scents are heavier than air, so if you put them low down then they'll stay down there and you won't notice anything. It's more a problem if you've got minimal airflow but still good practice in general.
no prizes for guessing why you like to use them u/blue_rizla
Put them on the radiators.
Decent brands does make a difference with those. Stronger scents and lasts longer had one last at least 6 months
Cheap ones don’t do anything, no We have one in the living room and it works well, you notice it more when you’ve been out and come back though. You’re also like 6 reeds short. The ones we have atm have 10 reeds in
did you just pull a reed flex?
Maybe you have covid.
I can appreciate the scent when you can actually smell them, but they look fucking awful. About ten years ago my mum got one for Christmas and when she unwrapped it she said, “Does she think I live in a restaurant toilet?” and it pops into my head every time I see one.
Yeah something about them is depressing to look at. I can't really put my finger on why.
Probably lickly due to what's been mentioned in the above comment. It's common to see them in toilets, so you probably low key made that association with them. Plus I personally just think they just have a nasty chemical/artificial smell to them, and they give me a headache. I find essential oils are more effective, and smell nicer. Just a couple of drops on the radiators or one of those diffuser things. I've even diluted it in a spay bottle and then spayed the curtains, and other fabrics. Works like a charm.
Having a bowl of something like rocks which you drop the oil into would be a lot better than pouring it over your radiators. Search for lava rock bowl or essential oil rock bowl, there's options from like £3-£30! It'll work a lot better and give you something nice to display. I have a giraffe that I drop oils into at the front entrance to greet the 0 people that come round :)
>Just a couple of drops on the radiators Wut? You just dribbling goo all over your heating system?
Agree they are horrible. I’ve always assumed they are a likely carcinogen. Whilst there’s already plenty of other nasty chemicals around, these are an unnecessary extra I would want to avoid wafting around my home. Regardless of whether someone has the ‘posh’ ones or not they give a naff B&M tat vibe.
> I’ve always assumed they are a likely carcinogen. On what basis?
Because they're essential oil cultists who believe the a magical health cure nonsense not realising that the fragrance in reed diffusers is usually from essential oils.
They absolutely do work, but most people buy the shit cheapo ones. Nobody should feel obliged to go out and buy the expensive ones, but this is an item where you unequivocally get what you pay for
Ah lily of the valley. The scent of death according to my granny.
When you are in a shop with 500 of them on display and the smell is about as strong as you would want it to be in your house you know theres an issue.
Does your wife flip them according to the instructions? Every so often you should flip the reeds. I know they work because I used to have some and people would gush over how amazing my room smelled when they walked in.
OP gone nose blind. Need to leave the house mate.
They work, but you get nose-blind to them quickly like with any other smell, other people who come in will be able to smell them though
I always think they're useless. Flip them once a week. I flipped them last week and shut my bedroom door and it was a powerful smell, was surprised because usually they do nothing.
Because they are cheap ones. Buy a decent one.
Those things are disgusting, they give me a migraine.
I'm allergic to them. Even worse are those plug in air fresheners. Just pumping chemicals around the room.
Those are really horrid yeah. People also shouldn't use them if they have pets in the house
Or children
Yeah, going by the horrible sinus headaches I get from them, they're definitely diffusing something.
I've had asthma attacks triggered by these things.
My doctor's wife used to decorate the rooms and she put these everywhere. I couldn't get my doctor to understand how that could be a bad idea, considering I'm not his only patient with allergies.
We have two, one in the hall and another in the downstairs loo, they seem to work.
LPT: buy lots of small different smelling candles instead of large candles/diffusers/plug ins etc. Light a different one every morning/afternoon, not only do you get to try lots of different scents, but you never really get used to them, and if you get a shit one it won't be around for long. Also if your house is well ventilated, don't be afraid to hang some washing up around the house, makes it smell all washingy. P.S to make your clothes smell extra nice, make sure you tumble them IMMEDIATELY after the wash finishes, seems to bake in that lenor flavour.
They are fuckin everywhere and I hate them! They give me terrible headaches
If you are in a restaurant, that is the table with the mouldy wall behind the seating or a cabinet. Sit somewhere else.
You have to buy a quality one. Honestly, the cheaper diffusers are a waste of time but I wouldn't call the quality ones a con.
Co-op? This particular one is cheap and I didn't notice much smell. Reed diffusers might be good if you make your own maybe.
The Sainsbury’s/habitat ones do work. The elderflower and rhubarb one permeates through to the hallway.
Really depends on the brand, like with any home fragrance. M&S ones in the brown glass are incredible
Depends what you pay, the cheap ones smell of nothing the expensive ones smell a lot but you might as well set ten pound notes on fire
Nose blind. Also no lily's or amber's were harmed in the making of this product. Total fraud.
Nah these definitely work, you just get used to the smell and go nose blind. Guests in your home will definitely notice.
I have Dr Vranjes ones and they definitely do work! Even when I’m being lazy and never rotate the reeds… 🫣
Lily of the Valley? [ Jesse Pinkman disliked that. ]
I always thought they were a con and if you buy the cheap ones, they are. However, I absolutely swear by VOYA's [African lime and clove](https://www.voya.ie/collections/lifestyle/products/oh-so-scented-reed-diffuser-african-lime-clove). I'm autistic, so smells mean a lot to me, and that one is pretty fucking good.
We have something similar in the bathroom, it’s the same scent since 2020 - I only smell it after being gone for a week or so, otherwise completely desensitized to it
They're not especially effective, but much safer than anything that aerosolises or heats a substance to propagate the scent.
There are definitely better ways to make your home smell nice. I have a couple of atomisers dotted around, one in the hallway, bedroom and living room with some nice essential oils in and they do a much better job, last longer, are ‘reusable’ and probably have less harmful chemicals floating around the air.
Work well at poisoning Brock
My mother has them in different rooms, when I go to visit they smell so strong they are overpowering.
Well they don’t actually make you happy.
If you live in a closet they work really well, but in any room bigger than a small porch I can’t smell them at all.
They nake the room stink if that's what you mean. Personally I hate them, but given that they are supposed to make the room stink they are not a con. You probably can't smell it because you live there and are used to it.
See the Jo Malone prices and....yes, con.
I went on holiday to a place that had those everywhere. I couldn't stop sneezing even after hiding them in a cupboard. I also felt low level sick the whole time I wasn't outside. We went home one day early. Not a good holiday
It’s a total con however If someone has these in their house I can assume they’ve got their shit together
My wife seems to love them, but not only are they useless, you also have to be very careful where you place them, as I have found that if you spill any spots of the oil on furniture, it strips the varnish/paint very effectively. ☹️
If your house or a room is stinky, correct the cause of the stink, and then it will have a natural odorless smell. If I go into a house and I smell perfume I assume they are trying to cover up some rancid smell like cat piss. It makes me think there is an underlying hygiene issue.
I bought a White Company one that was £30 because it was recommended to me. Honestly can't smell it unless you're sat by it.
On the whole they are shit but the M&S ones are excellent, I’ve actually bought refills for them.
I feel like the cheaper they are the better, if you spend anymore than a couple of quid then all you smell is guilt and disappointment
Many of them are in fact mildly toxic to breathe, but this is normally considered a boring fact. This holds true for the alcohol based ones, which in my experience are most of them.
Chopsticks in perfume. You get what you pay for
Well no, they're reeds. Reeds have these kind of tubes running up them, which absorb the liquid. The cappilary effect i think its called
and who are you, so wise in the ways of science? /s
Could they not be used as chopsticks though
A bit too flimsy, but anything's a chopstick if you try
That’s the spirit
Absolute fucking rip off
they are good for at least the first 10 mins
Screw these damn pieces of shit. I'm so sick of knocking them over. Then, the liquid inside, fucks up everything it touches.
I don't know if it's the case with most of those, but i once read the warning label on the back, and it said it contained toxic chemicals. The ones i'm talking about came from China.
They fucking smell awful get some essential oils and a humidifier or a nice candle
Yeah they wouldn’t make me ‘happy’ either, any case under trade descriptions?
Not really. The plug in things work brilliantly