“Diffuser” is a word used for wildly different things: a reed mikado, a €20 steam gadget and a professional system that scents an entire hotel. They all diffuse fragrance; that is where the similarities end.
This guide sorts out the types that exist, explains how cold-air nebulization works and helps you choose your equipment by square metres.
The types available
- Reed sticks (mikado). No electricity. A reach of a couple of metres and no intensity control. Decoration, not a system.
- Candles. Pleasant scent and an open flame. Short reach, and they cannot be left unattended.
- Electric heat diffusers. They heat the fragrance in order to evaporate it. Heat alters the olfactive profile and the scent is perceived differently as it goes.
- Ultrasonic. They generate a fine mist through high-frequency vibration. They work well in very small enclosed spaces — it is the technology behind our ROAM, designed for the car — but they fall short in a room.
- Cold-air nebulizers (waterless). They work directly with the fragrance, without water and without heat. This is the technology of professional scenting and the one used by all our room units.
How a cold-air nebulizer works
- The unit takes the fragrance undiluted, straight from the bottle.
- A pump pushes pressurised air through a nozzle, together with the liquid.
- That impact breaks the fragrance down into a very fine, dry particle.
- The particle stays suspended in the air and spreads through the room.
Hence the three practical advantages: it does not wet surfaces or leave residue, there is no water tank to clean and the fragrance is perceived undiluted. In exchange, it is a more expensive unit than a domestic ultrasonic one.
How to choose: the square metres decide
The most common mistake is choosing by design or by price. The criterion is the surface area of the room that has to smell, taking ceiling height and draughts into account.
- ROAM — 4 m². Portable and ultrasonic, for the car.
- PULSE — 7 m². Washrooms, dressing rooms, small enclosed spaces.
- AURA 5 — 60 m² and SENSE — 80 m². Bedrooms and offices.
- LUME — 100 m² and FLOW — 120 m². Living-dining rooms, receptions, consulting rooms, small premises.
- ORBIT and ATMOS — 600 m². Large premises and office floors.
- HALO — 800 m². Spacious dining rooms and large-format shops.
- WAVE — 875 m² and NOVA — 1,600 m². Lobbies, warehouses and open-plan spaces.
The full specifications for each model are on its product page, inside the diffuser collection.
One practical note: in a large space it usually works better to spread two mid-sized units across different points than to concentrate everything in one.
What goes inside
Our refills are fragrances formulated specifically for nebulization. They are not pure essential oils: essential oils are more viscous, they clog the nozzles and they are not designed for this type of equipment.
Alongside the fragrances there are three neutralisers — Aloe Vera, Cotton Fresh and Jasmine Neutral — for bathrooms, kitchens and damp areas, where the priority is not to add scent but to neutralise it. Everything is in the catalogue.
Buy or rent
For the home, the usual route is to buy the unit and the refills separately: you will find them in the home section.
For a business, renting normally works out better: from €29.90/month + VAT per unit, with refills included and no lock-in. No building work and no installation.
What a diffuser does not do
It does not purify the air, it has no therapeutic effect and it does not remove an underlying bad smell. If there is damp, a bin or a kitchen behind it, that gets sorted first; adding fragrance on top only makes the mix worse. It is covered in full in the bad odours guide.
Not sure about your particular space? Tell us the square metres and what happens in it through contact and we will tell you which model fits.
