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There are so many products on the market to make your home smell fresh, clean, and lovely that it can be hard to choose the best one for you. Here are some hints about some of the most popular home fragrancing options.

Scented Candles

The three most easy to find variations of scented candles are jar candles, votive candles, and scented tea lights.

Jar candles are the largest of the three most common types of scented candles, so they will therefore last longer. Jar candles range in size from as small as three ounces to as large as thirty and are available in a broad range of scents that usually include floral, food, and clean scents.

Votive candles are much less expensive than jar candles; however, you must have a votive holder to use them. Votives also come in a variety of scents and colors, and votive holders also come in all kinds of designs, which give them the added benefit of being part of the décor as well as part of your home fragrancing solution. Votive candles have a relatively short burn time as far as candles go (anywhere for 6 – 16 hours depending on the brand) so they will need to be changed frequently, which you may find somewhat inconvenient. Although the frequency with which votive candles need to be changed can be a pro if you like to experiment with different scents in your home

Finally, scented tea lights are the smallest of the candle options. Their burn time is very short (sometimes as short as two hours). They may or may not come in their own holder, however, there are many beautiful tea light holder options available, many of which are set up to burn several tea light candles at once.

It is crucial that candles not be left unattended, so they are not a viable home fragrancing option when no one is at home. Also, although the fragrance from candles is often fairly strong, it doesn’t travel far on its own, so it would probably be necessary to have candles in every room.

Of course, candles have the advantage of being probably the most visually pleasing of all home fragrancing solutions, no matter what size or type you choose.

Room & Linen Sprays

Room & linen sprays are also available in a variety of scents, although not nearly as many as you find in candles. They usually come in a plastic bottle with a non-aerosol spray nozzle. Often, room & linen sprays will be targeted to a specific purpose (i.e. relaxing, romantic, energizing) rather than a specific scent, such as rose, or cinnamon.

Room & linen sprays are easy to use; however, the first time using a new scent or brand of spray, you should be somewhat stingy with the amount of product used. It is far easier to add more scent if you feel you need to than to remove the scent once is has been applied.

The most common use for a room & linen spray is to scent bed linens. The fragrance may seem very strong immediately after applying; however, it will fade over time. Most room & linen sprays will remain on the fabric until it is washed. Room & linen sprays can also be sprayed into the air, but the scent will fade faster than it does on fabrics.

Room & linen sprays are not strong enough to cover up unpleasant odors, and they do have to be used frequently, at least in the air, to maintain the scent. However, they are usually reasonably priced and one bottle tends to last a long time.

There is a huge difference between the home fragrancing effect of a room & linen spray and that of an air freshener spray. Air freshener sprays tend to smell artificial, and usually have a very strong scent when first sprayed. The scents of air freshener sprays are meant to mask unpleasant odors rather than provide a pleasant scent that only dissipates over a long period of time.

Potpourri and sachets

Potpourri is traditionally made of dried naturally scented plant material, although much potpourri available today has been perfumed and dyed to achieve the same home fragrancing effect. Sachets are small cloth bags or pouches containing potpourri that are often tucked into drawers and linen closets to help keep fabrics smelling fresh.

Potpourri and sachets usually have a very light, almost undetectable scent unless you are standing very close to them. Sachets, although they are meant to be tucked away in places that they aren’t readily seen, are often very beautiful. Potpourri can be purchased in attractive bowls or baskets that only need to be set out, or it can be purchased in plain packaging and you will have to provide your own container.

Most potpourri is not heavily scented, so the fragrance will never be overpowering. Different potpourri mixtures will retain their scent for different amounts of time, and the scent can not be refreshed, so potpourri will need to be replaced regularly.

Scented Light Rings

Scented light rings (often called light bulb diffuser rings) can be an economical and simple choice for your home fragrancing needs. The ring is usually made of ceramic and is unscented. It is necessary to add a few drops of essential oil to the ring, and then put it on top of a light bulb. The heat from the light bulb warms the ring and diffuses the scent throughout the air.

Some rings are reusable (which means the scent can be cleaned out of them) and some are not so be careful which kind you buy if you’re interested in changing the scent you use. Light rings should not be used on high wattage light bulbs, and are obviously not compatible with fluorescent lighting. They are meant to be used on traditional lamps, so may not be a good choice for you if you don’t have many traditional lamps in your household.

Aroma Fans

Aroma fans are compact (usually only about four inches square), quiet, and do a wonderful job of dispersing scent through large rooms. They are also very easy to use. They come with reusable fragrance pads (although to change fragrances, it is also necessary to change to a clean pad), and fragrance oils can be purchased with the fan or separately. You place a couple of drops of the fragrance oil onto the pad, put the pad in the holder, and plug in the small fan.

Aroma fans can be left on when no one is at home, and scent only needs to be added every couple of days if they are in use constantly. They are not particularly decorative, but they’re not overly noticeable either. Although aroma fans can be a little pricey initially, a bottle of fragrance will last several months to a year, so there will be little to no maintenance cost to continue using your aroma fan once you’ve purchased it.

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