Ultrasonic Diffuser Benefits: 9 Essential Reasons to Choose a Cool Mist Humidifier

Pros and Cons of Ultrasonic Essential Oil Diffusers

Let’s talk ultrasonic diffuser benefits for a minute. You’re interested in the numerous benefits of diffusing essential oils — from relaxation and better sleep to increased focus and energy. But if you want to start diffusing essential oils, you’ll obviously need a diffuser.

While there are a few different types to choose from, a cool mist essential oil diffuser offers a number of benefits that you might not find in the others. Scroll down if you want to learn nine of the benefits of ulrasonic diffusers.

Ultrasonic Diffuser Benefits

Here are some of the reasons you might want to go ultrasonic for diffusing essential oils in your home.

1. They are the safest choice for kids.

I recommend using only an ultrasonic diffuser if you’re a parent, especially with young kids (babies and toddlers) in the house.

So do Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young in their popular reference guide, Essential Oil Safety: A Guide for Health Care Professionals. (This book includes over 4,000 citations and is considered the most evidence-based book on the subject.)

With an ultrasonic diffuser, you can dilute the oils to a child-safe ratio. But please note that it is not recommended to diffuse essential oils around newborns and babies under three months old.

The recommendation for older babies and toddlers is two to three drops diluted in water using an ultrasonic diffuser, for a maximum of 60 minutes at a time around babies and toddlers. Tisserand then recommends turning the diffuser off and leaving a rest period of 30-60 minutes before diffusing again.

However, he advises against routinely diffusing essential oils around babies and toddlers, unless doses are kept to a minimum.

Of course, you should always do your research on each and every essential oil to be sure they are safe before using them around kids (and pets).

2. The oil’s integrity remains intact.

Let’s talk about how the cool mist ultrasonic diffuser works.

First, you’re going to fill your diffuser with cool tap water, then you’ll add a few drops of essential oils. Now, these oils are going to sit on top of the water, rather than mixing with it.

With heat diffusers, the essential oils are heated up and evaporate into the air. Heat changes the composition of the oils (potentially reducing their effectiveness). But with an ultrasonic diffuser, while it uses water as a transference mechanism, it doesn’t rely on steam.

When you turn the diffuser on, there will be some tiny vibrations that break up the oil molecules. The vibrations dilute them with water and release them into the air in a fine mist.

From there, droplets can land on your skin or enter the body via your respiratory system.

3. You can use less oil.

Less essential oil = less money

This is just one more of the many ultrasonic diffuser benefits. Because you’re diluting the essential oils with water, you really only need to add a few drops of oil, and you can run the diffuser for a longer period of time.

4. They run for a longer period of time.

I’ve heard that they only run for four hours at a time. Now, I can’t attest to every model out there, but the ultrasonic diffusers I’ve used have run for a lot longer than four hours before running out of water.

Of course, the length of time also depends on whether you set it to run continuously or intermittently.

5. You can set it to diffuse intermittently.

Again, this may not apply to every model, but the one I own — along with many other models — can be set to diffuse intermittently.

This means they run for a little while (say, one minute) then rest for a minute before starting to diffuse again.

6. They’re budget friendly.

I chose this ultrasonic diffuser because it can also be used as a night light, and it only cost me around $15. This is on the low end as far as diffusers go, and it has lasted a couple years so far.

In the past, I used one that cost around $30 and it didn’t last long before it stopped working.

And, of course, there are some higher end models that are still pretty affordable at $50-$100 (that are probably a lot nicer than mine!).

7. It can double as a humidifier (and triple as a night light!).

As I previously mentioned, the diffuser I use doubles and triple as a humidifier and a night light.

Looking to add a little humidity to a dry bedroom or office, while diffusing essential oils? Ultrasonic is definitely the way to go.

And certain types of ultrasonic diffusers (like mine) have built-in night lights.

This is the one I use:

I never used to like having a night light in the bedroom.

But after having babies, I needed something that would provide enough light for middle-of-the-night feedings — without turning on a bright lamp and completely waking my kids up.

The night light ultrasonic diffuser was the perfect solution. Plus, you can change the color of the light depending on your mood. Sweet!

8. Some incorporate well into your decor.

Okay, so the night light diffuser looks nice enough, and it’s functional, but it’s certainly not the prettiest one on the market.

Looking for something that will blend nicely into your interior decor? There are a lot of different models that look great and complement a variety of decorating styles.

This one is really pretty and looks more like a vase or piece of decor than a diffuser.

Looking for a diffuser that will blend nicely into your interior decor? There are a lot of different models that look great and complement a variety of decorating styles.Click To Tweet

9. Plus, they’re pretty quiet.

From what I hear, some types of diffusers are a little on the noisy side. If it’s important to you, ultrasonic diffusers are pretty quiet — I can hardly hear mine when it’s running.

There you have my top nine ultrasonic diffuser benefits! And if you’ve made it this far, here’s a bonus reason. 😉

Oh, and a bonus tenth: Many models have waterless shut off (so they stop running when they run out of water).

A Few Drawbacks

It ultimately comes down to personal preference when you’re choosing an essential oil diffuser. (But if you have kids, refer back to point #1 above.)

It seems that there are quite a few pros when it comes to using an ultrasonic diffuser. Are there any cons?

Here are a few drawbacks:

1. They add a little moisture to the air, which could be bad if you already have too much humidity.
2. They can quickly grow mold and bacteria if you don’t clean and dry after every use.
3. You’re diluting the oils in water, so you won’t get the full benefits of aromatherapy.

As you can see, my list of pros far outweigh the cons of choosing an ultrasonic diffuser. So, what did you decide after reading my top nine reasons to use an ultrasonic diffuser for essential oils?

Read More:

Ultimate Guide to Diffusing Essential Oils for Colds & Coughs

Diffusing Essential Oils Around Babies and Toddlers: Everything You Need to Know

Top 9 Essential Oil Diffuser Benefits (with Oil Recommendations!)