Fragrance Lamps & Wicks: Tips & Tricks
Updated: Feb 22, 2022
Today let's talk a bit about the integral part of your aroma lamp: the wick and stone. As one gets familiar with using the aroma lamp, you may have run into several questions. Although we've put together an FAQ area on our website, I felt that perhaps it's worth going over some general tips and tricks on use, to ensure long lasting wick/stone life. As a general rule of thumb, you can expect the life of your wick to be around 140 hours of diffusion before they start becoming fussy. (I have however, had some wicks reach well over 200 hours).

An aroma or fragrance lamp is not only a beautiful accent piece for your home or office, but also an effective and efficient way of scenting your rooms and gently cleansing the air in them. As mentioned, the integral working part of your aroma lamp is its ceramic wick and stone, and very important that it works properly. You will find that once you understand what could make your wick and stone potentially 'fussy' - it is a very easy fix.
Let's get started!
(1)
Firstly, it is advised to not let fragrance sit in your lamp for an extended period of time: this may cause your wick/stone apparatus to clog, (as fragrance may tend to collect in the stone). It will be harder to light, and the stone may not stay hot after you blow the flame out.
If you have run into this try:
Tip/trick: Dry out the wick first on a clean paper towel overnight. Then, pour in just enough fragrance as you intend to diffuse with one use, and let the lamp continue to burn/diffuse, and run dry of fragrance. This will eliminate the chance of a clogged wick. Please be aware however, that letting the lamp run dry of fragrance as a regular occurrence may shorten the life of the wick.
(2)
Variety is the spice of life, and you will want to change up fragrances in your lamp. We've been asked how to change fragrances and what to do with the wick. Changing fragrances is very easy and there are several methods detailed in our FAQ's, however I find that the method below is the most convenient for my personal preferences.
After letting the lamp run dry of fragrance, add a new fragrance to it for your next burn. (This will require the wick being soaked/primed again for the 20-40 minute time period, and then re-lighting of the wick).
A few things to note here: the fragrance from the previous burn may still be present initially upon fragrancing: this is common and to be expected. Secondly, please be aware that letting your lamp burn dry as a regular occurrance may cause excessive wear to the wick/stone assembly, therefore requiring replacement sooner than usual.
Tip/trick: Should you not want to wait the 20-40 min period for priming of the wick; keep an extra wick soaking in our "Simply Neutral" in a tupperware container with a tight fitting lid. When changing fragrances, simply retrieve the soaking wick from the container, lightly squeeze the excess liquid from this wick, insert into the fragrance in the lamp and light the wick. (This method eliminates the 20-40 min priming of wicks). From time to time, replace this fluid with fresh/clean fluid, and never use the contents of this container in your lamp.
(3)
As time goes on and your wick gets used, (as any working part does), it becomes worn. Typically one wick will last as mentioned about 140 hours of diffusion. As it gets close to its life's end, you may notice things such as the ceramic stone not staying hot after blowing out the flame, the stone is initially harder to light, it clogs easier, or there are unexpected smells as a result of contaminants depositing themselves on the stone, (and therefore incomplete combustion), as fragrance is not being delivered efficiently to the stone.
Tip/Trick:
(a) Try removing the wick from your lamp and drying it out overnight on a clean paper towel. Then, re-insert it into your lamp & fuel, re-prime the wick, and re-light. This may extend the life of your wick, as drying it out will rid it of any built up impurities; or
(b) Soak the wick in the Simply Neutral fuel. This will also draw out any impurities. Squeeze out any excess fluid, re-insert in your lamp & fuel, and re-light. (Never use this fluid in your lamp).
Once your wick has reached it's life's end and trying the above tips no longer remedy the situation, it's time to replace it with a new one. (Replacement wicks available on our website).
We hope that these tips have answered any questions you may have while using your aroma lamp, and of course, please refer to our FAQ's for more in depth answers.
Thank you for reading! Have a wonderful and 'fragrant' day!

-The Redolent Bouquet-
Beautifully Crafted Lamp Fragrances & Aroma Lamps For The Home
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