Here at James & Co, we've spent a huge amount of time developing and testing our reed diffusers to ensure they perform perfectly for you. We carried out tests on a range of different lengths, thicknesses and materials of reeds for our diffusers until we found the perfect match!

Once the reeds have been placed within the fragranced oil, the fragrance is absorbed up the reeds to then be dispersed throughout a room in your home. Many factors can affect the performance of your reeds such as room temperature, air conditioning, dust, fragrance, the fragrance carrier etc. so it is important to follow our care guides to ensure you’re getting the best from your diffuser.

Rattan reeds have clear channels inside them which can quickly clog up also tend to look greasy after time. This can only be avoided by changing the sticks regularly or opting for thicker reeds (which take longer to saturate).

So we went for synthetic! They have a foam-like texture, velvety finish and are usually made from highly absorbent polyester stretch yarn, making them very effective in diffusers. Synthetic reeds scent diffusion has been proven to be far superior to rattan reeds in most diffusers. Rattan reeds contain 40-80 channels, synthetic reeds contain approximately 5000 - enabling the oil to be absorbed more easily and therefore the scent to be dispersed more effectively into a room.

Although the synthetic reeds perform so well, we still recommend replacing your reeds (especially in our 300ml diffusers!) around every 4-6 weeks to ensure the channels are clear and you're getting the best scent throw from your diffuser. All of our 200ml refill diffusers come with a free set of synthetic reeds and we are launching a pack of 102, 23cm replacement reeds this week!