People have used potpourri for many years but the latest and best trend is potpourri oil. Potpourri will consist of dried plants or flowers which are simmered in hot water in order to cause them to release their fragrance. These are good but the benefit of potpourri oils is that they are in fact the concentrated by product of many plants if they are natural, or an enhanced product if they are synthetic. They are much more concentrated than the fragrance that you get from the natural potpourri and they last much longer. They are not expensive to use so they give you a variety of positive benefits.

There are many different types of burners on the market now which are used to simmer the potpourri oils. Some are expensive and fancy enough to be part of your home decor. The range in price from two or three dollars up to twenty five or thirty dollars. The newest on the market are electric burners. These use a light bulb rather than a flame. The heat from the high intensity bulb is channeled through a glass tube to the bottom of a glass saucer which sits on top and contains the oil. Once the oil is heated the fragrance is released into the atmosphere. The heat carries the fragrance which freshens the air. This is very convenient since it doesn’t utilize an open flame.

If you don't want to go through the expense of buying a fancy simmering pot for your potpourri oil you can always use a small saucepan and simmer it on the stove on a low heat. When you simmer your potpourri oil this way place an inch or two of water in the bottom of the pan. Add a few drops of the potpourri oil to the water and simmer on low heat.

I personally use water each time that I simmer potpourri oil because I believe that the water helps me to save on the amount of potpourri oil that I use. The water carries the fragrance of the oil farther into the atmosphere which is a more efficient way to use the oil. I like to add new oil directly to the mixture which makes the product last even longer and saves me even more money.