Paxamo Zen Bomb aromatherapy diffuser review

Aromatherapy, to some, is like healing crystals, chiropractic, or homeopathy – you either appreciate it and take benefit from it or think it’s a bunch of hooey. Whether it is healing, beneficial, or just a nice scent, though, our olfactory sensations can be pretty powerful tools in our situational awareness. Reviewers here rarely post about a leather item without mentioning the aroma of fine leather. Walking into a bakery, or out on your deck while something yummy is on the grill, or even pulling into the driveway when someone is cooking inside can trigger hunger you didn’t know you had or reflections on past feasts with friends. The folks at Paxamo have a line of ultrasonic mist diffusers that brings scents into your home or office environment and don’t draw attention to themselves. I was sent the “ZenBomb” model to test. (Even before seeing the product name, my Lovely Bride looked at it and said “Is that one of those pirate hand grenades? Is there a fuse?”)

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The Paxamo ZenBomb looks, for all the world, like a walnut bowling ball. (It is also available in a light wood pattern, about the color of bamboo or maple.) It is much lighter than a bowling ball, of course, and has a slightly tear-drop oval on the top where the vapor escapes. There are three legs around a flattened bottom to allow air to pass through the vents and into the diffusion chamber above. A slight twist separates it into two halves, with the water reservoir in the bottom and the vent in the top.

The interior is almost completely lined with white plastic. The operation is simple: put water and a small amount of aromatic oil (1-5 drops) into the reservoir, close the two halves, plug the unit in, and enjoy the scent. There are two fan speeds to assist in dispersing the aroma, and a subtle light that can be activated as well. These are controlled by two buttons on the front of the lower half.

We filled it with water and put in a few drops of Geranium oil, Vetiver oil, and Tea Tree oil. We left it running for a few hours, and the scent was almost immediately apparent. It never seemed to overwhelm, though, like an air freshener in a car, or an aerosol spray, but was just something we started to notice gradually. The unit functions completely silently and did not get hot or have any performance issues.

Recommended cleaning seems to be easy enough to accomplish, although they don’t suggest it unless you are changing out the type of oil in use, or going to store it away for some time. I have expanded my arsenal of oils with a trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond for a trio of blended oils. There are a variety of scents out there, and I found each one worked just fine with the ZenBomb.

If your workspace or home needs a bit more atmosphere, or if you want to try aromatherapy, this may be the path for you. It’s a bit expensive ($30.99 at Amazon) if you’re not sold on the practice already, however. You may want to try another diffusion method to see if you like it first. But if you get into it in a big way, the ZenBomb is a quiet, nice-looking machine that will do the job and look good doing it.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Paxamo. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.