It’s too hot for candles! This is what I’m using to scent my home in a heatwave instead

4 ways I'm making my home smell nice with no scented candles in sight

A pink living room with a white sofa and an open glass door to the garden with a vase of pink flowers and a large scented candle on the coffee table
(Image credit: Future PLC)

It’s the first official heatwave of this summer – and it’s starting with a bang! I don’t know about your local weather forecast, but in London the temperature is set to climb as high as 36 degrees. Needless to say, it’s too hot to be burning candles – but if you still want your space to smell lovely, there are other ways to scent a home in a heatwave that won’t add to the heat.

I love the best scented candles as much as the next person - if not more - but there comes a point when anything with a flame emitting heat just won’t do. But don’t worry as there are plenty of ways to make a home smell nice without getting any candles involved – these are the 4 ways that I’m relying on during this heatwave and for all the future heatwaves of this summer.

A wooden table with a wooden cutting board and halved limes, rosemary and lavender and a bottle of orange essential oil

(Image credit: Future PLC/Craig Wall)

1. Invest in an electric diffuser

I’ve had my Atomiser Connect from Aromatherapy Associates for a few years now and absolutely love it. But there are plenty of electronic diffusers on the market to choose from.

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You’ll need a little 10ml bottle - or two, as the Atomiser Connect, for example, can hold two different bottles - of the essential oil of your choice which you eithr insert inside the diffuser or add a few drops of into the water tank. I’m really enjoying the scent of a geranium essential oil that’s in my Atomiser right now. But there are plenty of fragrances to choose from, below are some of my favourites.

One of the benefits of electric diffusers is that they provide quite a strong fragrance as they run on pure essential oils and can therefore fragrance a big room fairly quickly as well.

2. Spritz some room spray

There’s actually something very refreshing about spritzing a beautiful room spray around your home. Although tomato scented candles are one of the best ways to make your home smell like summer, during the heatwave, I’d recommend switching to a tomato scented home spray like this one from Malin+Goetz, available at Cult Beauty for the best price.

I’m currently using a new launch from Aromatherapy Associates, which is their Revive Morning Mood Mist, available at John Lewis. As the name suggests, it’s designed to be sprayed in the morning and energise you for the day ahead. But it can really be used all day long, and it’s perfect for the summer with its citrusy and herbal notes of grapefruit, rosemary and juniper berry.

3. Use natural scented cleaning products

These days, you can even scent your home simply by cleaning it – well, as long as you’re using natural cleaning products with fragrant essential oils. I personally own the Kinfill kitchen cleaner, available at Healf – I love the design of the spray bottle.

A collection of cleaning products in an under-sink cupboard

(Image credit: Future PLC)

But most of the Ideal Home team is obsessed with Purdy & Figg and many of the editors swear by the brand. And you can get a whole starter kit with three different essential oils included on Amazon right now.

4. Opt for a reed diffuser

The beauty of the best reed diffusers is that once you set it down in your desired spot, you really don’t have to worry about it or do anything else. It does its own thing of fragrancing your home with no help needed and no additional heat required. The only thing you might want to do to maximise the strength of the fragrance is to turn the reeds over every couple of weeks.

A fluted sideboard with a flower vase, a large Diptyque scented candle and a small reed diffuser along with a few decorative objects

(Image credit: Future PLC/Chris Snook)

If you like the idea of a tomato-scented summer as much as I do, I highly recommend Jo Malone’s Green Tomato Vine diffuser from its limited Veggies Edition which comes in a glazed green ceramic vessel.

How are you making sure your home still smells lovely during the heatwave?

Sara Hesikova
Room Decor Editor

Sara Hesikova has been Room Decor Editor at Ideal Home since June 2024, starting at the title as a News Writer in July 2023. She is now also the Ideal Home Certified Expert on Furniture, and so far has tried over 300 different sofas.

Graduating from London College of Fashion with a bachelor’s degree in fashion journalism in 2016, she got her start in niche fashion and lifestyle magazines like Glass and Alvar as a writer and editor before making the leap into interiors, working with the likes of 91 Magazine and copywriting for luxury bed linen brand Yves Delorme among others.