How to Disinfect Your Dirty Air Humidifier

It’s beginning to become that time of year again to start thinking about breaking out your air humidifier. Humidifiers have great health benefits (more than you would think)! Here are 5 benefits below by having one in your home.

Helps to eliminate nose bleeds
Aids in relieving dry skin
Increases air quality, moisturizing the respiratory system
Helps young children & babies sleep
Assists in airborne pathogen reduction

To be effective, you need to make sure your air humidifier is clean and sanitized. Think about it, if you have a dirty humidifier spewing out mold and bacteria, it can’t be too good for your health or your living environment. It’s a simple and easy process that you should practice for cleaner and fresher air.

For starters, only use distilled water in your humidifier. If you use tap water, chemicals (chlorine) and mineral deposits will cause build-up in your small appliance. By using distilled water, you will only be inhaling pure vapor. That’s it, nothing else. Depending on your use, environment and so forth, you should clean your air humidifier every 1-2 weeks for best results. Alrighty, let’s clean the darn thing. Here’s what ya need:

Humidifier
Tap & Distilled Water
White Distilled Vinegar
Soft Bristle Brush (think Bottle Brush)

As a general guide, we recommend you refer to the manufacturer instructions for your specific humidifier’s maintenance, cleaning and general upkeep. Some humidifiers are not suited for water and vinegar in their basin—it is worth double checking.

Unplug and pour out your humidifier’s water tank. You then can begin to take your humidifier a part so the tank is free. During this process, take the opportunity to rinse your filter with cool distilled water. If your filter isn’t in good shape, you should think about replacing it.

Dump a hefty amount of vinegar right in your tank. The vinegar (we just love this stuff) is cheap and disinfects without the use of synthetic or harsh chemicals. Depending on your unit’s size, 1-3 cups should do. Then, allow the vinegar to sit for 15-20 minutes. Using your soft brush, scrub your water tank, and remove any mineral deposits or gunk. Pour out your vinegar and repeat this process again until all of your build-up is gone.

If you have any removable parts in your humidifier in need of cleaning, you can use this as a chance to soak the parts in vinegar or use your dishwasher. Refer to your manufacturer’s instructions.

After your soaking process is complete: rinse, rinse and rinse! Make sure to rinse out your unit thoroughly, by giving it some good shakes. Then, dry it out—making sure you wipe off anything that could have been left behind.