Are Humidifiers Dishwasher Safe?

Some brands of humidifiers are dishwasher-safe. You can conveniently put some parts of such humidifiers into your dishwasher without causing any damage.

The most common parts of humidifiers that are dishwasher-safe that you can clean using your dishwasher include the tray and the tank.

Cleaning these components through your dishwasher saves you a lot of time and effort. You can quickly get back to humidifying your house if you clean the humidifier’s parts using your dishwasher.

Remember to check the manufacturer’s recommendations on the best way of cleaning your humidifier before deciding to use your dishwasher.

Why use a Humidifier?

Humidifiers are essential for personal, health, and general safety reasons. Here are a few crucial reasons for keeping these devices in your home.

Improving the quality of indoor air

During cold winter days, air moisture may fall drastically. A sudden reduction in the amount of moisture in the air causes significant breathing difficulties. This is particularly important for people who have underlying respiratory conditions, including asthma.

However, having a humidifier at home during the cold winter days can help anyone with breathing complications. Humidifiers maintain humidity in the air within the ideal range of between 40% to 60%. Thus, anyone with underlying respiratory conditions can breathe easily when a humidifier is running in the home.

Reducing the static electricity phenomenon

When the air in the house has very little moisture, you are likely to experience the static electricity phenomena. A small amount of electric charges gets dispatched when you touch any dry surface or things. You may experience the charges when making your hair or even touching some of your clothes.

Although the static electricity phenomenon usually experienced during frigid winter days is hardly dangerous, it may make you uncomfortable.

The best solution to this problem is to ensure that your house’s air has the required amount of moisture. A humidifier helps you to achieve this goal because it directly adds moisture to the air in your indoor space.

Relief from cold and flu

Cold and flu make people very uncomfortable. The congestion that comes with colds makes it difficult for one to breathe and sleep well at night.

If the air in the room is quite dry, then the seriousness of the cold and flu symptoms increases. A humidifier can help to relieve the symptoms of cold and flu and enable you to sleep well.

Protecting wooden structures

Freezing and dry weather damages wooden structures in your home. You will realize that wooden frames begin to peel off, lose shape, and eventually get damaged during the winter. This damage occurs because of the low moisture levels in the air and the low temperatures.

Running a humidifier can help solve this problem because the additional moisture protects wooden structures in your home. Thus, keeping a humidifier can help you save a lot of money you would otherwise have used to repair or replace wooden structures damaged by the cold and dry winter air.

 Why It is Important to Keep Your Humidifier Clean

Keeping your humidifier clean means regularly washing its components according to the instructions of the manufacturer. It is essential to keep your humidifier clean for various reasons.

To keep the humidifier in excellent shape

All devices need to be regularly cleaned for them to remain in good shape. If you do not clean your humidifier, the chances are that the device will not serve you for long. Thus, conducting routine cleaning procedures on your humidifier helps to keep it in excellent shape. The humidifier then serves you for a long time so that you get value for your money.

To prevent the spread of contamination in the air

Cleaning your humidifier entails replacing the water in the tank daily. If you leave the water in the tank to stay for long, bacteria and other germs may grow in it. When you run the humidifier without replacing the water in the tank, then the bacteria and other germs that usually thrive in stagnant water get dissipated into the atmosphere.

Breathing contaminated air can cause mild to severe breathing problems. You may experience low-level asthma attacks, coughs, and episodes of a dry throat. These complications may be particularly severe in children and others who already have breathing-related problems, including asthma.

Steps to Cleaning Your Humidifier

Cleaning a humidifier is one of the most straightforward tasks you can do if you understand the procedure. It is necessary to clean your humidifier to prevent mold growth and keep it functional for a long time. You can follow this procedure to clean your humidifier thoroughly.

1. Disassemble the humidifier by following the procedures indicated in the users’ manual. Remember that you can do this process when you have unplugged your humidifier from the wall socket. Set apart every component of the humidifier, including the filter and water tank. You may need to unlatch some parts of the humidifier; hence the risk of damaging your device when carrying out this process is very low.
2. Soak all the small components of the device into vinegar. Pour the chemical into the water tank and ensure that it fills the space. Let the vinegar remain in the device for about 30 minutes. Similarly, allow the small components to stay soaked in vinegar for 30 minutes. After this time, use a soft-bristled brush to clean off all the deposits from the parts and the inside of the water tank.
3. disinfect the water tank by filling it halfway with a mixture of one teaspoon full of bleach and one gallon of water. Swirl the mixture vigorously and then let it rest for 30 minutes.
4. Rinse all the components of the humidifier under running water. Ensure that you do the rinsing thoroughly and repeatedly remove all the residues of the chemicals you would have used to clean the humidifier.
5. Spread out all the components of the humidifier to dry completely. You can place them on the top of the towels and leave them out for several minutes. Doing this helps all the trapped moisture in the wet parts to dry.
6. Reassemble your humidifier carefully. If it has a filter, then make sure that the filter is fixed correctly. Fill the humidifier water tank with clean and distilled water and reconnect it back to the wall socked. Your humidifier will be ready for use again.

Maintenance and Tips for Using Humidifiers

You must clean and maintain your humidifier to get the best out of it. Here are additional tips for cleaning, maintaining, and using a humidifier.

• Use distilled water. Hard water from taps contains dissolved salts and other minerals. If you use hard water in your humidifier, the minerals get dispersed with the moisture. Later, they settle down on surfaces in the house as white dust or deposits. Distilled water does not contain dissolved salts; therefore, using it in your humidifier does not cause white dust to settle on surfaces in your house.
• Clean and dry your humidifier before storage. You may not need a humidifier running in the home year-round. It is always practical to store your humidifier when the weather conditions improve. Before storing it, ensure that you have cleaned and dried it thoroughly. Keeping a humidifier that has some moist components can easily lead to the growth of molds.
• Clean your humidifier thoroughly once every week. Deep cleaning a humidifier entails disassembling the entire device and cleaning every component separately. Remember that for some humidifiers, a few components can be easily cleaned using a dishwasher. Go through this deep-cleaning process once per week to keep your device in good shape.
• Rinse out the water tank every day before use. Empty the water tank and refill it with clean and fresh water every day before turning on your humidifier. This practice helps to prevent the growth of bacteria and molds in your humidifier.

Best Dishwasher Safe Humidifier

Honeywell HCM350B Germ-Free Cool Mist Humidifier

The Honeywell HCM350B is a powerful, convenient to use, and easy-to-clean humidifier that is ideal for use in small to medium-sized spaces. All its parts, including the tank and tray, can be quickly detached and reattached; therefore, you can clean them fast using your dishwasher.

This humidifier is completely free of germs and it’s unique UV technology is 99% effective in killing all the germs that may be found in hard water, including bacteria. Thus, you do not have to worry about your humidifier growing molds or people at home breathing contaminated air.

The evaporative technology complements the UV light technology to make this humidifier highly effective. The moisture is blown from a special wicking filter that helps control the amount of moisture discharged into the air. Thus, this humidifier automatically maintains humidity levels between 40% and 60%.

However, like all products, the Honeywell HCM350B is now without faults. One of the most notable drawbacks of using this humidifier is that it is limited to small to medium-sized rooms.

Pros

• Convenient because its evaporative air technology automatically maintains humidity levels between 40% and 60%
• Easy to clean because its components can be easily detached and reattached
• It has UV technology that purifies the air before vaporization

Cons

• Unsuitable for use in large spaces