What is a Humidifier, and what does it do?
A humidifier is an electrical device that moisturizes the air in indoor spaces. The additional moisture improves the overall humidity level of the air in the indoor environment.
You need a humidifier if you are in a place where the air is dry. During the cold winter days, the air loses a considerable percentage of its humidity. Breathing in such dry air is uncomfortable.
Moreover, you can develop mild to severe complications when you breathe dry air. Thus, a humidifier helps you to improve the quality of the air that you breathe.
Cool Mist Versus Warm Mist Humidifier
Cool mist humidifiers dissipate moisture at room temperature. If you use a cool-mist humidifier in a room, you will feel a mild chill after some time. Cool mist humidifiers are ideal for hot and dry environments. This type of humidifier helps to moisturize the air and cool the room’s ambient temperature where you place them.
Warm mist humidifiers have heating elements that boil the water which you put in the water tank. The humidifiers then cool the water before diffusing it as a warm mist. The process of heating the water kills off all the germs that may be in it.
However, the heating element consumes additional electric power. Therefore, it is more expensive to operate warm mist humidifiers than cool mist humidifiers.
Benefits of Sleeping with a Humidifier
Letting your humidifier run the whole night may be the right decision. Here are a few ways to benefit if you sleep in a room where the humidifier runs the entire night.
Low risk of infections
You are prone to getting infections if your throat and nostrils are parched. The small hair strands inside your nostrils capture dirt and prevent infections well when they are moist.
Keeping a humidifier on the whole night makes the air in the bedroom humid enough for the comfort of your nostrils. Thus, you will be safer from getting common infections if you leave the humidifier for an entire night.
Relieves stuffy nose
A stuffy nose can be a big problem at night. As you struggle to decongest the nose, you will end up losing your sleeping time. Although common medicines called decongestants can help to deal with your stuffy nose, they may not be the solution always. Often, you may need the best humidifier for congestion to help you breathe in perfectly humidified air to deal with the congestion.
Good sleep
Leaving a humidifier running the whole night can help you get a good night’s sleep. The humidifier keeps the air in your room in perfect condition. You can breathe easy and sleep well without experiencing the trouble of breathing dry and uncomfortable air.
Quick relief from cold and flu
If you have a cold or flu, you can get quick relief by letting your humidifier run the entire night. The humidifier will keep the air perfectly humidified so that you do not have trouble breathing. As you sleep well, you will overcome the cold or flu faster than if you struggle to sleep.
Benefits of a Humidifier for Babies
A humidifier is as good for you as it is for your baby. Here are some of the reasons for using a humidifier in the room of your baby.
White noise
Humidifiers produce a pleasant, humming sound when operating. Although this sound may be a distraction to adults, it may even be soothing to babies.
Babies tend to enjoy such sounds because they mimic what they heard while in the womb. The excellent humming sound of your humidifier will make your baby feel very comfortable and even sleep better.
Quick relief from cold and flu
Your babies cannot blow their noses if they have congestion. They will undoubtedly feel very uncomfortable if they have any of these conditions.
Having a humidifier in the room can help them recover fast from such conditions. The humidifier keeps the air in the room perfectly humidified. This makes it easy for the kids to breathe and their noses to decongest.
Is sleeping with a humidifier risky?
Many people are concerned with leaving humidifiers on through the night. While you may get all the benefits of sleeping with your humidifier, remember certain risks involved. Let us look at what these risks are and how you can manage them.
Having excess moisture in your house
As much as dry air causes many problems, having over humidified air in your home is no better. When there is excess humidity in the air, moisture settles on surfaces and walls. The moist surfaces become the perfect breeding ground for mold.
Mold growth is a significant cause of problems in buildings. When mold invades your rooms, it causes a foul odor. Besides, mold growth on ceiling boards and other wooden surfaces leads to rot and eventual damage.
White dust
The white dust phenomenon occurs when you use regular water in your humidifier. Ordinary water has many dissolved minerals. The minerals are dissipated together with the mist. Eventually, they settle on surfaces in the form of white dust.
White dust can cause severe allergic reactions in some people. You may experience coughing and general irritation of your airways because of the white dust. Also, it may form disgusting patches on your dark-colored surfaces.
Dry water tanks
The water tank of your humidifier may run dry at night. If the water tank gets empty when the humidifier is still running, the device may get damaged. The best solution is to get a humidifier with advanced inbuilt safety features, including automatic shut off.
Safety Tips for Sleeping with a Humidifier
You can prevent all the risks of sleeping with a humidifier by taking essential precautions. Here are a few tips to help you maintain your safety and keep the humidifier in good shape if you use it at night.
- Use demineralized or distilled water to refill your humidifier. Distilled water does not have the salts that usually cause white dust.
- Keep your humidifier clean. Carry out regular cleaning procedures that involve emptying the water tank and refilling it with fresh water every day. This habit prevents the growth of molds in the water tank. Also, thoroughly clean every component of your humidifier once per week. This practice helps to keep your humidifier in excellent shape.
- Monitor your humidity levels. Modern humidifiers come with humidistats to help you maintain the humidity levels in the indoor environment within the required levels. Some humidifiers automatically adjust their performance according to the humidity levels of the surrounding environment. Such humidifiers cannot over humidify the air in your room.
- Position your humidifier not very close to the bed. Conventional room humidifiers should be placed on a flat surface. If you use it in your bedroom, ensure that you place it a short distance from the bed.
Best Humidifier With Night Light
1. Vicks Starry Night Filtered Cool Mist Humidifier
The Vicks Starry Night Filtered Cool Mist Humidifier is a compact but powerful humidifier ideal for bedrooms. It has a unique night lighting feature that creates the impression of a starry night in bedrooms. This feature helps you and the kids sleep well at night.
Operating this humidifier is a breeze. It has two large control knobs that are perfectly positioned on its front side. You can use the knobs to adjust its humidification performance in an instant. Besides, it has a built-in humidistat that lets you control the level of humidity in the room.
You will find it easy to move this humidifier from one room to another. It is lightweight; therefore, carrying it is not a problem. However, you need to be careful because the humidifier can fall if knocked.
The only notable drawback of using this humidifier relates to the kind of moisture that it dissipates. This is a cool-mist humidifier; hence, it may not be suitable for use during those cold days. However, it is cheaper to run a cool-mist humidifier because it consumes less electric power than a warm mist humidifier.
Pros
- The starry night lighting at night is perfect for kids
- Easy to operate because it has only two control knobs
- Lightweight and highly portable
Cons
- Diffuses cool mist only
2. Avalon Premium Ultrasonic Digital Humidifier
If you are looking for a perfectly designed and highly powerful humidifier with a large water tank, consider using the Avalon Premium 5 Liter Ultrasonic Digital Humidifier.
For starters, the humidifier effectively dissipates moisture across medium to large-sized rooms, thanks to a double rotating outlet. Also, the double-rotating outlet helps the humidifier to dissipate moisture instantly.
Moreover, it comes with a sizeable five-liter water tank. Thus, you do not have to worry about refilling the water tank often when using the humidifier. The water tank is fitted with a carry handle to remove and return it in the position very quickly.
The easy-to-read digital displays and remote control are great additions. You can change the level of humidification of this humidifier from the comfort of your bed or seat. The digital humidistat is entirely accurate in determining the desired humidification level.
However, this ultrasonic cool mist humidifier requires heavy maintenance to remain in good working condition. It has a replaceable filter; this means that you will have to get a new one regularly. Moreover, removing, cleaning, and reattaching filters takes a long time.
Pros
- Adequate humidification because of the double-rotating outlet and a five-liter water tank
- It has clear digital displays and comes with remote control for your convenience
- Easy refilling because the tank has a carry handle for quick removal
Cons
- Heavy maintenance because of the need to replace the filter
3. REMEDIES Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier
The REMEDIES Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier is perfect for bed side. It has a unique 7-color LED light capability that helps create the perfect ambiance in bedrooms at night. Your kids will enjoy this broad range of night lighting from this humidifier.
Moreover, ultrasonic humidifiers are generally less noisy than other types of humidifiers. Thus, this humidifier will not interfere with your kids’ sleep when you decide to let it run the whole night.
This humidifier has a diffuser that you can use to scent your room. Apart from essential oils, one can add particular substances to the diffuser to help relieve flu and cold. This can be particularly useful when you must help your kids fight off the common cold or flu.
You can adjust the flow of the vapor using the large knob on the surface of the humidifier. Changing the vapor flow is the perfect way of ensuring that the air in the room is humidifier to the recommended levels.
Pros
- It has a diffuser for aromatherapy and scenting
- The humidifier has built-in seven color LED lights
- Adjustable vapor flow for personalized performance
Cons
- It delivers cool mist only
4. GENIANI Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier
Several features make the GENIANI Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier the ideal choice for use in bedrooms and any other room at your home. Notably, this humidifier has a unique modern design with matching light blue and white colors.
Its design and finishing perfectly blend with all types of contemporary and classic interior décor. Thus, you can add some beauty to your room by placing this humidifier at a place where everyone who comes in can see it.
This humidifier has an easy-to-open water tank that complements its excellent design. You only need to unlatch it, and you can remove, clean, and refill the water tank.
Moreover, the water tank can hold up to four liters of water. Thus, you do not have to go through the trouble of refilling it often when you need to use the humidifier for a long time.
If you are worried about your kids’ safety when you leave the humidifier running in their rooms the whole night, then this may be the answer.
It has all the advanced inbuilt safety features that you would like to find in a modern humidifier. The auto shut off feature is quite useful because it guarantees that the humidifier will not get damaged or cause any trouble if its water tank runs empty.
Pros
- A large 4-liter water tank that is easy to open, clean, and refill
- Enhanced safety features, including auto shut off and ETL certification
- Excellent modern design that has aesthetic value
Cons
- The humidifier lacks remote control feature
5. MEGAWISE 3.5L Humidifier
The MEGAWISE 3.5L humidifier is designed for humidifying small to medium-sized spaces, including bedrooms and small living rooms.
It uses an innovative nano atomization technology to deliver as much as 300 ml of moisture every hour. This powerful capacity ensures that the humidifier can instantly improve the air conditions in your room when you switch it on.
This humidifier has only one knob for controlling it. You can select either the high or low modes of humidification according to your preference.
When in the high mode, the humidifier consumes water fast but can cover large areas. Sadly, this humidifier is quite loud. The 24dB noise level makes it unsuitable for use in children’s bedrooms.
Pros
- Adequate humidification, thanks to the nano atomization mode of action
- Easy to operate top-fill water tank and one-knob control
- It has a top-fill water tank
Cons
- The 24dB noise level is relatively high
6. MADETEC Humidifier
The MADETEC Humidifier has three misting options for your ultimate comfort: low, high, and cloud. The humidifier dissipates 50 ml of mist per hour when it is set on the low mode. When it is set on the high mode, it diffuses 90 ml of cool mist per hour.
Although this rate may be low compared to that of other large humidifiers that can distribute up to 300 ml of vapor per hour, it can be enough if you need to humidify the air in a small room.
In addition to its performance, this humidifier has advanced safety features. Notably, it automatically goes off if the water tank becomes empty.
Given that its water tank is relatively small, this safety feature is essential. More so, the humidifier is ETL-certified. Thus, you can use it with confidence, knowing that it has passed industry-specific safety tests.
The remote control is a great device that you can use to operate this humidifier. Besides, the remote control perfectly fits into your palm so that you can make an accurate selection of the desired humidification rate.
Pros
- It three mist levels for personalized performance
- The humidifier comes with a remote control
- It has inbuilt safety features, including auto shut off
Cons
- The 1-liter water tank is tiny
7. UCAREAIR Cool Mist Humidifier
Are you looking for a small and easy-to-use humidifier? If so, the UCAREAIR Cool Mist Humidifier may be the right device for you. It has one button that you can use to toggle between the high and low modes of humidification.
Additionally, the water tank has a conventional top-fill humidifier design. All that you must do is remove the top side and refill your humidifier with distilled water.
It has two humidification modes: high and low. You can select the high mode when you need the device to instantly increase the moisture level of the air in your large room.
However, the humidifier tends to deplete the water in its tank quickly when set on the high mode. This means that you will have to refill the 2-liter water tank more often to use the humidifier according to your preferences.
Pros
- Long runtime of 25 hours when the tank is full
- Easy-to-use button for toggling between the high and low modes of humidification
- Does not need a lot of extra time for maintenance because it does not have a filter
Cons
- The 2-liter water tank is relatively small
- The humidifier is slightly noisy when it is running