What is a Humidifier?
Humidifiers are devices that add moisture to the air to make breathing easier, especially in dry and cold climates. A room humidifier works by infusing moisture in the air through evaporation, most commonly with cool water or warm steam vapor.
What is a Humidifier Used For?
Humidifiers can be helpful for:
- Preventing dry skin and chapped lips
- Combating viruses and bacteria spread in the air
- Relieving cough, nasal congestion, and headache
- Easing common cold and flu symptoms
- Easing snoring
- Alleviating asthma and allergy symptoms
Where Should You Place Your Humidifier?
Deciding exactly where to place a humidifier in your bedroom and around your home can be confusing, especially when the instruction manual doesn’t include enough information on this topic. You’re probably wondering if it’s safe to sleep with a humidifier and if it will cause any damage to your room. Here are some guidelines to follow when positioning a humidifier in your home to help you create a healthy environment for yourself and your family.
Place a Humidifier Where There is Most Airflow
Always put a room humidifier in a place where the air is moving the most. Humidifiers produce higher relative humidity (or moisture). For moisture to spread efficiently throughout a room or entire house, it must be placed where there is the most airflow. In general, a humidifier will moisten the air around it. Unless the air in the room is moving, you will have a localized high humidity area, but the rest of the air will still feel dry. Ideally, room humidifiers should be placed between a window and a door or between a window and another window.
Put the Humidifier on Table 2-4 Feet Off the Ground
The best place to place a room humidifier is between 2-4 feet above the ground. Placing a humidifier on the floor is a bad idea for several reasons. One is that you will get less airflow on the floor. The air on the ground is usually stale and doesn’t move more than 2-4 feet above the ground. Humidifiers can also leak and spill water easily. This is why it is best to keep a humidifier elevated off the floor to prevent damaging your floor. In addition, when a room humidifier is placed on the floor, pets or kids can easily knock it over.
Place A Humidifier Near Heaters
You may find that some areas in your room or house have lower relative humidity levels than others, even without using a humidifier. It makes sense to place a humidifier near a heater in many cases. This may be a space heater, baseboard heater, or heating vents. These areas are known for three things. First, the air temperature is high, causing the air to feel especially dry. Second, these areas have lower humidity levels since heated air usually retains less moisture. Lastly, these areas have good airflow due to warm air rising to the ceiling.
Don’t Put A Humidifier In A Corner
It is not a good idea to place a room humidifier in a corner. One reason is that corners get minimal airflow. This means that your air will be unevenly moistened. Usually, corners have higher relative humidity levels than the rest of the room. A humidifier should be placed as close as possible to the center of the room. This is especially easy when you use a humidifier in a living room.
Put A Humidifier Near Plants
The ideal relative humidity for houseplants is 70 to 80 percent, a level that is often difficult to achieve in the home. Almost any houseplant will benefit from the presence of a humidifier. It is best to place a humidifier near house plants for best results. This is especially true in the winter when the humidity can fall below 40% quite often.
Do Not Put A Humidifier Near Electronic Devices
Everyone knows that water can damage electronic devices. Most humidifiers expel the moisture from the top. So be careful not to put any electronic device near the top of the humidifier. This is true for laptops, televisions, stereos, cell phones, etc. Make sure you don’t expose your expensive electronics to high moisture levels in the vicinity of a humidifier
Humidifier Hack
The biggest challenge with positioning the humidifier is ensuring even distribution of humidity. You can increase the distribution of moisture by keeping the humidifier elevated, close to the center of the room, and so on.
Moving the humidifier around can further maximize its efficacy. Although you will have to unplug and re-plug the humidifier when moving it, you can increase the evenness of moisture levels by repositioning it every few hours or so. Just move the humidifier to a place in the room where it feels dry, and it will take care of the rest.
Now that you know how to correctly position a room humidifier in your home, you can use it to its full potential. Good placement can mean the difference between healthy air and a wet, messy disaster in your home.
