10 Easy Ways to Make A DIY Homemade Humidifier

Presently, different types of humidifiers are available in the market.

But buying these room humidifiers is not always the best choice for all.

Especially if you are a bit passionate and love experimenting with things, you can now make a DIY homemade humidifier for yourself to use at home easily.

Below we discuss the 10 easy ways by which you can naturally humidify your room without using an ultrasonic cool mist humidifier.

Let’s check them out…

Why Choose Homemade Air Humidifier?

Dry air inside your home can adversely affect your health very much. Especially when we turn ON the heater inside our home in winters, we make the air hot and dry.

Therefore, moisture inside the home should be increased, relieving clogged nose, allergies, colds, flu, etc.

Homemade DIY humidifiers can be a good option as they can be used to relieve health issues caused due to dry air inside the home.

A DIY air humidifier can also help you keep your skin moisturized and prevent it from drying.

Besides these, a DIY homemade humidifier can also prevent germs and bacteria from affordably spreading diseases.

10 Easy Ways to Make a Natural Humidifier

When you are searching for some clever tricks on humidifying a room without a humidifier, using a natural, homemade humidifier can be your best answer.

A homemade DIY humidifier can be made by using a few things in your home and by trying certain techniques.

Below are a few good ideas and humidifier alternatives you can try to easily increase humidity in a room:

1- Making Sponge Humidifier

Different types of humidifiers can be made at home using different things. And among those, a sponge humidifier is one of the easiest to make.

For making this, you need a large sponge and a plastic freezer bag.

• First, punch holes in the plastic bag (maybe with the help of scissors) and then wet the sponge.
• Squeeze all water from the sponge and leave it damp. Make sure that the sponge is not dripping but is wet.
• Then, just put the sponge inside the plastic and cling it to the place where you want to moisturize.

You can place as many sponge humidifiers as you want in the room to make your air comfortable and humid.

Alternatively, you can attach a thick piece of sponge to a skewer. Then place the sponge on a bowl filled with water so that half of it is dipped in the water.

Now place a fan directly behind the sponge and switch it on. As the wick starts absorbing the water, the circulating fan automatically adds moisture throughout your room.

2- Adding Indoor Plants

You already know that a cool-mist humidifier is important to have if you want to keep your indoor plants healthy during dry conditions.

But do you know that you can also make a DIY humidifier for plants by using indoor plants themselves?

• Plants that add moisture to the air can moisturize an area through a process called transpiration. This process is natural and healthy, too.
• Through this process, the water we use for watering the plants is eventually returned to the air by moving it from the roots and stems of the plant to the leaves and flowers.
• If you need to humidify your home naturally, safely, and effectively, add a few beautiful high-humidity houseplants inside your living room.

When shopping, ensure that you buy the plants that humidify the air (like Areca Palm, Peace Lily, English Ivy, Rubber Plant, and Spider Plant) and not those that absorb humidity.

3- Glass of Water Near Heater

One of the simplest and most effective ways to humidify your room is to let the water evaporate slowly and steadily.

This can be done by simply placing a glass of water near the room heater that you use in your home during winter.

When the heater is switched on, it will help evaporate the water slowly, making your room more humid.

If you want a better, pleasing effect in your room and breathing air, you can add a few drops of essential oils into the glass of water.

This will add a cool, pleasing aroma that also helps in elevating your mood, besides providing various therapeutic benefits.

4- Bowl of Water On Registers

Another simple trick to bring some much-needed humidity into your home is by placing a sturdy metal or ceramic bowl filled with water right on top of your floor registers or heating vents.

As warm air flows through, the water will gradually evaporate, releasing gentle moisture into the room. It’s a wonderfully low-effort way to balance out that dry indoor air we all struggle with in the colder months.

Of course, the effect will depend on how much heat is moving through your ducts or baseboard heaters—more heat means faster evaporation, and in turn, a more noticeable boost in humidity.

Now, if your registers happen to be on the wall or ceiling (making it tricky to rest a bowl on them), don’t worry—you still have options.

Try placing a bowl of water on a sunny windowsill instead. During the day, the natural warmth of the sun will slowly heat the water, helping it evaporate and gently moisten your indoor air.

5- Boiling Water on the Stove

If you want to quickly add lots of steam and humidity to your room, this homemade humidifier solution can help you out.

• To make this surprisingly effective DIY evaporative humidifier, you need to boil water in a big pan or a bowl by keeping it on the stove.
• Make sure the pan’s lid is closed when boiling the water.
• After a whole lot of steam is accumulated in the pan, bring the pan to your room and put it above a wooden table (to avoid any risk of fire).
• Open it instantly to let the steam go out and add moisture to the room.

Using a stove on a burner or on a fireplace is one of the best methods to make homemade humidifiers for congestion and a stuffy nose.

With this homemade room humidifier method, you can easily add a lot of steam instantly and conveniently into the room.

6- Placing An Open Fish Tank

If you are bout creative and nature-loving person just like me, you will simply love this method for humidifying your room with air conditioning naturally.

By just investing a few bucks in a beautiful open fish tank, not only can you make your interiors more attractive, but you can also help make your room atmosphere extra cool and humid.

An attractive-looking glass fish tank in your room acts just like a homemade ultrasonic humidifier to make your room more comfortable, even when your AC is on in summer.

Now, if you’d like to take this up a notch and create a more soothing atmosphere, you can add a few plants inside the fish tank, naturally providing extra pleasing effects.

7- Air Drying Your Clothes and Dishes

Drying clothes indoors can be more useful than you might think—it doesn’t just save you the hassle of running a dryer, but it also helps add some much-needed moisture back into your home.

• For instance, placing freshly washed clothes on a radiator will slowly release water vapor into the air as they dry, naturally boosting your room’s humidity.
• Even something as simple as hanging your damp shower towel on the bedroom radiator works wonders. It dries your towel while gently humidifying the air you breathe.
• If you’ve got a bit of extra space, setting up a foldable drying rack in your room also gives you the chance to hang additional clothes or towels—doubling up on comfort and humidity.

Here’s another little hack: after your dishwasher finishes rinsing, don’t hit the “dry” cycle.

Instead, just open the door and let your dishes air-dry. The leftover steam will waft into the room, adding a touch of moisture while saving electricity at the same time.

Both of these methods are wonderfully simple, eco-friendly, and cost nothing extra—yet they make your home feel more comfortable during those dry winter months.

8- Spraying Water on Curtains

Another clever little trick to add moisture to your home is to lightly spray your window curtains with water.

Just a small spritz here and there is enough to make the fabric slightly damp.

As the curtains slowly dry, the water will naturally evaporate into the air—gently increasing the humidity in your room without any extra gadgets.

What I especially like about this method is how easy and low-cost it is. You don’t even need a fancy spray bottle.

I often repurpose empty water bottles or old cleanser sprays—after giving them a good wash, of course—to create a simple DIY sprayer.

Not only does this keep plastic out of the trash, but it also gives you a handy tool for humidifying your room or even watering your plants in the garden.

9- Hot Shower Humidifier Method

If your bathroom happens to be right across from the room you want to humidify, here’s a neat little trick—you can actually use your hot shower as a free steam humidifier.

Think about it: the whole idea behind a humidifier is to send moisture back into the air.

And what produces steam more easily than a nice, hot shower?

• Simply let the shower run for about five minutes with the bathroom door shut.
• Once the steam builds up, open the bathroom and bedroom doors, and allow that warm mist to drift into your room.
• Within minutes, you’ll notice the air feels less dry and much more comfortable.

An even easier variation is to just keep your bathroom door cracked open while you shower with fairly hot water. The steam will naturally flow into your bedroom while you bathe, saving you the extra step.

This shower-steam method is quick, effortless, and something you can easily do every day—especially in the winter when the air feels extra dry.

It’s one of those DIY humidifier hacks that feels almost too simple, but it really works.

10- Using Your Candle Warmer

Do you think that your candle warmer is just good for melting wax? Think again. With one small hack, it can moonlight as a DIY humidifier. Yep—your cozy little warmer is more talented than it lets on.

Here’s how to pull it off:

• Pick a trusty sidekick – Grab a small, heat-safe dish—glass, ceramic, or even a tiny pot. (Basically, anything that won’t melt before the water does.)
• Add water – Keep it plain, or throw in a clove or two if you want to feel like you’re running a medieval apothecary. You may even add a drop or two of your favorite essential oil to make the atmosphere soothing and filled with aroma.
• Set the stage – Place your water-filled container or a cup right on top of the warmer’s hot plate.
• Let the magic happen – As the heat does its thing, the water will slowly evaporate—adding a soft touch of humidity to your space. Think of it as your room, taking a gentle sip of water.

The best part of using a candle warmer as a diy homemade humidifier is that you’re solving dryness without splurging on a fancy device. It’s cozy, clever, and a little sneaky—just the way we like it.

If you do not want to use a new one, you may consider re-purposing any old one that you do not use – into a humidifier.

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How to Make a Homemade Humidifier Filter?

Although making a homemade humidifier is a great way to add natural moisture to your room, it’s not a fun activity for all.

Using a portable air humidifier (bought from the market) is therefore a solution for them. But if you are using these devices at home, you already know that there are filters that need to be removed and replaced quite often.

Since the ready made store-bought air filters for your machine can be expensive to buy, using a homemade humidifier filter can be a great, cost-effective idea.

Here are a few easy steps you need to follow if you plan to make these DIY humidifier filters at home.

• Take about 18 coffee filters and flatten them by turning each of them upside down.
• Keep the flattened coffee filters in three stacks of six each.
• Cut the third ridge of these filters in each of these stacks from the center and discard the center part of the filter.
• Now, stack the five filters and get them stapled together into each other.
• Also, staple the fins that are created from the other coffee filters in the ridges of the five stacked filters.
• Now you can place this homemade filter in your humidifier device and get it changed whenever necessary.

Homemade humidifier wick filters made using the above technique may seem to be affordable, but be aware that it’s not a perfect way to filter away the impurities.

We do not recommend trying them on your newly bought device due to their limited effectiveness.

However, there is no harm in using these homemade humidifier filters for your old humidifying machine for a short time, or times you want them urgently.

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What Can I Use as a Wick Filter in My Room Humidifier?

The major function of a wick in a humidifier is to absorb and release the evaporated water for humidification.

And that’s the reason you need to clean your humidifier filters or get them replaced on a regular basis. You can, of course, make a wick filter using the above method, but it’s not very convenient for all.

So, many people find an alternative that acts like a homemade wick filter for their evaporative unit.

Fortunately, there are a few items in your household that resemble and can work. These include:

1- Cloth:

A wick made of cloth is usually found in very affordable humidifiers.

For making a cloth wick, you can use a piece of cheesecloth. This type of fabric comes with tiny holes through which water can easily pass.

Also, as it absorbs more water, a more significant amount of moisture can be delivered to the room when the fan in the unit circulates.

2- Foam:

Foam humidifier wicks are generally installed in expensive units. These are manufactured using a webbed or pleated fibrous material.

Compressed cellulose foam is also a common material that is used in various humidifiers. These are good at providing higher airflow when wet and hence increased moisture.

Since the cost of these wicks is more (which varies depending on the material of the foam used), it’s expensive to replace them.

3-Sponge:

A sponge wick is one of the most basic and inexpensive types of wicks you can use in a humidifier. Think of it exactly like a regular dish sponge—when you place it in water, it naturally soaks up and holds moisture on its own, without any extra effort.

In a humidifier, the sponge wick material automatically absorbs water from the reservoir, staying damp as long as it’s in contact with water.

Moreover, when air passes through or over the wet sponge, the water slowly evaporates into the room, increasing humidity.

Though not as durable or efficient as specialized wicks like paper-based, ceramic, or antimicrobial-treated ones, it’s a low-cost, beginner-friendly solution for a natural DIY humidification system when regularly rinsed and cleaned.

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A Few Other Tips and Ideas to Keep You Refreshed and Humidified Naturally

Besides the above 10 homemade ways, there are many other things that can help you keep yourself refreshed, humid, and hydrated without a humidifier.

You can use these ideas and tips in addition to homemade humidifiers to address the issues caused by dry air and dehydration.

1- Stay hydrated from within:

Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day. Plain water is best, but you can also add variety with fresh fruit juices, herbal teas, or even warm lemon water.

Hydration not only keeps your body healthy but also supports skin elasticity and prevents it from drying out.

2- Shower smartly:

Aim to shower at least twice a day if your routine allows. Opt for warm showers instead of hot ones, as extremely hot water strips the skin of its natural oils and worsens dryness.

A warm shower, on the other hand, helps your body relax while adding a touch of moisture to your skin and surroundings.

3- Lock in moisture after bathing:

Right after stepping out of the shower, pat your skin gently (don’t rub harshly) and apply a good-quality moisturizer while the skin is still slightly damp.

This locks in hydration and creates a protective barrier against dry winter air. Focus on areas like elbows, knees, and hands, which tend to get rough faster.

Hopefully, all the above tips will help keep your skin hydrated and in good condition.

All the above tips can be well used to make a good homemade humidifier for babies, adults, seniors, and even pets at home.

Why not try these humidifier alternatives at your home and let them help you solve your dry air issues?

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