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 gets 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?
Placing some beautiful plants inside your living room is the most interesting, simple, yet effective way to add humidity to your home/room.
Plants that add moisture to the air can moisturize an area by 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.
So why not try adding a few high humidity houseplants to your home and living room in case you need to humidify your home naturally, safely, and effectively?
When shopping, care 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 evaporate the water 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 winters. This 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
Simply placing a bowl of water (metal or ceramic) on top of the floor registers or heating vents can also work to humidify a home slowly and steadily.
Depending upon how much heat is blasting through the duct or baseboard heaters, the water from the ceramic bowl will slowly evaporate into the air making it more humid.
If you have the registers placed on the wall or ceiling, you may consider placing the bowl of water on a sunny windowsill.
The daily heat of the sun will slowly work to warm up the water, making it evaporate slowly into your indoor air.
5- Boiling Water on the Stove
If you want to quickly add lots of steam and humidity into your room, this method can help you out.
This homemade humidifier solution can utilize boiling water to keep your room humidified.
For making a 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 let 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 on a beautiful open fish tank not only you can make your interiors more attractive but also can 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 summers.
If you want, you can add a few plants inside the fish tank, naturally providing extra pleasing effects.
7- Air Drying Your Clothes and Dishes
Drying up your clothes after washing on your radiators or a drying rack is another great way to add some extra moisture into the air.
You can also hang your wet shower towel on a radiator present in your bedroom – to dry it naturally, making your room more humid.
If you have extra space to accommodate a foldable drying rack, you can place one in your room to hang a wet towel or other additional clothes.
On a similar note, you can just open up your dishwasher after rinsing your dishes.
Let these dishes air-dry by themselves, and the heated air or steam produced is released into the room air.
Both of these homemade humidifier solutions are easy to accomplish and can also save some energy.
8- Spraying Water on Curtains
Spraying some water on the curtains on your windows can also help humidify the environment slowly and effectively.
You just need to spray a small quantity of water on the curtains to make them damp. Then allow them to dry out slowly.
The water evaporating into the air will automatically add extra moisture to the room naturally.
✓ For easy spraying, I make use of my emptied water bottles and cleanser sprays.
After cleaning up these useless bottles, you can use them to make a water sprayer to humidify the room or water the plants in the garden.
9- Hot Shower Humidifier Method
In case the bathroom is in front of your room (that needs to be humidified), you can boost the room’s humidity using the shower-humidifier method.
The basic principle on which a humidifier works is by sending steam back into the air. So why not use the hot shower to produce the steam for free?
Leave the hot shower carrying on for around 5 minutes. Ensure that your room door, as well as a bathroom door, are both closed.
After 5 minutes, open both the doors and let the steam come inside the room to increase moisture in the air.
You can also send the steam into your room while you take a bath. Just ensure you keep the door open while bathing with fairly hot water.
This can be one of the best DIY humidifiers for bedroom methods you can try daily.
10- Using Your Candle Warmers
Candle warmers you have in your home can also be used to add humidity to your room atmosphere.
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.
Just fill a cup or glass vase with clean water and place it on a candle warmer top. The water will slowly evaporate into the atmosphere to make it more humid.
If you want, you may add a drop or two of your favorite essential oil to make the atmosphere soothing and filled with aroma.
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.
If you plan to use a portable air humidifier (bought from the market) be ensured that there are filters that you need to remove and replace quite often.
Since these 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 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 them changed whenever necessary
Homemade humidifier wick filters made using the above techniques may seem to be affordable but care 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 less effectiveness.
However, there is nothing harm in using these homemade humidifier filters for your old humidifying machine, or at the time, you cannot buy them urgently.
What Can I Use As a Wick in My Humidifier?
The major function of a wick in a humidifier is to absorb and release the evaporated water for humidification.
Although you can make a humidifier wick filter using the above method, it’s not very convenient for all.
And for that reason, many people find a way in which they can use any other stuff that acts like a homemade wick for their evaporative unit.
Fortunately, there are a few items in your household that resemble and can work. These include:
1- Cloth:
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 being 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:
Sponge wick for humidifiers is the cheapest of all you can try.
This type of wick in a humidifier does work more like a dish sponge, in which water gets absorbed automatically when left in water.
You can easily use this type of wick in homemade humidifiers, as mentioned above in point #1.
Few Other Tips and Ideas To Keep You Refreshed
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.
- Drink a good quantity of fluids such as pure water or fruit juice
- Take a shower at least twice a day. A warm shower rather than a hot shower is recommended
- After a shower, do not forget to apply skin moisturizer all over the body to keep your skin free from dryness
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?
Check Out This DIY Homemade Humidifier (Video)
DIY Ultrasonic Humidifier for Less than $10 (Video)
Meen Smith is a nurse by profession who loves writing online, spending time with her family and caring for the elderly. She has already worked as an associate editor on various moms, babies, home appliances, kitchen, and healthy living blogs. In her spare time, she also enjoys drawing, reading/writing kindle eBooks and improving her skills a bit.