Ultrasonic room humidifiers need regular cleaning and maintenance so that you enjoy their great benefits day after day.
The good thing is you can do all the cleaning yourself without any professional help.
Just clean them once or twice a week, depending on the usage, and you are good to go.
To maintain and run your humidifier unit risk-free, also there are various products available in the market.
You can put them in your machine to avoid the growth of molds, bacteria and foul smell.
In my opinion, additives such as white vinegar work best and can be put safely into the humidifier water to prevent mold.
Many people recommend products like tea tree essential oils, hydrogen peroxide, Lysol, etc. for preventing molds.
But you should only use them after checking with the manufacturer of the humidifier if they allow adding such products to their unit.
Quick Content!
Why does Mold Form in Humidifier?
Mold is a kind of harmful fungus that typically grows in wet and enclosed environment.
You will usually see them thriving in the form of green, brown, white, or black patches near the wet or moist surfaces.
Since your humidifier tank is an ideal place that provides them with the needed moist enclosed environment, they grow there and can thrive for long unless cleaned or prevented.
The bad part is, they can multiply faster and can spread into the air all over your house and rooms to cause various body ailments like asthma, bronchitis, and even humidifier lung (HL).
3 Things You Can Put in Humidifier to Prevent Mold
People often ask me about why their new cool-mist humidifier smells bad.
If it’s new it can be due to packaging smell or the smell of plastic.
This generally goes away by simply rinsing your humidifier tank and housing with clean warm water.
When your cool mist humidifier smells bad after few usages, it can be for variety of reasons.
Some of them may include:
- Stagnant water in the humidifier
- Unsightly bacteria, mold, & algae growth
- Growth of odor-causing bacteria due to untreated humidifier surfaces
If you are really worried about all these issues, humidifier tank cleaners come to your rescue.
Below we are discussing some of the best options for your humidifier…
1- Demineralized Water
Filling your humidifier tank simply with regular tap water can bring a lot many issues for you.
If possible, you should add distilled or demineralized water – as it contains lesser mineral contents.
Using filtered or distilled water is best for humidifiers as it helps in preventing white mineral dust from expelling out into your indoors, which is obviously seen when you use regular tap water.
White dust, when formed and expelled regularly, can prove harmful for your lungs (as you will most likely inhale some) as well as expensive furniture.
2- Protec Humidifier Cleaner
Protec humidifier cleaning fish (available on Amazon) is one of the most wonderful products that I love using.
Humidifier tank cleaning cartridges like Protec humidifier cleaning balls can also be used for enjoying safe and nontoxic humid air.
Compatible with most of the brands and humidifier models, this offers easier humidifier tank cleaning in an automated way.
These are also effective enough to reduce up to 99% of mold and algae growth along with bacteria that causes an odor in a humidifier device.
3- Natural White Distilled Vinegar
White distilled vinegar can be added into the water while you are planning to operate the device mold-free.
You just need to add vinegar to humidifier water and run for half an hour before operating it.
This homemade humidifier water treatment acts as a natural disinfectant, sterilizer as well as deodorizer that helps in minimizing the mineral build-up and disinfection.
Especially for people who are suffering from any kind of respiratory issues, this can prove much helpful to clean a moldy humidifier.
Follow the below steps and you are good to go…
- Discard the left-out water in your unit after the use
- When using again, pour in freshwater (demineralized or distilled) in the tank of the unit
- Now add about 1/4 cup of white distilled vinegar into the water present in your humidifier unit
Does BestAir Humidifier Antibacterial Treatment Work?
In general, the bacteriostatic treatment agents for humidifiers are not meant for cleaning the units.
These are rather helpful in reducing the cleaning frequencies significantly.
By using a good bacteriostatic solution (such as BestAir humidifier treatment) you can keep your unit clean and hence can expect to prolong the life of the device and its wick/filter.
The humidifier antibacterial solution like BestAir 3BT works to reduce the growth rate of bacteria, viruses, and algae that grows inside your unit’s water tank.
Remember, these agents do not stop the mold formation completely.
So, to get rid of the mold and odor, you still need to clean your ultrasonic humidifier unit once in a while (but not too frequently).
Are There Any Side Effects of Using Bestair 3BT?
Like with using any other chemicals, these bacteriostatic treatment solutions can also be toxic in nature.
Depending on the concentration you may be using, it can emit bad smell and harmful chemicals while dispersing the mist.
It is therefore important that you handle them carefully and add the right amount to the water inside the tank.
Tips for using the BestAir humidifier bacteriostatic safely
The BestAir 3BT treatment can do a great job if you use them cautiously.
In many cases, the life of the filters doubled (and even tripled) after the users tried it on their humidifier’s water tank.
The thing you need to take care of is the amount of solution you use for the treatment.
BestAir usually recommends adding a cap full of solution for each gallon of water inside the tank.
However, based on my personal experiences and of some consumers, I recommend adding 5ml-10ml of it into per gallon of water in the tank.
As a precaution, it is good not to use the solution before going to bed.
Either add it in the daytime or about 2-3 hours before you sleep. This will avoid any chemicals emitting and disturbing your sleep.
So, is it worth buying?
Although using these solutions can be toxic for families, if you use them with all the care it can provide you with good overall benefits.
After all, with an overall rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars and with more than a thousand reviews from the consumers who purchased the product on Amazon, the product cannot just be worthless.
If you decide to buy and use it, make sure that you follow the above guidelines and stay safe.
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.
