Why Should You Put Salt in a Humidifier? [And How to Add it?]

Most of us think of salt as something added to food to make it tasteful. However, there is more to salt than meets the eye.

Salt has been known to play an important role in maintaining human health. It has many healing properties, such as:

• Prevents low blood pressure
• Aids in proper thyroid functioning
• Helps in keeping the body hydrated

Sodium chloride is equally essential for the skin on our body and can be put in a humidifier device for healing. But that only holds true, when used correctly and in the right quantity.

Benefits of Putting Salt in Humidifier

When salt is added to a humidifier, it disrupts the bond between the water molecules while raising the boiling point of the water.

This means by adding a small amount of salt to a warm mist humidifier, the water molecules are pushed further apart, which results in them moving more freely converting liquid water into steam a lot easier. If your vaporizer isn’t generating enough steam, you can usually improve it by adding a pinch or two of salt to the water.

Besides increasing the boiling point of water, a pinch of salt when added to humidifiers can have a positive impact on the body such as: 

• Helps to hydrate the skin, making it feel smoother
• Helps thinning mucus in the sinuses
• Reduces snoring, wheezing, and coughing by opening up breathing passages
• Makes the home comfortable and healthy by trapping heat in the air and killing illness-causing germs that thrive in dry air

However, remember that, while adding salt to a steamer/vaporizer can benefit, putting it in a cool-mist humidifier (like evaporative or ultrasonic type) may not have any significant impact on the amount of mist it produces. This is because these excellent misting models do not work by heating the water in the tank.

Salt is also not necessarily required for proper functioning if tap water is hard or contains minerals. Do put it on your device only if you feel that it is required.

How to Add Salt to Your Misting Humidifier?

Although adding salt to the humidifier is simple, you may need to go get the manual given by the manufacturer as each step needs to be followed carefully. Following are the five simple steps that should be followed;

Step #1:

First and foremost, simply unplug the humidifier from the outlet. Make sure it’s not plugged in.

Step #2:

Now remove the steam unit from the tank. This can be done by simply twisting the steam units to unlock them and then by lifting them up.

Step #3:

Now that the steam tank has been removed, add clean and cool water to the tank. They usually have a mark or fill line drawn on the tank, showing where it should be filled.

Remember that you should not use hot water and do not overfill the tank.

Step #4:

After you have completed the above tasks, now is the time to add the salt. Always remember to add the amount of salt that the manufacturer has recommended.

Most manufacturers agree on not using more than 1/8 teaspoon of fine or rock sea salt salt. Do not add too much salt to your humidifier machine as it can cause damage to your machine.

After putting it in the water reservoir, make sure that the salt has been mixed thoroughly into the water.

Step #5:

Now that the salt has been added and mixed place the steam tank and lock them in position. You can now plug the humidifier into a wall socket and enjoy the healing, moisturized atmosphere.

Putting Salt in Your Warm Mist Humidifier: Is it Safe?

Putting Epsom or Himalayan salt in your humidifier device can be pretty safe as long as you put it in the recommended quantities. However, it may also depend on the type and brand of unit you own.

Humidifiers come in a wide range and serve a variety of different purposes. You may need to confirm with your manufacturer/brand whether they allow using salt in their model or not.

Cool mist humidifiers are evaporative humidifiers comprising three parts; a reservoir for cool water, a wick that absorbs water, and a fan. The water from the reservoir is pulled into the wick, which then evaporates into the atmosphere, distributing the cool humidity by the fan.

Warm mist humidifiers or steam vaporizers use warm mist or vapor, which creates steam. A fan is used to distribute steam throughout the atmosphere. The biggest advantage is that this type of humidifier decreases mold and build-up.

Adding salt to the vaporizer acts like an impurity that helps improve the electrical current’s conductivity. Many manufacturers, therefore, advise that you use baking soda instead of sea salt.