Humidifiers are generally used at home to eliminate dryness in the air.
Monitoring and improving indoor air quality helps prevent skin irritation, respiratory disorders, winter allergies, and many other similar issues.
However, humidifiers, if not used properly, may cause various additional health problems instead of solving them.
It is the water that we use in our humidifier machine that makes all the difference!
It’s the water used in the humidifier tank that gets converted into the mist and gets in contact with our external skin, airways, and lungs to provide relief.
And it’s obvious – as the quality we use, so do we get in return!
For this reason, it is essential to care for the quality of water we use in our humidifier machine.
What Water to Use In Humidifier?
Well, the quality of water you use inside a room humidifier is essential in providing clean, moist air to breathe in.
It is therefore important that the water you use in your humidifier should always be filtered or distilled – avoid using regular tap water.
Distilled water is often recommended by most humidifier manufacturers and is considered the best water to use in a humidifier device.
Your regular water supply may contain minerals, bacteria, and other harmful viruses that can be risky for your body when it gets in contact with humidification.
All these elements need to be thrown out from the hard water before it is being used in the humidifier or diffuser machine.
This can be done quickly by distilling or purifying the water at home.
How to Make Distilled Water for Humidifier?
From the above discussion, it is made clear that hard or saltwater in humidifiers should be strictly avoided.
To be safer, you should always use the unit’s filtered, purified, or distilled water.
As such, there are many ways to make pure distilled water (from regular tap water) for your humidifier machine.
So instead of worrying about – where to buy distilled water for a humidifier, why not try these methods at home and get pure distilled water for your humidifier machine fast?
In case you are eager to know how to make distilled water for a humidifier machine in a DIY way, here are a few easy tips for you:
1- Boiling The Water
This is a process in which water is boiled over the boiling point and converted into vapor. Then the same water vapor is condensed and collected in another container to get pure water.
During this process, the impurities (if any) will be left behind in the first container in which the water was boiled.
Still, some impurities might be present in this distilled water which can be removed by the double distilling method.
The water produced as a result of double distillation will be much better to use in humidifiers than as compared to water produced by a single distillation process.
2- Demineralising Water
Demineralized water is a special form of purified water from which most of the minerals and salt ions are removed.
In this process, the ionized particles are exchanged to form water. The cation and anion in the water are exchanged with OH (Hydroxide) and H (Hydrogen), which, when fused, become water (H2O).
But in this case, the ionized impurities are eliminated, and the unionized particles (and also biological impurities) remain in the water.
To get rid of it again, this water has to go through a demineralization process, and the resultant water will thus be a product of double deionized water.
3- Reverse Osmosis System
In this method, the semi-permeable membrane is used to remove larger particles and impurities from the water.
During the RO process, it is made sure that the solute does not pass through the membrane and the solvent only passes through.
Using a reverse osmosis system at home is one of the most effective processes by which we can get pure filtered and distilled water for humidifier device.
In the end, the very reason for buying a humidifier machine will go in vain if you use regular tap water in your unit.
It is always best to use pure distilled water to enjoy the maximum benefits out of your humidifier machine for a long!
The videos below show you a few other exciting ways to make distilled water for humidifiers. Make sure you check them out too …
# Water in Humidifier FAQs #
Can I Use Brita Water In Humidifier?
Brita filters are one of the most commonly used water filter brands in the US.
These filters can be either attached directly to your water source/sink tap OR can be put into a specially designed Brita filter pitcher to filter your water as you pour it down for use.
Brita water is generally a purified form of water free from all sorts of salts (chlorine, magnesium, lead, etc.) and impurities.
Although it does not work to remove 100% impurities, it is far better than regular tap water.
As such, Brita water holds no direct health benefits when consumed – it only helps avoid future health problems due to water pollutants.
But when used in a humidifier, it can help in preventing all types of risks which come into effect when you use regular tap water in your device.
It is, therefore, better to use Brita water in a humidifier if you do not have access to distilled water.
However, if you can, you should try distilled water which is free from all types of impurities and salts.
Can I Use Boiled Water In Humidifier?
Hot Boiled water and distilled water are two different forms and should not be confused with one another.
Distilled water does not have any impurities present in it so it doesn’t leave behind any dust or salt in a humidifier tank to be cleaned.
On the other hand, boiling tap water concentrates the impurities without actually removing them. It is therefore not an ideal option for your humidifier machine.
It may, therefore, have lots of minerals and impurities present, which may be left behind (as a mineral build-up) in the humidifying machine and needs to be cleaned after each usage.
Can You Use Bottled Water In A Humidifier?
At times when there is no distilled water around, and you are not sure about the quality of water you get from your supply, it is good to consider putting bottled water in your humidifier.
Bottled water that comes from most of the most reliable brands is much better compared to regular tap water.
However, these are only recommended when you do not have an option to get purified distilled water.
The fact you should consider here is these packaged water bottles are not 100% free from inorganic minerals and elements.
Many brands do claim that their packaged water bottle is filled from natural spring and other underground sources – there are still traces of minerals found in such water.
Using such bottled water in a humidifier can cause the build-up of scale in your unit and the release of minerals into the atmosphere.
Although drinking this bottled water does not cause any harm to the body, it is NOT the best type of water for your humidifier.
How Much Water Should You Put In a Humidifier?
The quantity of water used by your humidifier device will generally depend on the type of product you are using.
If you are using a portable-sized humidifier for your room, it may have a capacity of anywhere between 100ml to 1000ml.
The larger the tank is, the greater will be its serving time.
Hence you may need to put the amount of water according to its tank capacity and output time.
If you are using a whole house furnace humidifier, it may then use anywhere from 1.5 gallons to 12 gallons per day at the time when your furnace is operating.
Well, the good thing is that the amount of water you put in your humidifier is enough to raise the humidity levels but does not significantly affect your water bill.
Why Does The Water In My Humidifier Turn Black?
The most common reason for turning the water black in a humidifier is the poor quality water that is used in it.
This is generally the case in desktop humidifiers that uses tap water in their reservoir tank.
As mentioned before, using tap water in a humidifier can leave back colored mineral deposits in the humidifier tank as the molecules of water get evaporated off.
These particles are the contaminants that are usually present in the regular tap water or hard water that comes directly from your supply.
The best solution to avoid these blackish precipitate deposits in your humidifier water is to use demineralized, distilled, or purified water.
Again, distilled water is considered the best water for humidifiers as it does not have any byproducts of minerals in it.
And since it is free from all types of minerals, it does not leave back the black deposits when it goes into the humidifier tank!
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.