Like any machine or unit, humidifiers also require regular disinfection and basic maintenance to perform at its best. Luckily, it is easy to descale a humidifier. The process is simple and fast and it may get easier with frequent upkeep.
If you’re living in an area where winter season is dry and cold, investing in humidifiers for your house is one of the best moves you could make for indoor air quality and your health.
They are a good tool to have to help you fight for everything from static buildup around the home to the onset of the common airborne viruses and cold-weather ailments. They also even keep the skin dry once you crank the heat on. But, it is important that you should also consider descaling your humidifier.
How to Eliminate Limescale from Your Humidifier
Whenever the surfaces are exposed to mineral filled water for an extended period of time, there’s a possibility of hard water deposits or limescale developing. These can be challenging to eliminate, particularly when they happen on the unit’s interior components. If your humidifier can be disassembled, it may enable easy cleaning.
What You Need and the Steps to Remove Limescale
To remove limescale in your humidifier, you will need some things. These include a glass cup or bowl, water, dish soap, soft cloths, old toothbrush, white vinegar, and dull knife or spoon.
The steps to get rid of the limescale are easy and these include the following:
- Start by unplugging your humidifier. Do not clean any part of your unit while it’s plugged in.
- Clean your unit’s exterior with a soft cloth.
- Scrub away the white powder or limescale using a toothbrush.
- If there are some mineral deposits that can’t be wiped away with water or dish soap and water, soak a cloth with vinegar and wrap that around the affected areas.
- Let the vinegar set on the deposits for several minutes.
- Wipe loosened deposits away using soft cloth.
- Rinse with clean water thoroughly.
- If deposits are inside your unit, it might require disassembly. Not every humidifier may be taken apart, so you have to check its user’s manual to see what’s possible for your unit.
- If your unit can be disassembled, you have to look for the 2 sections, which include the power cord and heating unit.
- Get rid of any deposits using soft cloth and brush. A dull knife or spoon may also be used for scraping the surfaces clean.
- If deposits won’t come off, you should fill a bowl or cup with several inches of vinegar.
- Then, soak the affected areas in the vinegar for a few hours to overnight. Never immerse the whole unit in any water, liquid or vinegar.
- Wash away the loosened deposits with soft cloth and clean water.
- Rinse the areas that are newly cleaned.
- Once clean, let it dry using a soft cloth.
- Reassemble the unit in the same manner that you took it apart. Make sure that every screw is back in appropriate places.
- Repeat such cleanings every month for an excellent humidifier performance.
How to Decalcify a Humidifier
Adding moisture to air with humidifier may add particles you do not need including white dust and microorganisms. Hard water that has high content of minerals may clog the unit and make a white dust layer around your home. Usually, humidifiers are portable. However, other newer homes have centralized humidifiers as part of their HVAC system. Humidifiers may differ in size, but removing scale buildup or decalcification have similar procedures.
The Perks of Descaling a Humidifier
Even in high humidity climates like Bay Area, you might require a humidifier for indoors. Humidifiers put the moisture to the air, which benefits those who have dry skin or respiratory problems. When heat dries out the air or if the humidity is low outside, the humidifier will protect wallpaper from peeling as well as keeps wood and painted surfaces from cracking. Humidifiers help people who are sensitive to humidity changes and those who suffer from respiratory illnesses. Humidifiers can also prevent drying of furniture and static electricity.
Other Tips to Consider When Descaling a Humidifier
- Do not clean your humidifier while it is operating or plugged in.
- Other minerals in the water can cause container to turn brown or black. It doesn’t affect the steam’s purity. The minerals settle at the bottom and may be discarded when emptying water.
- If your humidifier can’t be disassembled to be cleaned, it should be replaced. There are some available replacement parts through the manufacturer and there are times that it can be cheaper to buy a new humidifier.
- Never try removing the electrodes or shroud for cleaning. These can’t be reassembled to the same conditions and you have to take note that such are set in factory.
- Never consider using CLR when cleaning a vaporizer or humidifier. One of the danger statements on the Material Safety Data Sheet on CLR says not to breathe mist or vapors, so using it in products that create mist or vapors isn’t a great idea. You may rinse out or wash the product thoroughly. However, there still might be some residues left.
- If limescale is something that causes inconvenience consistently, you can try switching to distilled water. This can help you deal with the buildup.
- There are liquids and tablets made to keep the minerals from building up on surfaces of humidifiers. If water has high content of minerals or limescale is a problem always, you must add such things to the water of your humidifier. There are some products for demineralization. Such products may be found online, supermarkets, hardware stores, and home goods stores.
However, before anything else, it is wise to know the use of humidifiers and the importance of cleaning them on a regular basis.
Usage Tips and Regular Maintenance
For great results, there are some steps you may take to make sure that you will get the most from the humidifiers.
- Rinse Out the Water Basin Before Using It
Before you turn humidifiers on for a day, you should make sure that you empty and rinse the standing water that’s left in there. This gets rid of any bacteria that might have started to grow in the unit. You do not need to disinfect it every day. Although it might not hurt, it’s great to add fresh water.
- Deep Clean Weekly
It is recommended that you do deep cleaning at least once each week when you are using humidifier regularly. This will make sure that the air you’re breathing isn’t compromised by bacteria and mold spores.
Why You Should Keep Your Humidifier Clean?
Keeping the humidifier clean is crucial for some reasons. First and foremost, it is a necessary task to make sure that your unit is working properly. Like some kinds of appliances, if you do not care for your unit properly, it will not last as long as it might and you will not get the money you have spent.
The most vital reason why you must keep your humidifier clean is due to the fact that if you don’t, you will risk spreading harmful mold and bacteria to the air. Without proper cleaning and disinfection, the water in the humidifier will only stagnate and sit there.
Once you turn your humidifier on without providing it a thorough cleaning, you risk the traces of the bad water released to the air and being breathed in by everyone in your home.
Not only it contaminates the indoor air quality, but breathing bacteria-laced vapour can result to different negative health symptoms. Such may include asthma attacks, lung inflammation, severe coughs, high grade fever, anxiety, loss of appetite, and shortness of breath. In most extreme cases that can be brought on due to long term exposure to contaminated air, you might start developing respiratory infections, lung disease or lung scarring.
Fortunately, all of those things can be avoided if you will spend some time cleaning your humidifier before you use it. Keeping your humidifiers clean is the key for reliable performance avoiding bacteria or mold buildup. You will not require a whole lot to make this happen.
Every kind of humidifier is engineered differently, but many include an operating base and water tank. If yours happens to have additional pieces, there is nothing you should worry about. Almost all plastic components may be cleaned in the same manner. All you need to do is to steer clear of the electronics as well as control panels to make sure that everything is safe.
It is also important that you follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer of your humidifier. Always consult the user’s manual or some documentation before you clean or disassemble your unit. Never forget to wear goggles and gloves when you are handling bleach or some harsh chemicals.
Reasons to Use Humidifiers
People living in a more moderate climate do not always need to worry about excessive dry seasons. However, if you are further inland, there is a great chance that extreme temperatures may introduce particular challenges in your home.
For those who don’t know, static electricity is prevalent at times when there’s little moisture in the air. It may be a season-long hassle for about anybody who wears clothes, makes use of anything metal or electronic or has hair.
A good way to stop the frizz, cling, and shocks is through adding moisture to the air of your home. Keeping a healthy level of relative humidity in your house will help break up stray electrons that cause static-related phenomena, which can make your morning preparation process much easier.
Limiting the static electricity isn’t the only benefit that may come from using humidifiers. The reasons such small appliances are so known during winter season for a variety of health and personal benefits offered for your family.
Humidifiers can offer relief for people who suffer from chapped lips, cracking and dry lips. These are also a good way to improve your home’s air quality, which makes it easier for people with breathing difficulties like asthma sufferers. Greater humidity levels in the air could make your house naturally feel some degrees warmer, which reduce the need to use a heater to maintain comfort.
Running humidifiers is a good way to protect yourself from wintery challenges. Typically, they are easy to use and more affordable compared to running the central heating system and they need basic upkeep to function in a proper manner. Once you spend a few dollars and get a reliable name brand unit, you may bet on long-term performance and service with right care.
To keep your humidifier working for many years, it is essential to follow a regular maintenance schedule and keep it clean. The last thing you like is to disperse the potentially harmful bacteria and mold to the air. Through following those guidelines, you can be assured that you will make most of your humidifier.
