Where Should I Put My Humidifier – Best Location For Humidifier
The correct level of humidity ensures comfort and well-being for you and your family. The chilly air of the winter can irritate your skin and lungs, making it difficult to stay inside. A humidifier is your one-stop solution to those dry air problems. By adding moisture to the air, these nifty gadgets make breathing easier.
While humidifiers can be the perfect gadget when the weather is too cold, their placement plays a key role in overall effectiveness. Unless you’re an expert on the subject, understanding where and how to place such gadgets would be generally confusing.
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General Placement Factors for Humidifiers
The average Joe struggles with where to put humidifiers so they can deliver comfort 24/7. Should it be on your nightstand? How far do you place it from the bed? Is it safe to have one near the baby’s crib? Today, we answer all those questions and much more. By the end of this guide, you should know exactly where to place your humidifier based on room and condition.
If it wasn’t clear already, the humidifier’s placement is equally important as its strength and size. A strong, large humidifier will only be as effective as the location.
Typically, you would want to consider three of these in where to put a humidifier.
Proximity to Objects
At the core of a humidifier, lies a tank of water. The gadgets add moisture to the surrounding air through this. Thus, it’s crucial to keep the humidifier away from things that can react negatively when in contact with water. The excess moisture from the humidifier will condensate on close objects.
Plus, all humidifiers run the risk of slight leakage. As a rule of thumb, keep the humidifier away from electronics and all wooden objects that are prone to water damage. Also, remember that the tanks on portable humidifiers need to be refilled, so they must be accessible.
Airflow
The airflow has to be adequate for the humidifier to infuse moisture into the air. Restrictions will cause additional moisture buildup in a constricted area. The humidifier should be placed away from air vents and windows – these could mess up the readings.
Room Size
Consider the size of the room that needs to be humidified. A bigger space like a living room requires the humidifier to be placed in a central location so the moisture can be spread evenly throughout the air. In addition, the size of the humidifier matters in covering the whole room.
Safety
If you’re using a humidifier in your home, safety should be another one of your primary concerns. After all, it’s much more important than convenience. A warm mist or steam humidifier isn’t the best if you have small, curious children in your home. They get hot and can inflict burns if not handled properly.
Rooms to Put a Humidifier
Simply put, a humidifier should go in a room that needs humidification. But, it’s not that simple. If your house is spacious with an open floor concept, the humidifier should be located somewhere the people generally gather. That means, if people like hanging out in the kitchen, the humidifier will be best off in the kitchen.
Use a hygrometer to find out the humidity level inside your home if you’re not sure. To do this, all you have to do is place the hygrometer in any room and wait for about 5 minutes. The reading shows up after that.
It’s best to keep the humidifier in the room that houses the humidifier. Many portable humidifiers don’t come with their own humidistat, giving you no way to tell the reading inside the room without using an additional gadget.
During the winter, the relative humidity should be about 30% to 50% – a good balance between not too wet not too dry air.
Where to Put Humidifier in Bedroom?
Bedrooms are amongst the most common locations where people place a humidifier. The general person spends a lot of time in their bedroom. Who wants to wake up in the middle due to itchy skin or dry sinuses?
In this instance, keep in mind that the humidifier has to be placed at least 3 feet away from your bed. Although you want the moisture from the gadget, inhaling the moisture directly from the humidifier isn’t great for your health.
An even better place for the device is on the floor or on top of a shelf away from the bed. Ensure the humidifier can’t cause any damage if there’s a leak. In case your floor is carpeted or your shelf is wooden, you can place the humidifier on a plastic tray before putting it down. This will catch the excess water and stop it from damaging the surroundings.
Some people use an ultrasonic humidifier. These ones have to be placed in an elevated location off the floor. This stops the mist from collecting on the ground. As long as the mist doesn’t hit your face directly, you can put the ultrasonic humidifier on your nightstand.
For instance, under no circumstance should you place a warm-mist humidifier too close to your bed. Their mechanism depends on boiling water. You can imagine the many accidents you could be setting yourself up for when the device is within close reach.
Should Humidifier Be Close To Your Bed?
For the most comfortable experience, keep the humidifier 2-3 feet away from the bed. You can also place it close to the floor but at least two feet over it. Make sure it’s on top of a non-metallic surface.
Refrain from bringing it too close to your bed or on the nightstand. An excessive mist dispersed can clog your senses, making it harder to breathe. In short, just place it in a convenient place that helps the humidifier keep the air moist. Allow a decent distance to get a little relief from cold and sinus congestion.
Where to Put Humidifier in Living Room?
Keep a humidifier in the living area as this is an excellent way for all the family members to enjoy the soft air. You don’t need to be super calculative about the placement in this room since everyone is alert. Still, there are a few considerations that will optimize its service.
First of all, bring out the hygrometer and find a place that’s not vulnerable to water damage. Maintain distance from technology, wooden furniture, and electrical sockets.
You must also consider the size of the humidifier against that of the room. Too big of a humidifier is as bad as too small of a humidifier. If the humidifier is too bulky for your small living room, it will produce excessive mist, making the environment too moist. This can lead to mildew and mold.
Over time, an environment like this can make you sick, more so if you have allergy problems. In large to medium rooms, the humidifier can be placed anywhere. The machine will spread the vapors evenly, keeping the humidity at a favorable level.
And lastly, the thing to keep in mind is that you can’t keep a humidifier near a vent or radiator. The heat from a nearby source can alter the readings on the machine. So, if your humidifier features an in-built hygrometer, it will show a lower result since the low-humidity air seeps in from the vent.
As a result, the machine will process the reading and run much higher to make up for the deficit. More mist is created than what’s needed. This is why it’s best to keep the gadget centrally.
Where to Put Humidifier in Nursery?
Humidifiers work for babies as they do for adults and children. You must locate the spot where the necessity for the moisture is most.
If your baby is slightly older, avoid keeping the humidifier on a nightstand close to the crib. They may mistakenly knock it over or even bring it into the crib if they wake up during the night. The best location is a dresser kept on the other side of the bed.
Avoid placing it on the nightstand near the crib if your baby is older. When they wake up during the night, they may knock it down or even pull it into the crib. If you have a dresser opposite the bed, then that’s perfect.
Once the machine has been turned on, leave the door half open. Why? Because the air could get too moist, making the environment damp which isn’t good for the baby.
We recommend you get a humidifier that doesn’t make too much noise. Most models make noise or hum, but some produce gurgling or loud gulping sounds, more than enough to wake your baby up.
Where to Put Humidifiers for Plants?
Instead, place the humidifier somewhere where it won’t wet your plants directly. The mist will combine into the air well and increase humidity. And as you can guess, don’t keep the humidifier on the floor if you don’t want to be wet all the time.
You have to purchase a humidifier strong and large enough to provide comfort for the entire room and that should be enough. Whatever model you get, make sure to scan the instruction manual for the appropriate room size it can accommodate. An oversized humidifier works but a small one won’t be effective for bigger rooms.
Where to Put Humidifier When Sick?
Even if you’re not regular with your use of the humidifier, being sick is the perfect reason to bring it out. The steam produced from humidifiers has an effect similar to a warm, steamy bath. Warm, heavily moist air can help open sinus and nasal passageways.
A warm mist humidifier could do wonders for sinus problems, severe congestion, and similar flu or cold symptoms. Although you shouldn’t directly inhale the warm air from a humidifier, we recommend keeping it close to your bed when you’re sick. It’s accepting and can have a relieving effect on your sense. Keep it close but at least three feet away.
Best Place to Put Humidifier in 2-story House
The best place to put a humidifier is a middle point in the house, regardless of the square footage.
If the room doors stay open for the most part, it can be kept in the hallway. Houses today feature more of an open concept, so there might even be a hallway. That’s when you keep the humidifier in a room where its need is the greatest.
What Surface to Put Humidifier On?
Users often struggle with the choice of the surface when deciding on where the put humidifier in a room. Locating the gadget on the floor or the table depends on the situation in front of you. Large humidifiers shouldn’t go on a stand or table, especially if you have small children or pets that could pull it down.
But again, it’s not that straightforward. There needs to be a protective layer between the humidifier and the surface such as a tray or any other waterproof material capable of catching spills and droplets.
If you have toddlers or pets, keep the humidifier out of their reach. Make sure they can’t access any buttons, let alone push them.
However, whenever you can, place the device higher. Not only is this safer in a few instances, but it also ensures an even mist distribution. In particular for cool-mist humidifiers, the more the height, the better their performance. The droplets discharged by the device need time to infuse with the atmosphere. If it sits on the floor, chances are, the droplets will drop without proper evaporation.
If you don’t own a table that would hold a humidifier, consider investing in a little plastic table. Don’t want to do that? No worries! Alternatively, use a cloth or towel underneath the machine.
Due to the mist distributed by the device, the surrounding floor may get slippery. Be extra careful if you have carpets or wooden floors susceptible to mold.
Should a Humidifier Be on the Floor?
No, humidifiers shouldn’t be placed on the floor.
To function properly, humidifiers must be able to distribute the air evenly across the entire room. This means the humidifier should be capable of disbursing an equal amount of air throughout the entire room from the floor to the ceiling.
However, due to gravity, humidifiers fail to properly spread the air toward the ceiling. This becomes noticeable when the humidifier is placed on the floor. So, they should be placed at least 2-4 feet off the ground.
Can I Put a Humidifier on the Floor?
Yes, you can put a humidifier on the floor, but you may not get the best possible effect. Low placement will lead to uneven distribution of air and mist across the room. As discussed previously, humidifiers fail to spread the air high upwards due to gravity.
So, putting the humidifier on the floor will lead to an uneven distribution of air. Therefore, you should put the humidifier at least 2 feet above the floor.
Bottom Line
Now that you know where to put the humidifier, you will experience improved comfort when the weather is too cold to bear.
Humidifiers are great for multiple reasons, so we suggest getting one for better breathing.
