Use of Humidifiers/Cool Mist or Warm?

@hopeful33250 Hi Teresa, cool mist vaporizers carry a higher risk of dispersing bacteria than the old-fashioned steamers. With lung issues, if I needed to use one, it would be hot.
You can reduce the risk somewhat by carefully cleaning and scrubbing the cool mist machine daily.

I use a cold air vaporizer for moisture, anything that deals with moisture will breed bacteria so daily cleaning is essential. As for warm air I think they are equally effective but not if you have a fever, I feel that warm air has more risk of bacteria but they can expand your respiratory system better, I guess it’s just a matter of preference or you can ask your doctor what they recommend.

@hopeful33250 Teresa, when water evaporates from a cool mist humidifier, it leaves behind any solid precipitate that was dissolved in the water. These operate by creating very tiny droplets to become mist. You would be breathing in those mineral solids into your lungs and it coats everything in the room with that. You can use distilled water which is created by boiling to create water vapor, and then condensing it back to liquid with lower temperature. Doing that does not take dissolved minerals with it.

There is also a mildew and mold issue with cool water. The hot vaporizer does leave minerals behind and will need cleaning routinely, but is a better choice for asthma.

@hopeful33250 @sueinmn @jenniferhunter @frouke - We used a warm mist humidifier years ago for our son and made an awful spot in his hardwood floor with that. Just a heads up to protect surfaces from the effects of warm mist. We finally got it fixed when we had our floors refinished in our previous home.

How would having a cool or warm mist humidifier, which I would assume you'd put in your bedroom, interact with a whole house humidifier? We just recently got a new HVAC, including a whole house humidifier.

@lisalucier We haven't used a vaporizer for many years, whole house humidifier took care of the need. And I actually use sterile nasal saline spray instead - it feels safer to me with multiple lung conditions.

@lisalucier

I am in an apartment where there is no ability for a central humidifier. There is carpet throughout, so no worries about damage to hardwood floors. I just need to keep the air humid during the night.

I’m also in a apartment with lots of carpeting and very dry air, I started using a vaporizer for my bedroom to help with moisture, I have several air purifiers to help with keeping the dust down, the vaporizer helps somewhat but not enough.

I am a mycologist. My experience with cool mist is that you have to clean them daily and thoroughly if you do not want mold and bacteria to grow quite quickly. I prefer warm mist. Depending on temperature reached spores can be killed. If worried about the floor put the humidifier on a pad or sheet of plastic.

The information is so varied online, it can be so confusing to say the least.

I find most of the information is based more on humidifiers than vaporizer, however the vaporizer is used less often, warm mist is better for breaking down mucus but pose risks for burns especially when dealing with children, also warm mist is not best when dealing with fever, both cold and warm mist can cause bacteria and mould if not cleaned daily, distilled water is best for cold mist reducing dust and minerals in the air. I also read that if you suffer from asthma you should ask your doctor first before using vaporizers, at the end of the day I’m glad that I entered into this discussion because I learned something new and now I feel better informed, this is why I enjoy coming here, thanks 😊.