As the winter season approaches, it is likely that you will want to get your humidifiers out and running in your home. Humidifiers are a household items that can literally enhance both your own wellbeing and the wellbeing of your home.
Some of their many benefits include reducing the spread of germs, keeping your skin hydrated, alleviating allergy symptoms, and even helping prevent snoring. This device has really changed the game when it comes to keeping healthy during the colder months – in which many of us tend to be prone to getting sick.
Not only are humidifiers good for your health, but they also are experts at balancing out the perfect amount of humidity in the air. When the air we breathe is well balanced, we will naturally be healthier as a result, regardless of the time of year.
But it is important to also remember that when it comes to humidifiers, you will want to be diligent with keeping them clean. Otherwise, your comfort tool can quickly become transformed into a pool of bacteria and mold—which you certainly don’t want to be dispersed into the air.
Before you start stressing, we’re here to tell you that cleaning a humidifier is not nearly as hard as it sounds. In fact, all you have to do is follow some of the below tips consistently and you can always breathe easy so that your air will be clean and beneficial to your health.
1. Gather Up the Essentials
There are some top cleaning items that you will want to store up so that you can always clean your humidifier. First, you will want access to clean water that is good for rising. You will also want to gather up some white vinegar or citric acid powder, which will help get rid of any mineral buildup in the humidifier. Of course, you’ll also want some bleach to disinfect the humidifier. The final item you’ll need is a scrubbing brush to get rid of all the bad stuff that may have built up in between cleans.
2. Set Aside Twenty Minutes Per Week
Next, you will want to set aside at least twenty minutes a week to give your humidifier a good clean. In reality, you can make this part of your larger weekly cleaning routine so it becomes second nature to you. In fact, you can set up the humidifier to soak while you clean another part of the house and then come back to rinse and dry it all out.
3. Let the Water Tank Dry
One of the most important ways to avoid mold from growing within your humidifier is to ensure that the water tank has a chance to actually dry. So when you set aside time to soak your humidifier with the cleaning solution, take the water tank out and let it dry for at least half an hour. The key here is that you do not want the water tank simply sitting in water in between uses, as this is when bacteria can start to grow.
4. Rinse All the Pieces Individually
Another tip when it comes to really clean out your humidifier properly is to take the time to clean each piece of the humidifier individually. This means that rather than just letting the humidifier soak all together, each piece gets equal love in getting cleared out extensively. Doing so is not going to add any real time to the cleaning process. If anything, it will simply make it more efficient.
5. Wipe the Tank with Vinegar
The water tank is the most important part to really flush out with vinegar and bleach. So spend some time rinsing and scrubbing yourself. You really won’t need a lot of vinegar and bleach to make a lot of progress. In fact, only a few tablespoons will get you real results. A pro tip with this is that after you clean it, let the humidifier run for a little bit so that the smell of vinegar does not stick around.
6. Wash Your Filter
Another important component of the humidifier to clean out is your filter. The filter is extremely important for catching any minerals or build-up and prevents it from getting dispersed into the air. But too much build-up can make your filter a bit slimy and even brown. Avoid using any chemicals to clean the filter. The goal should be to get the build-off to come right off during the soak. If not, you may want to consider getting a new filter replacement.
7. Buy from Trusted Brands
Of course, one of the most important tips when it comes to cleaning your humidifier with ease is to get a humidifier from a trusted and reliable brand. That way it is already designed to make cleaning low maintenance.