Evaporative humidifiers pull the dry air in from your home and blow out purified air with more moisture. These humidifiers work by blowing unheated air over an absorbent, wet material like a filter or a wick. An evaporative humidifier is great for the dry winter months or during seasonal changes when allergens are in the air. If you are looking into or intend to get one of these humidifiers, you need to consider placement. We gathered our research to present to you the best place for an evaporative humidifier in your home.
An evaporative humidifier should be placed in a location that is dry, firm, and flat. The ideal placement would be on a raised surface, such as a table or nightstand in a room that you use frequently.
Now you know the general guidelines when finding the right place for your humidifier. Keep reading as we discuss more tips and tricks for the perfect placement and answer if a humidifier will fill an entire room.
The Best Place For Your Evaporative Humidifier
There might be multiple locations in your home that follow the guidelines of dry, firm, and flat. You are probably wondering how to choose the perfect place for your humidifier. If this is your case, there are other pieces of information to consider to help you find an ideal space.
You should consider why you are getting an evaporative humidifier. Are you purchasing one to aid in the overall humidity levels in your home? Do you need one to help with a condition like allergies or asthma?
If you are purchasing to assist in a condition, the humidifier is most useful near your bed. For an overall humidity increase, you can periodically move your humidifier’s location, as the site is not as crucial.
Avoid placing your humidifier near vents or in areas where they are hard to access. If you have kids or pets, your device must get placed out of their reach. Some units are stand-alone or can attach to your furnace, which makes the placement a bit more straightforward.
Should A Humidifier Be On The Floor?
The answer to this question depends on what type of humidifier you have. Stand-alone units have been designed in a way where they can be placed on the floor, as they have wheels or a piece attached to lift them from sitting directly on the floor.
This pedestal-style humidifier here on Amazon is designed to be placed on the floor.
On the other hand, small units should not be on the floor. A humidifier on the floor can cause a tripping hazard, but it can also create mold build-up due to water backup. When in doubt, place your unit on an elevated surface at least 20 inches off the ground, but stay under 3 feet of elevation.
Learn more on this topic in our blog post, “Should You Put A Humidifier On The Floor?”
Why Do Humidifiers Make The Floor Wet?
Nobody likes a wet floor, especially if you have carpet. When you place a humidifier directly on the floor, and it is not a stand-alone unit, the mist coming out does not have the room to mix with the air. This mist will build up and leave you with a not-so-pleasant puddle.
Consistently wet floors can lead to issues such as mold, create slipping hazards, or warp your flooring. If you notice that there is a lot of water building up under your humidifier, there is an easy fix. You need to elevate your humidifier by placing it on a table, nightstand, or shelf. You can also lay a waterproof mat or cloth beneath your unit to catch any moisture hanging out there.
Does A Humidifier Fill The Whole Room?
How far a humidifier can reach depends on what kind of unit you have. Smaller units made to place on a desk or table have a smaller reach than a humidifier that attaches to your furnace or is a stand-alone. These larger units have been designed to reach larger spaces, like a whole room or house.
You can find a whole-home humidifier that attaches to your furnace here on Amazon.
If you want to fill an entire room, but it is a small room, you can stick to a smaller unit. You want to be mindful of smaller spaces, as too much humidity or moisture can lead to mold and other issues. Each humidifier gets specified by the square footage it can reach, which helps you purchase the appropriately sized humidifier for the space you have.
This humidifier, found on Amazon, can effectively humidify rooms up to 484ft².
Are you wanting to measure the level of humidity in the room more accurately? You can do this using a device called a hygrometer, which tells you the percentage of moisture in the room and the temperature.
You can get a hygrometer that connects to your smartphone here on Amazon
Does A Humidifier Make A Room Colder?
Evaporative humidifiers are labeled as cool mist humidifiers. Warm-mist humidifiers raise the temperature of a room and the humidity, so wouldn’t cool mist humidifiers make the room colder?
A humidifier can make the room feel a bit cooler, but it doesn’t change its temperature. As the cool mist touches your skin, it can make you feel cool, but too much moisture in the room can make you warmer. In high humidity, you retain body heat because it prevents you from sweating.
Read more on our blog post, “Should You Use A Humidifier In The Summer?”
Do Humidifiers Clean The Air?
A device that adds humidity while cleaning the air? Sounds great, but this is typically not the case. Air purifiers and humidifiers can get mixed up, but each device tackles a different issue in the home. Let’s take a closer look at the differences.
You can see an example of an air purifier with UV light sanitizer here on Amazon.
An air purifier cleans the air of pollutants, allergens, and other contaminants. Moreover, they combat many molds and odors, but they add no humidity or moisture to the environment. Humidifiers do not clean the air. Humidifiers release water vapors into the air to increase humidity in a room or home, which comes with its set of benefits.
Adding moisture to a room decreases drying, which can be great for your skin and respiratory system and help you sleep by reducing snoring.
Is It Bad To Use Tap Water In A Humidifier?
Tap water comes with many components to consider. The typical tap water includes minerals, vitamins, and some fortifying chemicals. Using tap water in your humidifier can leave you with an increase in white dust around the house and eventually build up in your humidifier. This build-up can subsequently affect the function of your device.
You can get away with using tap water in your humidifier, but there are better options out there. Using distilled water in your humidifier can prevent things like mineral build-up in your humidifier as well as your home. Distilled water is water without contaminants or minerals and can be purchased or made.
Learn more on our blog post, “Should You Use Distilled Water In A Humidifier?”
In Summary
Evaporative humidifiers can be moved around the house depending on where you need them most. Keeping those smaller units up off the ground will help your humidifier work efficiently, and you will decrease the chances of you having a wet floor. The best piece of advice is to have your humidifier where you need it most, rather than be near your bed or using a unit that will reach the whole house.
The size of the room or home you are working with will aid you in choosing the right size humidifier for your needs. We hope you found this article insightful when purchasing or placing an evaporative humidifier in your home.
Are you looking for more information before investing in a humidifier? Have a look at our blog post, “How Much Does It Cost To Add A Humidifier To Your Furnace?”