During winter, it is essential to clean humidifier deeply and frequently too. All that water tends to make these machines grow mold and microbes. When these machines stay for long without being cleaned, they start pumping out bacteria alongside the mist, which is not quite healthy.
It is important to have the everlasting comfort cool mist humidifier turned off and cleaned at least once a week but increase the number of times it must be cleaned regularly if there is anyone who has respiratory issues. It is always good to follow the cleaning directions of the humidifier model. But there should be no stagnant water as it is a lodestone for bacteria growth, and no one wants bacteria being released to the air, especially those with health conditions.
What will be needed for the cleaning process?
Detergents or abrasive brushes should not be used in cleaning an everlasting comfort cool mist humidifier. Hence just put together the following things:
- Get distilled white vinegar.
- Liquid chlorine bleach
- Finally, a small soft brush – could be a toothbrush or a nylon dish brush.
Cleaning a humidifier
A comparable process can be used to clean both the cool mist and warm steam humidifiers though there may be some differences in the parts.
- The first thing will be to unplug and make sure the humidifier is fully disassembled
- Moving to the base and tank of the humidifier, drizzle 1 – 2 cups of unadulterated white vinegar into the water tank and turn it around so it can wholly wet the tank’s interior. There are some humidifier models that will commend a mix of white vinegar and water.
- When the tank is filled with vinegar, place it on the base and let the vinegar trench into the tank to slacken mineral build-up and let it sit for about 15 – 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, make sure to pour out the vinegar from the tank and base; using a small brush, scrub fissures and eliminate any sticky mineral remains.
- When it comes to small areas such as the tank cap, use a clean cloth or sponge soaked in undiluted white vinegar.
- Properly rinse all the parts of the humidifier well and air-dry it before reassembling them.
NB: Do not attempt to wash the wick filter as it can destroy the paper-like material and possibly get rid of the antimicrobial covering. If it happens, it will be better to replace the filter with a new one.
How to disinfect a humidifier
If a humidifier needs a deeper clean, using a bleach solution to aid kill persistent bacteria is the best option to follow.
- First, disassemble and clean the humidifier following the steps.
- Mix 1 teaspoon of liquid chlorine bleach with 1 gallon of water. Pour ½ to ¾ of the mixed bleach solution to the water tank so it can wet all the parts. Some models may advise a 3% blend of hydrogen peroxide and water for this procedure. If the humidifier has a second tank, follow the same with the leftover solution.
- Put the tank in the case and let the bleach solution ditch into the water reservoir of the humidifier. Let the mixture remain in these areas for 15 – 20 minutes.
- Pour out the bleach solution from the tanks or tanks and the base; make sure to rinse the parts with clean water till the bleach scent is gone.
- Wipe dry the parts and reassemble the parts and have a clean and disinfected humidifier.
