Humidifier and vaporizer

http://www.google.com/products?q=vicks+vaporizer&btnG=Search+Products&scoring=pd
http://www.stacksandstacks.com/appliances/humidifiers-dehumidifiers/
http://www.google.com/products?q=warm+humidifier&btnG=Search+Products&show=dd

I've used all basic types for years.

Cool mist will not heat up the room. These are either paper filter with fan or ultrasonic. A cool mist seems to cool a room, which is not something I want in the winter time.

I personally like the extra heat of a warm mist because the whole house can be lower temp at night while we sleep in a room with a warm mist. Seems like that would save energy overall.

I DO NOT like the kind with a paper filter--Cool Mist type. You must add the chemical to the water each time to inhibit the growth of mold on the filter. This is a pain and seems like a waste with the filter, etc. Also, this must have a fan to draw the air through the filter, and that means noisy. As it gets older the fan will get noisier.

Ultrasonic - I love this idea. I used one from a friend many years ago from some place like Hammacher Schlemmer or something and it worked great. I then bought an ultrasonic with a pink colored tank from Sunbeam (?), but this one didn't work as well. The main problem was
heavy condensation on the floor after a night of use. Ultrasonic is the quietest (although I don't know if some of them have a fan, therefore noise, but if you do find one with a fan you might want it because I think the fan would move the moisture into the air and avoid the condensation problem). I'm sure it's a physics problem to get cold water molecules into the air with as much loft as heated water molecules--but then I'm not a physicist.

I like the noise of the boiling water better than a fan. It sounds more like a waterfall. That's just one more reason to like steam humidifiers/vaporizers.

Steam units come in the cheaper $12 variety which are great if you need it to be cheap.
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/601-1809699-8268116?ASIN=B000ILHMRK&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B000ILHMRK|Vicks_1.5Gallon_Vaporizer_with_NightLight_V150&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B000ILHMRK&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001

Pay attention to number of gallons the tank holds as this affects the amount of time the unit will run through the night (an important factor, see below). If you use it nightly, plan for it to burn out in one season/year and replace it next year. By burnout I simply mean "not work anymore." Depends also on your water minerals content as they do build up. You can make it last longer by following the vinegar clean regimen, but I find it difficult and wasteful of vinegar because of the way you have to submerge the unit in vinegar. I do NOT like to deal with cleaning and filling these as they are bulky to get under a faucet and unwieldy when filled with water. I suggest plunking down $30 for the larger tank variety.


Vicks Warm Mist Humidifier
http://www.drugstore.com/qxp85433_334918_sespider/vicks/warm_mist_humidifier.htm
http://www.target.com/Vicks-Warm-Mist-Humidifier-V-745A/dp/B000ILFPVA/ref=sc_ri_2/601-1809699-8268116

This 2-gallon Vicks is the one I have right now. I actually own 2 because I liked it. Works great to give you a full night of steam. Also has a cup for medications and I assume you COULD put essential oils like eucalyptus in it. I like the easy way to fill the tank and see how much water is
remaining. FILLING THIS TANK IS EASY in the bathtub.


You might notice if you sleep in a room with humidifier that in the early a.m. hours if the humidifier runs out of water that you wake up with sinuses just as dry as if you had not run it at all. That's because the house furnace will run most in the early a.m. when it's coldest, so any humidity added to the air in the early part of the night will just get taken out of the air very quickly by the furnace. The lesson here is that if your humidifier is not making it through the whole night til you wake up in the morning, then just turn the humidifier on later in the night, say just before you go to bed or during a nighttime breastfeeding or nightwaking time. You should be able to get through the night with any humidifier (even the $12 Vicks kind) if you start it at 11 p.m. You might run out of water if you are adding salt (again, with the $12 steam type like the Vaporizer) and if it is boiling too rapidly.

I also have a whole house humidifier. Can't remember how much these cost. $60? $200? But, for me it's totally worth it. Without it my skin is unbearably dry and so are my sinuses. With it, I don't have to run a room humidifier every night. The unit gets installed onto your furnace and needs a small water line going to it. A crafty hubby can install it (mine did anyway). We install one immediately onto any home we move into. Remember to turn it off when you use air conditioning. This also needs a new filter about 2x per year due to mineral buildup (it's a metallic filter). Can buy this at Home Depot. This keeps a baseline humidity in our house. The wood floors shrink very noticeably without it running. With it running, they still shrink a little during
the winter due to drying. Sometimes I still run humidifiers in our bedroom at night, esp. when someone is sick or during very cold weather when the furnace runs more.

I have done periods of time when I had to saturate the air in order to get through that dry period during the early a.m. with the furnace running. Problem here is that the windows get very wet. It was a pain, but eventually I accepted that I just had to make it a morning routine
to wipe down the windows so that damage wasn't being done. It can drip down and even get onto your drywall. The black mold is very difficult to remove (I never used chemicals on it). Do NOT use vinegar on the mold. Molds can thrive in an acidic environment.

No matter which one you use, be sure to aim the jet of moistened air away from furniture and walls and do some testing to see if things are wet in the a.m.

You will be buying extra vinegar to clean the steam unit. You can get a big jug at Costco.

CHILD SAFETY TIP:
The $12 variety of Vaporizer has a VERY hot contact point which is exposed and easy to have little ones burn themselves. Not so much a problem with a baby in a crib, but a big problem for any child within reach of it. Again, another reason to like either a cold mist (which I don't like), or to compromise with the warm mist (see above or again at this link:
http://www.drugstore.com/qxp85433_334918_sespider/vicks/warm_mist_humidifier.htm
The reason here is that while a steam burn is possible, it's not as likely. There isn't a direct contact point with the heating element. There is a taller plastic chamber on the left side of the unit and the steam travels up it so by the time it reaches the top it is already mixing with some air. It would be unlikely but possible for little hands to reach down further but I have never had my kids do that, because I've taught them the word "HOT" at an early age. However, all units need to cool down after shutoff to be safe as they will have hot water in them. I found that the larger Vicks Warm Mist Humidifier -V-745A I've felt safer with, while the $12 vaporizer feels really unsafe to me. Even the fan on a cool mist makes me nervous. The Ultrasonic seems safest since there's no fan and no boiling water.

I've used a waterproof crib pad on a dresser with an additional towel on top of that and then the unit on top of that. However, I was sleeping in the same room and always mindful of it and kept the cord blocked by the dresser. Having the removable tank for filling was a big bonus because I didn't have to unplug the unit each time like you likely would with a $12 vaporizer.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Amanda Date: Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 9:19 AM
Subject: Re: [motheringcircle] humidifier
To: motheringcircle@yahoogroups.com


Just one note on ultrasonic humidifiers - if your child has asthma or you suspect may have asthma, you may want to avoid ultrasonic humidifiers. Ultrasonic humidifiers break down the water molecules ultra fine and therefore can be breathed deeper into the lungs. The issue is that broken down with that water are also small pieces of particulate (minerals, etc) that are
found in water that can irritate sensitive lungs. As an asthmatic child they always recommended having humidifiers going to keep the bronchial tubes moist so my parents decided to invest in an ultrasonic one year. That year I had pneumonia 5 (yes FIVE) times. The 5th time landed me in the hospital for a week. Nearly the first words out of the specialist when he came in to investigate why I was suffering from pneumonia so much was "do you have an ultrasonic
humidifier at home?" I am not sure if things have changed a lot since then but at that time they highly advised against an ultrasonic humidifier for people with lung issues such as asthma. Just thought I would through that out as food for thought.

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UPDATE:
Here's a link from Google Ad as "#1 Humidifier in Europe":
http://www.venta-airwasher.com