Housekeeping
How to clean a humidifier to avoid mould
Photography, Cottonbro Studio, Pexels.com
Housekeeping
How to clean a humidifier to avoid mould
With the cold weather and heating on full blast, humidifiers are essential to any Canadian household.
Unfortunately, they can get quite gross — and quite fast.
Ideally, you should keep the moisture levels of your home at around 30% to 50%, but in the winter, they tend to drop, which is when we resort to using our trusted humidifier. But a dirty humidifier can actually cause more problems, especially if someone in your household has respiratory issues.
Stagnant water quickly develops mould and bacteria, and you don’t want to be breathing that in!
Here’s how you clean your humidifier:
Note: Always follow the appliance’s instruction manual.
Daily maintenance
Empty your humidifier whenever you’re not using it and leave it open to dry in order to avoid stagnant water.
Weekly maintenance
You should clean your humidifier once a week to remove limescale and mineral buildup.
- Unplug and empty your humidifier.
- Fill the base with a water and vinegar solution (1:1 ratio). Let it sit for about one hour; vinegar is a natural cleanser and will disinfect the unit.
- While the base is being treated, pour two cups of pure white vinegar into the reservoir, seal it shut and shake for a couple of minutes or until the workout becomes too much.
- Pour out the vinegar and repeat the process with plain water in order to rinse out any leftover debris.
- Once the base and reservoir are disinfected, clean out the exterior. Your humidifier is ready to use.
Monthly maintenance
We recommend doing a deeper cleaning of your humidifier once a month using bleach. This will get rid of bacteria and mould. Be careful to never mix bleach with vinegar.
- Mix one gallon of water with one teaspoon of liquid chlorine bleach. Some brands recommend using 3% hydrogen peroxide for this step.
- Pour about one-half to three-quarters of the solution into the reservoir and swish it around.
- Put the reservoir on the base and allow the solution to drip down. Let sit for 20 minutes.
- Pour the solution out and clean the appliance until the scent of bleach is gone.
- Wipe the humidifier dry and put the pieces back together.
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