Warm Mist Humidifier Guide

For coughs and colds, humidifiers can do absolute wonders. They can open up your airways, letting you breathe easier and keep you feeling a lot better than if you didn’t have one to begin with. Most doctors will recommend humidifiers for people suffering from the common cold, bronchitis, or any number of upper respiratory issues. Even if it’s a viral infection like the cold and won’t actually help kill the virus itself, the steam will make you feel better. Even if you have a little relief from a runny nose, cough, or stuffiness, it’s at least it’s something; every bit helps, doesn’t it?

Now, many doctors will recommend a warm mist humidifier for these types of ailments. The warm air is going to do a good job opening up your nasal passages and lungs better than cold mist would, all things being equal. But, is it really going to help that much? Well, remember that humidifiers themselves don’t really put out air that’s been warmed up. They specifically specialize in putting out cooler mist that’s safer to handle than the boiling steam that you can find when using vaporizers.

Cool mist humidifiers also put out air that hasn’t been heated. Using either the warm or cool mist versions isn’t going to make much of a difference: Both of them are going to be cool whenever the mist hits your nose anyway. But, here’s something you might like about a warm mist humidifier: You can usually add some type of medicine to the machine to put out there in the room. Being that the mist is warm to start, it does a better job at this than a cold mist machine. Most people use Vicks or some other type of soothing medicine to relieve symptoms when using warm mist humidifiers.

So, if you’re really interested in nice warm humid air in your room, you really might want to look into a vaporizer. We talked about vaporizers in one of our previous posts, so go check that out if you want some more detailed reading on the topic. Basically though, vaporizers are going to put out steam, not just a mist. Steam is extremely hot coming out, so a room filled with steam is going to give you a lot better symptom relief than an actual humidifier.

But what about your baby? If you really want to play things safe, get a cool mist humidifier. Do not use vaporizers when dealing with children unless specifically told to you by a doctor; you need to know what you’re doing first.

Related posts:

1. How do you clean warm mist humidifiers?