If you’re new to humidifiers and especially cool mist humidifiers, I’m certain that you’ve asked yourself a number of times what do cool mist humidifiers do? If you live in one of the warmer parts of the country, you know just how important it is to have a quality air conditioner or humidifier installed in your home or place of business. For those who live in colder climates, such as Northern Europe and Russia, this isn’t the case. Plenty of businesses and homes in that part of the world do just fine without a humidifier or air conditioning system installed for one simple reason – the majority of the year, they don’t need them. It’s simply a different climate. But whether you live in Southern California, Florida, Mexico, or even Southern Europe, you know what it’s like to have to deal with oppressively hot summers. Whether your summers are incredibly dry or horribly humid, you know that come summertime, you’re going to want to make sure that you have a quality air conditioning system in place, to say nothing of individual room fans.
That said, you also know that those might not always be enough. If you suffer through hot dry summers, you know all too well what it’s like to walk into a room that feels like an oven, even with the AC or fan on full blast. That’s due in no small part to the fact that, even if you cool a room down with a fan, you’re not making sure that it has the necessary amount of moisture to keep it from feeling dry.
That’s why cool mist humidifiers are so important. So, what are they, and how can they help?
Cool Mist Humidifiers 101
First things first – a cool mist humidifier, just as the name would imply, is a type of humidifier that works by releasing a cool bursts of mist into the air. They are able to do this by utilizing an internal wick filter, as well as an internal fan system, the latter sending cool air onto the former, which then releases the cooled air into a space in the form of a fine mist. This combination can prove incredibly effective when it comes to adding some much-needed moisture to the air in large spaces, such as offices or larger domestic rooms.
It is worth noting that these systems can sometimes produce a fair amount of noise. This is due in part to the fact that, because cool mist humidifiers rely on the fan system to disperse the mist throughout a large area, those fans have to be powerful, which can naturally lead to their making noise. That said, many systems have ways to combat this.
Medical Reasons
It’s more than “just” a desire for “creature comforts” that compel people to look into cool mist humidifiers. Being exposed to overly-hot, overly-dry environments for a protracted period of time can be extremely hazardous to your health. It’s just one reason that leaving small children and pets locked in hot cars can prove extremely dangerous, if not outright deadly. Again, it’s not just the heat – it’s the lack of moisture. You never want to have part or all of your home or place of business feel anything like that, making cool mist humidifiers lifesavers – potentially literally.
Even if things aren’t that dire, cool mist humidifiers can help you combat a variety of everyday issues that you might otherwise experience when stuck with hot, arid rooms, including:
- Chapped lips
- Dry and itchy skin
- Irritated sinuses
- Bloody noses
- Sore throats
Size Matters
One thing to consider when trying to determine which cool mist humidifier is right for you is the question of size. As a general rule, the larger the room, home, or place of business you’re trying to cool and humidify, the more powerful of a humidifier you’re going to want. Conversely, you want to be careful about overdoing it and placing more powerful humidifiers in small, enclosed room. This can lead to a room feeling too cool or overly moist, even to the point of making people ill. That said, as long as you pay close attention to the size ratio, a cool mist humidifier can be great way to effectively cool and moisturize the air in large spaces in which that might otherwise be difficult.
Warm vs. Cool Mist Humidifiers
These humidifiers are often compared to warm mist humidifiers. Where their cool mist counterparts work, as stated, by having fans blown on an internal moisturized wick, warm mist humidifiers work by instead boiling materials internally and then blowing that air out of the system and into the space. While that can prove useful in some circumstances, as a general rule, cool mist humidifiers tend to work better in larger spaces, whereas warm mist humidifiers are strictly reserved for single small rooms.
For our purposes, it’s worth pointing out that part of the reason that cool mist humidifiers are popular has to do with that “cooling” factor. While both systems have their pros and cons, that combination of cool air with an internal wick can prove incredibly effective for helping keep the air both cool as well as moisturized. As such, for areas that experience extremely hot summers, as well as larger spaces, they are the clear choice.
Putting the Two Together
Of course, it’s fair to say that there are situations where both traits might be desirable. After all, for as hot as the weather might be in your area, unless you live in the tropics or somewhere else that’s hot year-round, for as hot as any given summer might be, eventually winter will come (and not a moment too soon). That’s why one of the most popular trends among humidifier designers is actually to take the best of both worlds and create warm and cool mist humidifiers that are capable of both functions. This can be great for those looking to buy a single humidifier and then use it as needed. Not only does this allow you to use your humidifier in a variety of different conditions, it also allows you to save money by being able to buy one type of humidifier instead of two. In just about any industry, versatility is key, and that’s certainly true here.
Cool and moisturize the air in your home or business with a quality cool mist humidifier today.
