Last Updated: February 27, 2024
Whether it’s a cold you’re trying to avoid or the dry, itchy skin: a humidifier is the best choice. By adding humidity to the room, humidifiers make the environment suitable for breathing. Your skin needs to have a certain amount of moisture, and because of low humidity, your skin can become dry and rough. The risk of cold, flu and, other infections is also there in such conditions.
There are signs you can look for, to determine whether you’re experiencing low humidity in your house. If you have chapped and cracked lips, dry and itchy skin and eyes, and itchy throat, you can conclude that the humidity levels are not ideal. Other than physical symptoms of low humidity, you can also look for dry furniture that’s cracking up, and static energy inside the house.
If you’ve encountered these symptoms, you may require a good humidifier.
There are a lot of different types of humidifiers that are available in the market for users. In this article, you’ll get to know more about the warm- mist type, and cold- mist type humidifier. The discussion will be about the basic differences and the applications of these two types. But first, let’s discuss a little about these two types.
What is a Warm Mist Humidifier
This type of humidifier can create a warm mist by heating up the water. By using the internal heating element, this humidifier type first boils the water and then creates fine vapors. When this mist exists the device, it adds humidity, as well as warmth to the room.
These devices are ideal for small rooms and do not serve larger areas well. An advantage of a warm mist humidifier is that since it creates mist by boiling the water, no waterborne bacteria or mold goes into the room. These devices are also a popular choice for people suffering from cold, nasal congestion, throat irritations, and other similar conditions. Warm mist humidifiers are different than the cool mist humidifiers due to the working mechanism. These are perfect for cold climates, and other than the coverage issue, these are ideal for anyone. Interested to know more? Here – some of the best warm mist humidifiers you can choose from.
What is a Cool Mist Humidifier
Cool mist humidifier is different from warm mist humidifiers primarily as it produces fine cool mist instead of warm mist. This works slightly different from the warm mist humidifier in terms of its working mechanism. Cool mist humidifiers have an internal wick filter that absorbs the water, and a fan is there to blow the air through this filter. There’s evaporation process which results in water getting evaporated, and this then goes into the room as a cool smooth mist.
Cool mist humidifiers are the ideal choice for larger areas. Unlike warm mist models, these devices release cool mist, instead of warm mist, and can effectively humidify large spaces. You can place these in your bedroom, your kid’s nursery, living rooms, and other such places.
Since a fan is involved in the working process, these units can be a little noisy. It is not the same in all the models, and some devices make minimum noise.
Now, let’s have a look at some of the differences between these two types.
Cool Mist Vs Warm Mist Humidifier (5 Major Differences)
1. Design
In terms of design, there’s not much of a difference between the two types, as they are available in different shapes and sizes. However, there are a few points that bring out the design differences between the two. Firstly, since warm mist humidifiers are ideal for smaller spaces, these tend to small in size. But, cool mist humidifiers are perfect for larger areas, and therefore, they can be sizeable in some cases. The warm mist humidifiers in cases of cold, and other such conditions, so they are shaped to be more efficient for those applications.
Warm mist types are also quieter. Cool mist humidifiers produce more sound while operating. Since cool mist humidifiers work by the process of evaporation, a fan is involved. This fan creates sound to a varying degree in various models, but the noise is there nonetheless. It is not the case in terms of a warm mist humidifier.
2. Working Mechanism
A warm mist humidifier is preferable in colder conditions and operates by creating warm mist for adding humidity in your space.
Inside warm mist humidifiers is a heating element that is responsible for the boiling of water. The water boils, and the warm mist is created, which is then goes into the room.
The warm mist type humidifier uses electricity for working and convert it into heat energy. Different models come with various features making operating these comfortable and safe. But the underlying mechanism is more or less the same in all of these models.
On the other hand, cool mist humidifiers are a little different. These operate by the process of evaporation. A cool-mist humidifier has a filter inside, which acts as a wick. The wick absorbs water that’s in a water reservoir. There’s a fan, which blows air through the filter, and the water is broken down into tiny particles, creating a thin mist. This mist then exits the humidifiers, and comes out and adds moisture to the room.
The cool mist humidifier consumes less electricity than the latter. However, because of the fan, these can be a little noisy.
In this type, there’s also the cool-mist impeller humidifier, which makes use of a motor that drives a small, rapidly spinning disc. This disc sprays water onto a diffuser at high speed, and the water is broken down by the diffuser into microscopic droplets. These droplets exit the humidifier in a mist form and humidify your room.
Impeller cool mist humidifiers are quieter than evaporative cool mist humidifiers and do not require filters.
3. Applications
A warm mist humidifier is an ideal option for cold patients with cough, sore throat, sneezing, and congestion. As these humidifiers produce warm mist, these are desirable to people who are living in cold areas. You can also use these for steam medications. After consulting with your physician, you can introduce the drops into the water. These will mix with the vapors, and you can inhale them.
Cool mist humidifier is also ideal for people with allergies and breathing problems such as asthma. If you like the sauna experience, cool mist type humidifiers may not be for you. But these are widely used since these humidify the space nicely, and are a safer option.
4. Safety
Although there are no issues with these humidifiers if used with care, cool mist humidifiers are still the popular choice among users over warm mist type humidifiers.
It is primarily because of the working mechanism of the warm mist type humidifiers. These work with boiling water and there is a chance of spilling or leaking, which can result in burns. It is an issue, especially among parents who want a humidifier for their kid’s room. To avoid accidents of any sort, parents prefer cool mist type humidifiers. The coverage of warm mist type is also small, so cool mist type is preferred because of that as well.
In the case of a warm mist type humidifier, you don’t have to worry about the airborne bacteria and mold. Thanks to the boiling of water, nothing harmful remains in the vapors that are produced.
Cool mist humidifiers, however, can be prone to mold growth, and mineral buildup. You have to use distilled water with the cold- mist type to ensure there is no problem with the resulting mist.
All in all, in terms of safety, a cool-mist humidifier is the safer choice between the two.
5. Pricing
Generally speaking, warm mist humidifiers can be pricier than the cool mist humidifiers. Also, the cool mist humidifiers consume less energy than the latter and are an efficient solution. However, there are no fixed criteria for pricing, and it depends mainly on the model you’re buying.
Final Word
Both warm mist humidifiers and cool mist humidifiers are ideal solutions to low humidity, but there are a few differences. Firstly, warm mist humidifiers are for those who like the warm vapors for their cold and understand the safety issues with this type. Warm mist humidifier is also useful for steam medications. However, these models cover smaller spaces.
Cool mist humidifiers on the other end can cover large areas and are equally efficient, and safer than the warm mist humidifiers. These also consume less energy than the former.
Based on the facts discussed in the article, you can determine which one of these two is the right choice for you.
Tip: Whatever you decide, after buying, you need to take good care of it. Here are a few pointers for you to ensure the durability of your device and your safety.
- The proper placement is the key to good coverage and safety. Make sure to place the device on a leveled surface, which is away from children’s reach.
- Be careful while using the warm mist humidifier, and do not spill to avoid burns.
- Do not stretch the wire, and always check if it’s plugged-in inaccurately.
- Use distilled water to avoid mineral buildup.
- Do regular cleaning of your humidifier to ensure cleaner air.
- While filling up or cleaning, make sure the device is unplugged.
- Do not add any medication in the water, without consulting with your physician first.