Easy-to-Use Humidifiers? - Skin Problems Message Board

Kaia_27 · 12-17-2003, 05:55 PM

My skin gets really dry and flaky in the winter. I bought a humidifier last year, but it's such a pain to use that I never use it anymore. You had to clean it with a bleach/water solution every week, then a vinegar solution, rinse it every day, run it w/o water to dry the filter several hours daily, replace the filter once a week so it wouldn't get moldy, and it still got moldy and yuck smelling after doing all that!

If anyone could recommend a humidifier that's easier to use than that, I'd be grateful! My grandma has a very simple one that you just pour water into and run it, and that's all you have to do. I looks kind of like a Vaporizor. She's had it for so long that she doesn't know where she got it. The ones I've seen at Kmart and places are like the pain-in-the-butt one I have, and $30-$40! I don't mind paying $20 if it will last me a long time. Any recs for me?

SMarie1981 · 12-18-2003, 09:46 AM

I just bought a Hunter humidifier from [removed] website. It should be arriving either today or tomorrow. It only needs to be cleaned once a season. I can't really describe the features it has but it is definetly, from my research, the most hassle free humidifier.

Kaia_27 · 12-18-2003, 02:44 PM

Thanks, SMarie - I'll have to check out that one!

j_tuc · 12-19-2003, 08:25 AM

I used to work at a drug store. It was years ago, so this may not still be on the market, I haven't looked at humidifiers in a long time. The brand name was Kaz. This humidifier was not ultrasonic. Those tend to be more high maintenence. It was the type that had a wheel inside that rotated at a high speed. This wheel picked up water and, using centrifugal force slung the water up against something, creating tiny droplets of water. The wheel also had a blower in it that caused a slight air flow through this area where the water droplets were. The result was a stream of fine water droplets blowing out of the machine. These machines were run in our store on display continuously. I had to clean the ultrasonic ones all of the time, but the Kaz models like I just described needed only to be kept full of water. With occasional rinsing out with mild vinegar solution.
Hope this helps.

Kaia_27 · 12-19-2003, 06:38 PM

Well, my mom gave me her old vaporizor to use to see if it helps. I guess it differs from a humidifier because it adds warm, damp air to the room versus cool, damp air. She's only used it when one of us was sick, overnight. So, how long should I run it to add dampness to my apartment? It says it's ok to run it 24 hours, but if I do that every day I'll be cleaning it very often - and its cleaning process sounds very complicated - Mason jar, screwdrivers, tongs (shudders at the thought). Anyone familiar with these things?