HUMIDIFIER VS VAPORIZER: WHICH SHOULD YOU GET

A humidifier helps to add moisture to the air in dry climates. It can relieve cold and flu symptoms. A humidifier releases cool vapours to increase the humidity in a room. There is a rapidly-turning disk submerged in water that creates these vapours. People often use this in dry climates to ease the discomfort and difficulty in breathing.

Variations

There are different types of humidifiers. Choosing the best humidifier depends on your needs and preferences. A central humidifier is something you can hook up to your home’s heating equipment. It receives water and humidifies the entire house. A tabletop or room humidifier is a smaller version that needs manual refilling. One variation captures all minerals and pollutants, and it is called an evaporative humidifier. Another type, an ultrasonic one, creates vapours using sound waves. Cool-mist humidifier is the most common type of humidifier. It has a spinning disk and is more affordable than others.

A vaporizer is a type of warm-mist humidifier that uses boiling water to create hot steam. It also adds humidity to the air, but it produces steam instead. A vaporizer boils water inside and emits hot vapours into a room. You can add inhalants to vaporizers, a thing you cannot do to regular humidifiers.

Variations

Although vaporizers are a type of warm-mist humidifier, it also has several versions. Portable vaporizers can be handheld while electronic ones need plugging into the wall. You can classify vaporizers by their way of heating liquid. They either do it by thermal conduction, convection, or thermal radiation.

Applications

Both a humidifier and a vaporizer prevents excessive dryness in the air. These devices also help lessen the build-up of static electricity. People also use them to relieve discomfort due to dry nose and skin. Both of them help prevent breathing problems caused by dry air and can alleviate symptoms due to allergies or the common cold, such as coughing and congestion. Asthmatic people or those with bronchitis find these devices helpful.

Choosing between the two devices is a matter of personal preference. A regular humidifier can humidity a room and keep the surrounding comfortable, but a vaporizer can humidify and warm a room. It is safer to use a humidifier around children who might burn themselves on a vaporizer.

Both of them are effective in their purposes, but you should watch out for the humidity in your home. Under- or over-humidification is not good. You should maintain the humidity level of your home around forty to sixty per cent. It will be damp enough to provide comfort, but not too humid for bacteria to grow.