How Often Should You Clean Your Home Humidifier?

Home humidifiers are available in portable console models, tabletop and whole-home systems that attach to forced-air ductwork. How often you should clean your home humidifier will depend on its type and frequency of use.

Cleaning a Console or Tabletop Humidifier

Console and tabletop humidifiers add water vapor to your home to keep you comfortable all year-round. If your humidifier isn’t used frequently, stored water may harbor mold and bacteria growth. Ideally, your humidifier’s water supply should be changed daily. If you don’t use your humidifier every day, don’t leave water in it. Just add water when you’re preparing to use the unit. Generally speaking, however, cleaning is recommended every one to two weeks.

Cleaning a Whole-Home Humidifier

A whole-home humidifier works automatically at regulating indoor humidity levels. A whole-home humidifier should be cleaned, maintained and shut down at the end of the season if it’s no longer being used. To clean your humidifier, pour one cup of cleaning solution into the drain bin to prevent mold, bacteria and algae growth in the bin and drain line.

Filter Replacement or Cleaning

Evaporative cool moisture, warm moisture and ultrasonic humidifiers (i.e. console and tabletop) use different types of filters depending on the model. Whole-home humidifiers generally contain a disposable media pad or permanent mesh filter.

• Evaporative cool moisture humidifiers typically use replaceable wick filters, which should be replaced about every two months.
• Warm moisture humidifiers may use a mineral absorption pad, which should be changed every two to three weeks.
• Ultrasonic humidifiers contain demineralization cartridges, which should be changed according to the manufacturer specifications.
• Whole-home humidifier disposable media pads should be discarded at the end of the heating month, and a new one should be installed at the beginning of the next heating season.
• Permanent mesh filters should be cleaned with humidifier cleaning solution or vinegar.

At Sobieski Services, Inc. our goal is to help our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey learn more about energy and home issues – especially HVAC and plumbing issues – so that they can save money and live in healthier, more comfortable homes.

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