This is our guide on how to prevent humidifiers from getting everything wet.
A humidifier works by diffusing water and releasing it into the air in mist form. This moisture can often build up in things like furniture, drapes, and even walls, causing them to get wet.
The best ways to prevent humidifiers from getting everything wet include lowering the mist volume, relocating your humidifier unit to a different spot in the house, or even running a dehumidifier to deal with excess moisture.
When you’ve been reviewing humidifiers for as long as us, you get to experience every problem in the book.
Thankfully, we’ve also come up with a solution to just about all of those problems too, and we’d love to help you with yours.
Keep reading for more information on how to prevent a humidifier from getting everything wet.
How To Prevent A Wet Humidifier
There are a couple different things you can try to prevent your humidifier from getting everything wet.
Lower The Mist Volume Setting Of Your Humidifier
Generally speaking, if your humidifier is getting your walls, furniture, or clothes wet, it’s because the relative humidity of the room is too high. In that case, you should try lowering the mist volume setting of your unit.
Lowering the mist volume means less mist is produced over a given period. This leads to a lower amount of moisture in the air which will allow water vapor to dissipate quicker so that it doesn’t accumulate in any one spot.
Change The Location Of The Humidifier
Another easy fix for wet humidifiers is to just change the location of your humidifier unit.
Many people neglect humidifier unit placement, not knowing that it is one of the most important factors of humidifier use. In fact, placing a humidifier in the wrong spot can actually cause serious damage to your health and your house.
This method is especially effective if you notice the humidifier making everything close to it wet. If you place the humidifier too close to, say, your curtains, walls, or anything else, the unit won’t have enough space to effectively dissipate the mist.
When it doesn’t have enough space to dissipate, water vapor might settle on your walls, where it can cause the paint to start peeling, on furniture, where it can warp the wood, or even in appliances where it can cause short circuits and water damage.
When it comes to humidifier placement, we always recommend using the 3,2,1 rule: at least 3 feet away from you, at least 2 feet off the ground, and at least 1 foot away from walls and furniture.
This gives the unit more than enough space to effectively humidify a space while also preventing build up of moisture in any one spot.
It is also important to keep your humidifier away from any air vents. This is because the air coming out of air vents is usually much drier than the rest of your house.
If the humidifier is placed right next to an air vent, it might register lower relative humidity. This in turn can cause it to work harder and increase the humidity to uncomfortable levels or even get everything wet.
Turn Off The Humidifier
If it’s getting everything wet, odds are your humidifier has just been running for too long. If so, the humidifier might increase humidity to uncomfortable degrees. If left to run for extended periods, it may even cause everything to get wet.
Some humidifiers regulate the humidity, i.e. keep it at a constant level. But many don’t and can accidentally be left to run for longer.
Turning off the humidifier might be in order. In fact, you might feel uncomfortable because of the high humidity.
Still, it can be hard to tell if the humidity is too high. If so, check the relative humidity of your space. Humans are most comfortable at around 30%-50% relative humidity, and any higher than that feels uncomfortable.
A lot of humidifiers come with an integrated sensor that lets them measure the relative humidity and report it to you. If your unit doesn’t have that feature, you can get a hygrometer, a device that measures the relative humidity of a space.
Alternatively, your humidifier might have an automatic humidity control feature that intelligently humidifies the space to the ideal level. If your humidifier gets everything wet, turn on automatic humidity control.
Turn Off Automatic Humidity Control
We just sang automatic humidity control’s praises, so why are we telling you to turn it off all of a sudden?
Automatic humidity control uses integrated sensors to measure the relative humidity of a space, and then raise or lower it accordingly.
But like any sensitive internal component, these sensors can be finicky. It is possible that they are under-reporting the relative humidity, which makes your humidifier work harder and propel extra moisture into the air.
So if your humidifier is making everything wet, try taking back manual control.
Fix/Replace The Humidifier
It is possible that there is a fault in one of the components inside your humidifier, such as the diffuser, the nozzle, or even the fan. This might be causing it to eject too much water into the air and making everything wet.
Fixing the faulty internal components could prevent the humidifier from making everything wet. But if fixing or replacing the components is not possible, you might have to get a new unit altogether.
Clean The Humidifier
This is a last ditch effort, but definitely worth a shot.
Humidifiers need regular maintenance and cleaning in order to perform optimally. We recommend all humidifiers that get used regularly be cleaned at least once a week.
If the unit gets used more often, or at very high mist volume settings, it may require even more frequent cleaning.
If you’ve been neglecting the maintenance and cleaning of your humidifier, it could result in buildup of minerals and/or development of mold in the tank, the nozzle, or the filter.
These could lead to malfunctioning components, which we’ve already established can cause the humidifier to get everything wet.
So, before you write it off as a lost cause, clean your humidifier thoroughly. In fact, you should just do a full descale of the unit for good measure. This can be done using a cleaning solution made of 1 part 3% hydrogen peroxide and 3 parts distilled water.
Replace The Filter
Additionally, it’s a good idea to replace the filter, or just give it a wash if your humidifier uses a washable filter. The filter in your humidifier is responsible for regulating the flow of water to an extent. If damaged, the filter might become too porous and cause excess water to be released into the air.
Another common concern with humidifier filters is the build up of mold or mineral deposits, which can also impede performance and cause malfunctions.
Get A Different Humidifier
Ok, so this is the real nuclear option. It is possible that the humidifier unit you bought is just a lemon that doesn’t work all that well. If so, consider getting a new one that is higher quality. We have gone over buying advice for humidifiers ad nauseum, so you can check out one of our buying guides.
But generally speaking, you should get a humidifier from a reputable brand, and only get as much performance as you need; any more is just a waste of money. In fact, if the humidifier is too powerful, it is more likely to make everything around it wet!
Wet Humidifier FAQs
How Can I Prevent A Humidifier From Leaking?
If you notice your water pooling up around the humidifier unit, it might mean the water tank is leaking. If so, you have to replace or fix the water tank immediately to avoid further leaking.
If getting the humidifier fixed or replaced isn’t an option, we recommend putting a towel under it to soak up the water. This is only a temporary fix and the towel may need to be changed out every now and again when it fills up with water.
Will More Frequent Cleaning Prevent A Humidifier From Getting Everything Wet?
You might be tempted to clean the humidifier more often to prevent it from getting wet. And while cleaning a humidifier can help address leaking problems it’s not the ultimate solution.
In fact, you might be doing more harm than good by cleaning the humidifier too often! It is best to just stick to a regular cleaning schedule of once or twice a week, descaling once a month, and filter replacements as needed.
Will Placing A Humidifier Higher Prevent It From Getting Everything Wet?
We recommend elevating your humidifier at least two feet off the ground. This gives the mist more than enough space to dissipate around a room effectively and not build up in any one spot.
You can also place the humidifier a bit higher. But we don’t recommend elevating the unit much more than 4 feet off the ground.
This is because most humidifiers have their nozzles pointing directly upwards, and the higher elevation might lead to the humidifier propelling mist directly onto the ceiling or walls. This can cause the pain to start peeling and the walls to become waterlogged and warped.
