Vaporizer Vs Humidifier

Let’s start out by defining what each of these appliances are:

  • hu·mid·i·fi·er/(h)yo͞oˈmidəˌfī(ə)r/

  • Noun: A device for keeping the atmosphere moist in a room

  • va·por·iz·er/ˈvāpəˌrīzər/

  • Noun: A device that generates a particular substance in the form of vapor

The purpose of both of them is to humidify the air.  The purpose of having a humidifier is to ease pains and problems caused by dry air such as if you suffer from chronic nose bleeds, dry lips, sinus pressure, or asthma.  A humidifier or vaporizer is also used commonly when a baby is in the house as to keep them from experiencing any of these problems that will keep them and the parents up at night and help prevent the baby from getting sick.

This happens a lot during the winter.  The dry air also feels much colder than moist air.  It requires about 40%-50% humidity to feel comfortable for humans.  The dry air can also lead to drying of the wood in the home causing bending, warping, aging, and creaking of floors and stairs.  It’s best to keep wood at a constant moisture to prevent warping and deterioration.

Now let’s go into detail of each one, delving into the pro’s and con’s.

Humidifier

The most common type of humidifier is the evaporation humidifier.  It takes cold water and wicks it up onto a spongy filter that holds as much water as it can absorb, which is fed from a basin.  A fan then blows over the sponge and moisture is consequently put into the air.  This is a self regulating type of humidifier as well.  The higher the relative humidity the harder it is to put more moisture into the air, so at a certain point the mechanism that makes it work stops working, preventing over humidifying of the room.

If you’re here reading this then you probably don’t have a humidifier hooked up to the HVAC system in your house.  This is a built in humidifier linked to you heating and cooling system so the house takes care of it itself.

So here are the pros:

  • Self Regulating
  • Popular = Cheap
  • Cold Water (no boiling)

Now let’s move onto the vaporizer

Vaporizer

A vaporizer works by boiling the contents of whatever you wish to vaporize into steam and spraying it into the room.  It is a very simple process but there are a few problems here, and this is the crux of the purpose of this argument.  Obviously to boil water you’re going to have some pretty hot surfaces going there, and if the purpose of the vaporizer is to make a safer environment for a child this might be the best way.  If it’s for adults only then it probably wont be a problem.

Also this is not a self regulating system, it will just keep going until you turn it off.  Some are regulated by moisture sensors.

Let’s list the pro’s here

  • Ummmm…

Not many, you might be able to find one that is dirt cheap because it is a less popular item but at such a low price that quality wont be the best.

Conclusion

We see no reason to choose a vaporizer over a humidifier.  The vaporizer vs humidifier debate has been laid to rest.  The humidifier is self regulating and requires no parts to be heated up to over 100 degrees which can burn anyone, not only children. 

Safety Tips

The water will be at room temperature at most times so it is wise to keep the filters clean because this is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria.  The bacteria can be spread around the room by the fan, so while it can help keep you healthy but can have the opposite affect if kept unclean.