Vaporizers and Humidifiers: Adding Moisture To The Air

For comfortable living, moisture is essential. Heating systems in winter and air conditioners in summers deprive the surrounding indoor air of natural moisture. This lack of moisture leads to irritation and itching of skin and eyes. Lungs and the respiratory tract too require moisture to function effectively and stay healthy. Vaporizers and humidifiers are devices used to add moisture in the surrounding air. Simply put, a humidifier adds cool mist to make the air moist and the vaporizer uses hot mist to moisten the air. There are many types of vaporizers and humidifiers and they come in different sizes. Some are portable and tabletop models while others are fixed to your air conditioners and hot air furnaces. Humidifiers would be cool mist, impeller types or ultra sound types. Vaporizers would be steam type or warm mist type. People normally use the terms vaporizers and humidifiers synonymously.

Vaporizers vs. Humidifiers

The basic difference between vaporizers and humidifiers is that the former heats water to disperse hot steam whereas the latter disperses cool mist into the air. Both are helpful in reducing the congestions, coughing and colds. Pediatricians, in general, recommend humidifiers simply for the fact that hot mist may harm the children. Humidifiers may encourage growth of mold and bacteria in water reservoirs, which may be unhealthy on inhalation. Cool mist may further aggravate your child’s asthma. Water that is boiled for vaporizing will not harbor any bacteria. Also, warm air holds moisture better than cool air. Many people find warm air much soothing in comparison. Vaporizers do not have any moving parts but a heating element. Small portable or tabletop vaporizers usually have an aromatizer for adding herbs, or similar additives. Generally speaking there is hardly any difference between vaporizers and humidifiers. The choice is entirely yours.