Did you know that installing a bedroom humidifier can greatly improve the quality of your sleep? Getting up to face the day after a sleepless night is a dismal feeling. Despite your luxe satin sheets, soft background music, and comforting hot chocolate, you just cannot drift off into that blissful land of sweet dreams.
When the air in your bedroom is very dry, it can cause a host of problems that may be affecting your sleep.
Dry air aggravates the nasal passages, throat, and soft palate. This can lead to coughing, congestion, and sinus headaches.
Dry air causes itchy dry skin, cracked lips, and dryness in the eyes, adding to discomfort during the night. Dry air can also have you tossing and turning next to a snoring partner for hours until you eventually give up and try to sleep on the couch.
A bedroom humidifier is simple to set up and need not cost a fortune. You will see an immediate difference in the quality of your sleep.
What does a bedroom humidifier do?
A bedroom humidifier increases the moisture content in the air. The amount of moisture in the air is known as humidity. An average home should have a recommended humidity between 40% to 60%.
This may sound complicated and, like most of us, you probably have no idea what the current humidity level of your home is. By purchasing a small, inexpensive device called a hygrometer, you can easily measure the humidity in a room.
Below 45% indicates dry air and above 60% indicates air that is too moist. See our post humidity, friend or foe for more information about humidity.
What are the benefits of a bedroom humidifier?
Increasing the humidity in your bedroom offers some meaningful benefits.
Restful Sleep
Humid air reduces dry throats and dry nasal passages.
This results in less coughing, unblocked nasal passages, and fewer sinus headaches, giving you a more restful sleep.
Reduces Snoring
One of the greatest benefits of humid air is that it increases moisture in the nasal passages and throat. This is a good way to reduce snoring.
Helps Teens with Acne
Dry air causes the oil-producing glands in the skin to overwork. This leads to acne. Installing a bedroom humidifier in a teen’s room can help with this unwanted problem.
Reduce Allergies
When the air in your home becomes very dry, dust, mildew, and mold particles dry up and float. Breathing in these nasties can cause illness, especially in children and the elderly.
Makes your Plants Grow
Do you have pot plants in your bedroom?
They will certainly benefit from moist air and will look healthier, happier, lush, and green.
Take credit for the magical touch of your green-fingers – the humidifier won’t get upset.
Energy-saving
Moist air feels warmer. You will find that you can turn down your thermometer, or use fewer heating devices. This can save you electricity in the long term.
Different types of bedroom humidifiers
Let’s look more closely at the different types of humidifier models:
Ultrasonic cool mist humidifier – These devices use ceramic plates that vibrate at an ultrasonic frequency. This process breaks up water and minerals, releasing tiny droplets into the air. Unfortunately, they also sometimes release what is known as ‘white dust’. White dust can settle on furniture and floors, meaning more dusting, which is probably not what you want. White dust may be eliminated by using distilled water.
Impeller humidifiers – This design uses rotating disks to throw water onto a diffuser. The process breaks up the water creating tiny drops that float into the air. Some models can be noisy.
Evaporative humidifiers – These models use a fan to blow air through a filter or wick, causing it to evaporate and send moisture into the air. The filters will need to be replaced from time to time, as they tend to attract mold, bacteria, and mildew.
Steam vaporizers – As the name implies – these are hot! As such, they are not suitable for homes with children. The design uses electrical power to heat water into a vapor that is expelled into the air.
What to consider when choosing a bedroom humidifier
Below is a summary of considerations, for more detail please check our HUMIDIFIER BUYERS GUIDE.
| You don’t want noise | The purpose of installing a bedroom humidifier is to sleep more peacefully. Having a noisy device will not achieve this. Keep in mind that Impeller humidifiers are the noisiest. |
| Warm or cool mist | Steam vaporizers are not a good idea if you have children or pets. They can be knocked over and cause injury. Look for a cool-mist device that is child-safe. |
| Easy to clean | Check that the machine is easy to take apart, clean, and put back together. Machines with filters can breed mold, mildew, and bacteria. These filters will need to be replaced periodically to maintain a healthy environment. |
| Size and weight | Should be small and compact. Choose a model that can stand on a side table, a table, a dresser, or a shelf. These models are usually lightweight and can easily be moved to other rooms if required. |
| Running time | You don’t want to have to keep filling up the water tank. The optimal running time is a 24-hour cycle, but this can vary depending on the settings you choose. |
| Cost | Set your budget before shopping and don’t get swayed by over-enthusiastic salespeople. |
| Helpful features | Look for models that are well-priced and offer many helpful features. Machines that shut off automatically when the water level is low, add to the safety factor. Some bedroom humidifiers come with a built-in humidistat. This measures the humidity in the air and automatically turns the machine off and on to maintain your pre-set humidity level. |
| Aesthetics | You are going to bed with a humidifier – well not exactly – but is it going to become an integral part of your décor theme. Look for beautifully designed devices that will enhance your space. Don’t settle for a machine that looks unappealing and clumsy. |
| Adding fragrances and essential oils | Ensure that the machine is designed for this. If not, you are sure to damage it. Models that can dispense essential oils do add a unique ambiance to a room. You can choose the oil to suit your mood – musk for romance, vanilla for a relaxing sleep, bergamot, and cedarwood for dreams of a seaside getaway. |
Don’t over-humidify your bedroom
After installing a bedroom humidifier, it is a good idea to monitor the humidity in your room for a few days.
Over-humidifying your living space can cause other problems.
Air that is too damp encourages the growth of mold, bacteria, and mildew. It can damage wooden furniture, window frames, and flooring.
You may be longing for a walk in a luscious tropical rainforest, like this one in New Zealand, but your bedroom is not the place to do it.
Summary
Having a humidifier in your bedroom will certainly improve the health of your family and uplift the ambiance of your home. However, there are many different models and features to consider to ensure you select the most suitable one. While at the same time thinking about your decor theme.
If this all sounds complicated, we are here to help. Browse our list of product reviews per room size.
Each review details the features and the pros and cons of the humidifier to help you make an informed choice.
