So I am guessing that you’ve stumbled upon here to try to find the best humidifier for babies. First off, congratulations on having a baby! If you are not having a baby, congratulations on being an amazing person buying an amazing and helpful gift. If you’re neither of those, well, congratulations on just being you. In order to help you pick out the best humidifier for babies, we have done our research to create an informative guide that should narrow down your search to find that perfect humidifier for babies (or for adults)!
As we all know, the humidifier in the baby’s room is a very important decision and should not be taken lightly. Your baby is very sensitive to the air around them and the extra moisture in the air from the humidifier can help in a number of different ways. That is why we will first begin discussing the benefits of humidifiers for babies.
Benefits of Humidifiers For Babies:
- Protecting Baby’s Skin:
The most important reason that parents prefer to have a good-quality humidifier in their baby’s room is that it provides protection against dry air. This is especially true in the winter months when the indoor air is especially dry due to the heating system. When heaters are turned on, indoor humidity can drop to less than 10% (when in fact, the average home should be 20%-30% in the winter and up to 40%-50% in the summer). With the drop in humidity, viruses can grow more quickly, which cause a baby to get sick more easily. Think about it this way, most adults have sensitive skin- imagine a baby’s skin if it is not properly taken care of.
A humidifier also helps to protect the baby from other dryness issues that are caused throughout the year such as chapped lips, dry eyes, and itchy skin. These can all irritate babies no matter where you live, but especially are common in colder climates.
- Fighting Against Cold and Illness:
Humidifiers can be used as preventative tools to help babies feel more comfortable if they are feeling cold or if they show flu symptoms. Since they have a rough time adjusting to the dry air caused by the heater, the humidifier moistens the air around the room to provide the baby with a less ‘dry’ feeling. This typically alleviates some of the irritation around the throat, nasal tubes, and the nasal passages.
Misconception: Many first-time parents believe that they will only need a humidifier if the baby is sick. This is actually a misconception. A humidifier also helps babies sleep better (sick or not). The lack of moisture actually makes babies and small children uncomfortable in their sleep.
- For the Baby’s Voice:
As we develop, our vocal cords need humidity to help us feel comfortable talking. Imagine a very cold day or a very warm/dry day- how difficult it is to talk when there is almost no humidity. Now, it is the same for a baby. They have very sensitive vocal cords and need an ample amount of humidity in the room in order to feel comfortable sleeping, making noises, crying, etc… otherwise, it will feel sandy to them and can be really unpleasant.
Types of Humidifiers for Babies:
When choosing the best humidifier for babies, you have to first understand the types of humidifiers offered in the market. There are two types of humidifiers that are regularly available for purchase. The third option would be in-duct humidifiers, which are humidifiers that are installed within the actual air ducts of the home. Though this may make sense for home renovations/purchases, we will not go very far into detail with this option. The two types of humidifiers for babies are:
- Cool Mist Humidifier for Babies:
The cool mist humidifier does not have a heating element that allows the water to be heated up. The largest advantage of having the cool mist humidifier for babies is that there is no risk of the baby or child to get burnt by the machine when they get too close to it. Though this is unlikely to happen, there is always a chance that the baby gets too close to the warm mist and hurts themselves.
Parent tip: If you will not keep a close eye on the child or will not have the humidifier out of reach of the children, we recommend the cool mist
General tip: Cool mist humidifiers do not do anything to make the mist any cooler- they just use room temperature water so the mist feels ‘cooler’ on the skin.
- Warm Mist Humidifier for Babies:
Warm mist humidifiers heat the water with a built-in heating element. The humidifier boils the water into steam. This actually sterilizes the water so that fewer bacteria can be spread across the room.
Another name for the warm mist humidifier is vaporizer. As mentioned above, there is really no major difference between the warm mist humidifier and the cool mist humidifier aside from the heating element. They are built in nearly the same way and produce a similar mist function.
Some parents have sworn by the vaporizer (warm mist humidifier) to warm the air and keep their babies feeling more comfortable in the dry air. Others have shied away from the product due to the risk of hot water accidents.
- The Ultrasonic Humidifier:
Working of ultrasonic humidifier
This humidifier is the most modern type of humidifier and is typically highly recommended for babies. It uses high-frequency sound waves to vibrate the water, which creates mist. These humidifiers are typically the quietest because they don’t have a fan at all. Also, they have demineralized cartridges that have to be replaced every few weeks.