Humidifiers are an essential appliance to have in your home, especially if you live in a cold and dry region.
So, if you are planning to buy a humidifier and are worried about the best place to put it in your baby’s room – this article is for you.
But before we get to the meat of the matter, let’s help you with a quick answer.
How Close should Humidifier be to Baby
Place your humidifier three feet away from the baby’s bed/crib. Put the humidifier where the mist can disperse easily in the area you want to humidify without the moisture accumulating on surfaces. Position the humidifier at least two feet from the ground with a water-resistant tray below it.
Understanding The Importance Of Humidifier And Correct Moisture Levels
The main purpose of using a humidifier is to increase the humidity levels in your room.
But do you know why it is important to regulate the moisture levels?
Low humidity causes many health issues such as;
- Breathing problems, especially if you are already suffering from respiratory conditions such as bronchitis or asthma.
- Cracked skin
- Rashes
- Allergies. Check out our guide on the best dehumidifier for allergies
- Skin irritation
- Chapped lips and nasal problems like nose bleeding and sinuses
How Do Humidifiers Benefit Your Baby?
If your indoor moisture level drops low, it can cause even more problems for babies than adults. Babies’ skins are super sensitive. And the same goes for their respiratory system.
For these very reasons, a humidifier is essential for your baby’s room during cold weather or if you live in a relatively dry region.
Humidifiers ensure that your baby breathes comfortably and prevents baby rash plus dry skin.
A child’s skin needs to be moisturized, and using a humidifier helps with that.
This brings us to the next important question – as you don’t want to take any chances, what should be the right position of a humidifier in your baby’s room?
Let’s find out.
Where to Put a Humidifier in Baby’s Room| How close should humidifier be to baby?
You need to consider many things before finding the best place for the humidifier for your baby’s room.
We’ll break it down into simple, step-by-step points.
-
Distance from your baby’s crib or bed
It’s best to put the humidifiers a few feet away from the baby’s crib or bed.
Keeping it too close to the baby isn’t good due to direct water mist or vapor exposure.
It doesn’t matter whether you use a cold-mist, warm-mist humidifiers, or ultrasonic humidifier; keep them 3 to 4 feet away from the baby’s sleeping spot.
Some humidifiers also produce mild noises when operating, which might disturb a child’s sleep.
Note: An exception to this rule is if your baby has a cold and uses a warm-mist humidifier.
You may want to place the humidifiers a little closer to the baby’s bed at night. But this is only a temporary measure.
Once the baby feels better, you no longer need to place the humidifier close to them.
-
Positioning in the room
The best way to ensure even distribution of the moisture is to place the humidifier at the room’s center.
You can set the table at the center of the room and put the humidifier atop it.
We recommend that you also cover the table with a water-resistant cloth or material so that the mist or small water droplets released don’t damage the table’s surface over time.
If you are unable to keep the humidifier at the center of the room for any reason, you can sort out a place somewhere close to the center. But don’t keep it towards the side or edges of the room.
The moisture won’t spread out as widely and evenly, thus reducing the efficiency of the humidifier. Also, please keep it away from areas in the room that are directly exposed to sunlight.
Another thing is to make sure that the table or furniture you place the humidifier on is not wobbly.
Make it as sturdy as possible and fasten it to the floor if required so that your baby doesn’t accidentally topple the table along with the humidifier.
-
Height from the ground
The humidifier should be at such a height from the floor where the baby can’t reach it.
Kids are curious; you don’t want them getting their hands on the humidifier. So place it at least 2 to 3 feet above the floor.
You won’t need to worry about the height when the child is an infant and incapable of moving around independently.
But you will need to place it higher as the baby grows older.
Placement Depending On The Type Of The Humidifier
-
Ultrasonic Humidifier
An ultrasonic humidifier is prone to forming dust from the fine mist of the humidifier.
It is highly recommended to use distilled water and ensure that this humidifier is not placed too close to your baby to prevent covering them in mist.
-
Steam Vaporizer
A steam vaporizer is one of the best humidifier choices, as boiling water can kill bacteria and viruses.
But these humidifiers tend to be very hot and can even burn your child. Ensure to place steam vaporizer 4 feet away from your child. The height should be ideally kept beyond your baby’s reach as well.
-
Warm Mist Humidifier
A warm mist works the same way as a steam vaporizer except that the steam is slightly cooled.
Thus, these humidifiers are less risky but should still be positioned away from your child.
-
Evaporative Cool Mist Humidifier
Although a cool mist humidifier does not pose any burn risk to your child, they should still be placed far away from your child to prevent them from getting covered in mist.
Cleaning and Maintenance of Humidifiers
A dirty humidifier can be extremely unhealthy for your baby.
The best practice is to clean the humidifier in your baby’s room every day, if possible.
If not, you should still clean it every 2 to 3 days at most. Here are some important tips on the maintenance and cleaning of humidifiers:
- Pour water and vinegar into the humidifier’s base and let it stay for about half an hour.
- Clean the insides of the humidifier by scrubbing it gently using a soft brush.
- You can use a little bit of bleach to disinfect the base of the humidifier.
- In the case of cool mist humidifiers, they have a filter, and it should be immersed in water and vinegar solution for about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Thoroughly rinse all parts of the humidifier and let them dry properly before reassembling.
- Always use filtered and distilled water inside humidifiers to prevent minerals build-up.
If you leave the humidifier unused for a long time, follow the same cleaning instructions above.
Bad Placement to Avoid
- Do not put your humidifier close to a vent.
- Don’t put the humidifier near any electrical outlet.
- Don’t let cords cross your path as you risk tripping.
- Do not put the humidifier near or on any heated surface, e.g., radiator.
Quick Summary and Some Final Notes
To sum up, you should mainly focus on three things when placing a humidifier in your baby’s room:
- Keep it a few feet away from your baby’s crib or bed.
- Place it at or near the center of the room for best effects; avoid placing it towards the edges and near walls.
- Place it at such a height that the baby can’t reach it.
As an additional note, we also recommend using a humidistat along with the humidifier.
In fact, many humidifiers come with built-in humidistats, which is even better. A humidistat measures and displays the moisture level to help you get better control over your humidifier.
Humidity levels of more or less 50% are appropriate for babies.
Using a humidistat will help you understand when to turn the humidifier on if the levels are dropping low or turn them off if levels rise beyond 60%.
Follow the tips and instructions in this guide so that you can find the perfect spot for placing a humidifier in your baby’s room, ensuring good health and comfort for them.
So, what are your views on this? Where do you place a humidifier in your baby’s room? And if you want to go the natural way, you can try a DIY humidifier to combat dry air in your baby’s room.
