Humidifiers are great for putting moisture into dry air, which makes humidifiers susceptible to mold. Here’s how to clean a humidifier with mold in 11 steps.
Humidifiers are pretty neat, aren’t they? They turn water into a mist that increases the humidity levels in our home.
However, being that it works with water, it’s prone to developing problems with moisture — namely, mold.
Mold loves moisture; it grows in any area with high moisture levels. For this reason, your humidifier is a prime environment for mold.
If your humidifier is harboring mold, it’s spraying spores into the air you breathe. This puts your whole family at risk.
But don’t worry, we’ll teach you how to how to clean a humidifier with mold without getting rid of the unit itself.
How to Clean a Humidifier with Mold
With all the nooks and crannies in a humidifier, cleaning it is no easy task. What more if it has begun to grow mold?
You’ll need to kill the mold so it doesn’t come back. Learn how to clean a humidifier with mold by following the steps below.
1. Prepare What You Need
Prepare everything you’ll need beforehand to make this task go more smoothly. Don’t worry, everything you might need is likely to already be in your home.
You only need some basic household essentials, such as the following:
- Water
- White vinegar
- Bleach or Hydrogen Peroxide
- A toothbrush or any soft-bristled brush
- A towel or a sponge
- Clean towels
- Gloves and goggles
- Filter mask
You’ll only need about one to two cups of white vinegar, a teaspoon of bleach, and lots of water. The gloves and goggles are for protecting your skin and eyes. Bleach can irritate at best and blindness or burns on the skin at worst.
Use gloves that go up to your elbows for maximum protection. It also helps to wear long-sleeved clothing to minimize exposure.
As we’re dealing with mold, it’s also important to have a mask on while cleaning the humidifier. Inhaling mold can cause respiratory illnesses, headaches, and such. It can also trigger allergies, in which you may experience watery eyes, itchy eyes, coughing, and so on.
We also feel the need to advise you against running vinegar or bleach through your unit. The mist this will form might irritate your eyes and lungs.
2. Disassemble the Humidifier
Now that you’re prepared, it’s time to get your humidifier. Unplug it first and empty it if there’s still water left. Check out the manufacturer’s instructions on how to properly pour out the water.
Improper handling of the humidifier can cause moisture to enter the inner parts containing the motor and electrical components. When this happens, the parts may corrode and break down.
The pieces you’ll have to clean depends on your particular model. Whichever you have, disassemble all the parts you can. Remove the tank if it’s removable for easy cleaning, and don’t forget the air filter if your unit has it.
Try to remember which parts go where to make it easier to reassemble. Take pictures and take notes if you must.
Once you have removed all the parts, proceed to the next step.
3. Clean the Base with Vinegar
We’ll clean the humidifier with pure vinegar first. You can also use a mix with equal parts of vinegar and water.
Pour some into the base and fill every part that touches water. Swish it around to make sure the vinegar solution cleans every inch of your humidifier.
Even if you can’t see the mold, it has likely accumulated a good amount of grime. If you touch it and it feels slimy, that’s grime. That also means you’ve left it uncleaned for far too long.
Vinegar is an effective cleaner because it loosens up grime and dirt. It’s a great counteractive agent to buildups because of its acidity.
Vinegar also works as a disinfectant as it can inhibit growth and destroy bacteria. For this reason, it’s a natural deodorizer, too.
Once you’ve filled it with vinegar, don’t rinse it yet. Do the following step first.
4. Disinfect the Tank
In the absence of bleach, you can also use vinegar to clean the tank of your humidifier. Fill it with the solution and then put it back on the base.
However, we prefer using bleach, so if you have it, use a mixture of one teaspoon bleach to one gallon of clean water. Substitute 3% hydrogen peroxide for bleach if you want to. Use the same ratio.
Never mix vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and bleach, though. Use one or the other but never a mixture of two or three ingredients. Their combination can cause a reaction and create toxic fumes that can damage your respiratory system when inhaled.
Bleach alone can become dangerous when mishandled. Don’t forget to wear your gloves and goggles for this step. It will also help if you do this in a well-ventilated area so the fumes don’t stay as long.
When you have the proper protection, fill the tank halfway with your solution. If you can, swish the solution around to coat the insides.
5. Let the Humidifier Soak
Now the base is full of vinegar and the tank with bleach solution. Let them be for around 30 minutes to an hour. This allows the cleaners to break down the grime/mineral buildup and disinfect the surfaces.
Keep your eyes on the clock, though. Letting bleach sit on your humidifier for more than an hour may damage it.
While waiting, you can proceed to the next steps.
6. Clean the Other Parts
Your humidifier still has other parts you need to clean. If they’re removable, then you only need to place them into a basin filled with vinegar or a vinegar solution. Like with the tank and base, let them soak for the same amount of time.
Don’t forget the filter; it’s simpler to clean anyway. Hold it under cool running water to dislodge dirt and other impurities. Once it’s clean, put it away to dry.
Don’t use any solution to clean it. Chemicals might damage the filters to the point it will no longer work.
Check if your humidifier needs new filters, too. Some models need regular filter replacements; if you’re not sure, consult the manual and see if it’s time for a change.
7. Brush the Insides
After 30 minutes or an hour has passed by, pour out the vinegar and bleach solution from the tank and base. As a reminder, pour them out according to the manufacturer’s instruction. These solutions are even more harmful to the inside components than pure water.
Then, brush the interior to clear away all the grime and residue that the solution has dislodged. A toothbrush works well because it’s small, allowing it to reach hard-to-reach corners.
Any other types of brushes work well, though, as long as it doesn’t have hard bristles. The abrasiveness can damage the surface of the humidifier.
For even smaller places, use a Q-tip to remove the extra buildup. The advantage of this is you can fold it at an angle to get into the crevices.
However, you can’t reach the inside of the tank in some models. If you’re still seeing buildup, use rice with vinegar instead.
Pour the mix into the tank and then shake it with force. Let it stand for a few seconds and repeat if necessary.
Do this for all the parts you soaked in vinegar, too. Once you’ve made sure you’ve cleaned away all the dirt, it’s time to rinse the humidifier.
8. Rinse with Water
Rinse the base and the tank with water from the tap. If you used rice, make sure not even a grain has remained.
Again, be careful not to let water into the inner parts of the humidifier. If you want, you can use the same technique in steps 3 and 4. Fill them with water, swish it around, pour the water out, and repeat.
You’ll have to rinse several times to get rid of that vinegar and bleach smell. Don’t get tempted to use soap or another cleanser.
Water will do fine on its own, but you have to be patient. It may take plenty of water before the smell dissipates completely. This is the same for the smaller parts of the humidifier.
9. Wipe the Frame
Some parts of the humidifier, you can’t soak in vinegar or bleach. The frame is one of them, but they still need cleaning and disinfecting in case mold has already begun to grow on it. How do you clean such parts?
Take a towel or a sponge and then dampen it with a vinegar and water solution. Then, use it to wipe down every inch of the remaining humidifier parts. Pay close attention to crevices, and pass the cloth or sponge over an area several times.
The vinegar not only cleans and disinfects these areas, but it also prevents the growth of mold and bacteria in the future. Of course, this effect won’t last forever, so you’ll still need to clean your humidifier at regular intervals.
10. Let the Parts Dry
After rinsing, check for some dirt or buildup you might have missed. If you’re satisfied with it, then place all the parts over a drying rack or a piece of absorbent cloth.
Let them air dry; don’t rush it as moisture might stay in some of the nooks. Letting it air dry for a while will ensure all water has evaporated before you use it again or store it in a container.
Storing it with leftover moisture will only encourage the return of mold. The moisture won’t dissipate in an enclosed container, so it becomes a good environment for the growth of mold.
11. Reassemble the Humidifier
For best results, let all the parts, including the filter, dry for a day. When you’re 100% certain that it’s dry, you can now reassemble it.
The manual comes in handy here, especially if a lot of the parts are removable. If you took pictures and notes, refer to them when you’re stuck.
If all else fails, try to find instructions on the internet about your particular model. Don’t forget to install the filter.
Once reassembled, you may use it as usual; put water and start enjoying fresh, clean air with no smell nor harmful spores.
You can also store it away after letting it dry, but you must also make sure the storage is dry.
A cardboard box has better ventilation, so you won’t have to worry about moisture forming inside. Its disadvantage is that it has less protection from the moisture outside. In this case, plastic is much better as long as you don’t store anything wet inside.
Prevent Mold from Coming Back
You have now gotten rid of mold – crisis averted. What now?
Well, make sure it doesn’t come back by remembering to clean humidifiers much more often. Bear in mind that the mist it produces mix into the air we breathe. Any impurities, like dirt and mold, inside the water tank are hazards to our health.
Keep the humidifier dry and replace the filter according to the recommended interval. Deep clean it once a week using the steps above, too.
As an added tip, use distilled water whenever you can. It doesn’t have mineral deposits that can build up in your humidifier. When they build upon the filter or the heating element, they can cause it to work overtime and degrade faster.
You should also consider replacing your humidifier if it’s a few years old already. Check out https://www.everlastingcomfort.net/blogs/comfy-reads/clean-humidifier to see the best humidifiers in the market today. Old parts are more prone to stimulating the growth of mold.
Keep Safe and Healthy
Keep yourself and your family safe from bacterial growth by cleaning your humidifier. Not only will this keep you healthy, but it will also allow you to get the most value out of your unit.
Now that you know how to clean a humidifier with mold, get started on it now. Vinegar and bleach are effective solutions for mold. Your humidifier will soon be good as new as long as you follow our instructions to a T. That said, maintaining your humidifier is only the beginning. If you want more health and lifestyle tips like these, don’t hesitate to check out more of our guides right here. Get all your well-being tips today!