Humidifiers

Mom2anAngel2

DS is 6 wks old and unfortunately we are dealing with a cold congestion. W have been bulb auctioning his nose, using saline drops and letting him hang out in the steamy bathroom. At times he is fine, but other times the mucous seems to had him. Thank goodness he does not have fever and has been eating just fine.
I was wondering if anyone uses a humidifier, and if so, do you use a warm or cool mist? I think I am going to get one today, but I am not sure which to get.

karma79

Cool mist humidifier!

I swear by that thing. It's on the must have list. I suggest getting one asap.

xleslieraex

karma79:

Cool mist humidifier!

I swear by that thing. It's on the must have list. I suggest getting one asap.

This. M even asks for us to turn it on for him before bed.

hopefulmom81

We use warm because it is my understanding that they only recommend cool for safety reasons and DD isn't able to reach the cord or the apparatus itself.

Cool mist humidifiers breed mold/mildew so you have to clean them and be very careful whereas that isn't as much the case for the warm ones. 

Mom2anAngel2

Thanks ladies! DH is on his way home from work and I have him stopping at target to pick one up.

Scooby2358

Our LO has also been a stuffy guy since he was maybe a month old. We run humidifiers constantly in the bedrooms and living room. We use the Procare ones from Walmart (I think they used to be ReliOn). They are around $25-$30 or so and work just fine for us. The filters do need to be replaced regularly and DH is extremely conscientious about cleaning the machines weekly with vinegar. We don't use warm mist for safety reasons, because we don't have a good place to put them that is out of toddler reach.

We also inclined his bassinet mattress, which seemed to help a bit. In fact, he's still in the bassinet because the crib mattress will be harder to incline.

Good luck with your LO's stuffy nose! It's so hard to hear them snorting away.

Junebug060609

hopefulmom81:

We use warm because it is my understanding that they only recommend cool for safety reasons and DD isn't able to reach the cord or the apparatus itself.Cool mist humidifiers breed mold/mildew so you have to clean them and be very careful whereas that isn't as much the case for the warm ones.nbsp;

I'm confused as to why a cool mist would breed more mold and mildew than a warm one. Isn't a warm, moist environment more prone to such growth? Maybe I'm missing something in how the humidifiers are constructed...

We only use cool mist. In addition to the safety concerns with them grabbing at cords, and they will ::mobile winky::, I have had a fire scare with a warm one in the past. Years back I had a warm mist one and one day smelled a burning smell. Turns out the heating element had melted the casing and was burning into the wood of the table I had it set on.

hopefulmom81

Junebug060609:

hopefulmom81:

We use warm because it is my understanding that they only recommend cool for safety reasons and DD isn't able to reach the cord or the apparatus itself.Cool mist humidifiers breed mold/mildew so you have to clean them and be very careful whereas that isn't as much the case for the warm ones.nbsp;

I'm confused as to why a cool mist would breed more mold and mildew than a warm one. Isn't a warm, moist environment more prone to such growth? Maybe I'm missing something in how the humidifiers are constructed... We only use cool mist. In addition to the safety concerns with them grabbing at cords, and they will ::mobile winky::, I have had a fire scare with a warm one in the past. Years back I had a warm mist one and one day smelled a burning smell. Turns out the heating element had melted the casing and was burning into the wood of the table I had it set on.

Because the mold/mildew grows in the water.  With a warm mist, the water gets hot enough to kill off the mold before it disperses into the air.  

"Although cool mist humidifiers do not have the danger of burns or fire hazards, there are concerns with these devices as well. If not properly cared for, cool mist humidifiers can harbor bacteria, mold and mineral deposits which they then disperse into the air." 

We have had both and the filter on the cool mist was DISGUSTING after just 4 days, so I can't imagine what was growing in it before we could visibly see it. 

adoxyinherear

When DD was sick we ran a cool mist humidifier all night in her bedroom. Hope he gets better soon!!

piedpiper07

hopefulmom81:

Junebug060609:

hopefulmom81:

We use warm because it is my understanding that they only recommend cool for safety reasons and DD isn't able to reach the cord or the apparatus itself.Cool mist humidifiers breed mold/mildew so you have to clean them and be very careful whereas that isn't as much the case for the warm ones.nbsp;

I'm confused as to why a cool mist would breed more mold and mildew than a warm one. Isn't a warm, moist environment more prone to such growth? Maybe I'm missing something in how the humidifiers are constructed...

We only use cool mist. In addition to the safety concerns with them grabbing at cords, and they will ::mobile winky::, I have had a fire scare with a warm one in the past. Years back I had a warm mist one and one day smelled a burning smell. Turns out the heating element had melted the casing and was burning into the wood of the table I had it set on.

Because the mold/mildew grows in the water.  With a warm mist, the water gets hot enough to kill off the mold before it disperses into the air.  

"Although cool mist humidifiers do not have the danger of burns or fire hazards, there are concerns with these devices as well. If not properly cared for, cool mist humidifiers can harbor bacteria, mold and mineral deposits which they then disperse into the air." 

We have had both and the filter on the cool mist was DISGUSTING after just 4 days, so I can't imagine what was growing in it before we could visibly see it. 

We stopped using ours.. Vicks cool mist.. Because there was a layer of white dust or something over everything in his room. It coated everything and you could literally write your name on the walls and everything. Was so gross. We used it for about a week straight and rinsed it out every morning.

karma79

piedpiper07:

hopefulmom81:

Junebug060609:

hopefulmom81:

We use warm because it is my understanding that they only recommend cool for safety reasons and DD isn't able to reach the cord or the apparatus itself.Cool mist humidifiers breed mold/mildew so you have to clean them and be very careful whereas that isn't as much the case for the warm ones.nbsp;

I'm confused as to why a cool mist would breed more mold and mildew than a warm one. Isn't a warm, moist environment more prone to such growth? Maybe I'm missing something in how the humidifiers are constructed... We only use cool mist. In addition to the safety concerns with them grabbing at cords, and they will ::mobile winky::, I have had a fire scare with a warm one in the past. Years back I had a warm mist one and one day smelled a burning smell. Turns out the heating element had melted the casing and was burning into the wood of the table I had it set on.

Because the mold/mildew grows in the water.  With a warm mist, the water gets hot enough to kill off the mold before it disperses into the air.  

"Although cool mist humidifiers do not have the danger of burns or fire hazards, there are concerns with these devices as well. If not properly cared for, cool mist humidifiers can harbor bacteria, mold and mineral deposits which they then disperse into the air." 

We have had both and the filter on the cool mist was DISGUSTING after just 4 days, so I can't imagine what was growing in it before we could visibly see it. 

We stopped using ours.. Vicks cool mist.. Because there was a layer of white dust or something over everything in his room. It coated everything and you could literally write your name on the walls and everything. Was so gross. We used it for about a week straight and rinsed it out every morning.

Whoa! That's crazy. I wonder why it did that. We have the Vicks and nothing like that has happened.

Junebug060609

My understanding is that the white dust is mineral content and can be avoided with distilled water. I realize I may be in the minority, but given my experience with a near house fire, we will not be using a warm mist in our home.

karma79

Junebug060609:

My understanding is that the white dust is mineral content and can be avoided with distilled water. I realize I may be in the minority, but given my experience with a near house fire, we will not be using a warm mist in our home.

I was thinking it was something to do with the water too.

piedpiper07

karma79:

Junebug060609:

My understanding is that the white dust is mineral content and can be avoided with distilled water. I realize I may be in the minority, but given my experience with a near house fire, we will not be using a warm mist in our home.

I was thinking it was something to do with the water too.

That makes sense. We have hard water here and it is softened with salt so that is probably what it is. I just wish the filter filtered that out. Also I have found the cool mist makes his room chilly so we just don't use any humidifier haha. 

hopefulmom81

Junebug060609:

My understanding is that the white dust is mineral content and can be avoided with distilled water. I realize I may be in the minority, but given my experience with a near house fire, we will not be using a warm mist in our home.

I think you are actually in the majority.  Most people use cool mist.  I am just completely freaked after seeing the black filter.

Eris-Alexis

We have a Crane cool mist humidifier and it is great.