Humidifier growing mold--HELP!

[littlehoneybee]

I've had it with cool mist humidifiers! This is the second one I've had to chuck after only a few months use. I faithfully change the water everyday, clean the tank/tray and use one of those metal antimicobial inserts and I still see what looks to be black mold inside it.

How much use do you get out of cool mist humidifiers? Are the warm mist ones better at controlling mold growth?

I'm so sick of having to throw these things out and I worry about DD inhaling mold. Any suggestions?

[Addy's Mom]

What kind of water are you using in it? I have no trouble with mine using tap water, but maybe you could use distilled water, which is often recommended.

[BfBobby]

How are you cleaning it?

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by littlehoneybee

I've had it with cool mist humidifiers! This is the second one I've had to chuck after only a few months use. I faithfully change the water everyday, clean the tank/tray and use one of those metal antimicobial inserts and I still see what looks to be black mold inside it.

How much use do you get out of cool mist humidifiers? Are the warm mist ones better at controlling mold growth?

I'm so sick of having to throw these things out and I worry about DD inhaling mold. Any suggestions?

We invested in a good one.

[littlehoneybee]

I've been using tap water and cleaning with watered down bleach as per the instructions.

Mom61508, a better reply would have been to tell me which machine you use. I came here for helpful answers, not sarcasm.

[dachshundqueen]

Originally Posted by mom61508

We invested in a good one.

I haven't had much luck with humidifiers either. Neither the expensive ones nor the cheaper ones seem to perform with any stellar achievement rating around here.

I actually have to soap the whole thing out and scrub it down regularly, and they still don't seem to last very long.

Does yours have a replaceable filter - is the mold perhaps lurking there and while you're cleaning the dickens out of it you're not able to get what's living in the filter?

Liz

[littlehoneybee]

Dachshundqueen, I change the filters at least once a month because we have such hard water. I don't see any mold on them.

Thanks for letting me know I'm not the only one with this problem.

[Addy's Mom]

Originally Posted by littlehoneybee

I've been using tap water and cleaning with watered down bleach as per the instructions.

Mom61508, a better reply would have been to tell me which machine you use. I came here for helpful answers, not sarcasm.

I've got a Holmes room humidifer from Sears, FWIW, that's been working fine for the past 3 winters. It's not this one, but similar.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...ist+humidifier

I clean it once weekly, and replace the filter once monthly. When I haven't been as good as I should be on cleaning and don't have extra filters, it gets a funky smell that I can't seem to get rid of. I have set it in a room away from people, filled it halfway with water and a couple of tablespoons of bleach, and have run it until it was dry. This cleaned the filter itself and possibly the fan/motor area that I can't reach well.

I understand people may not want to try this method, because it does throw dilute bleach into the air. But our house is set up that I can do it in an unused room with no cross ventilation to the rest of the house (a garage would be good, too, or even outside if it's not too cold or raining). I just wanted to list another possibility for trying to get rid of the mold problem.

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by littlehoneybee

Dachshundqueen, I change the filters at least once a month because we have such hard water. I don't see any mold on them.

Thanks for letting me know I'm not the only one with this problem.

you are not alone!! I just threw out a Vicks cool mist humidifier I had had about 6 months. I cleaned it regularly as well. I have had better luck with re-lion humidifiers in terms of mold.

[nataliachick7]

Ive had much luck with a $30 crane humidifier in the shape of an elephant from target.
In fact, i have left it sitting for weeks with water in it (gross i know) and it didnt get any mold.
I clean it with either vinegar or bleach.
BTW, i hate vicks humidifiers, ive had bad luck with those.

[luv-my-boys]

Originally Posted by mom61508

We invested in a good one.

um, really I dont think its a matter of expensive or cheap brands. I have had a $150 humidifier with horrible mold issues and a $25 dollar one we wore out because we used it so much that never had a hint of mold.

It really depends on how the machine is made to work. like if it has tons of little cavities where mold can go unseen/uncleaned. I would use distilled water and about 1x a month run a vinegar/water cycle and let it steam out. Like another poster recommended but I did do mine outside. I used very very diluted vinegar. and then would use a new filter. We have allergies and that is always an issue here. I also found that if I would frequently allow it to air dry a few times as opposed to have it always filled/running for all the winter months it helped. Not sure if it did but I did it anyway. for example I got pretty good at judging how much water it needed to run at night and then would only put that much water in and then allow it to air dry completely open in the morning/day hours. I would swish out at night and put the water in and start all over again.

Sorry I cant remember what kind I had but I do know its no longer available because I contacted the compnay (homiomedics?) so I'll be lurking to see what others say.

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by nataliachick7

Ive had much luck with a $30 crane humidifier in the shape of an elephant from target.
In fact, i have left it sitting for weeks with water in it (gross i know) and it didnt get any mold.
I clean it with either vinegar or bleach.
BTW, i hate vicks humidifiers, ive had bad luck with those.

That's promising. I just got the one shaped like a frog for my son's room about 2 weeks ago. Ill keep my fingers crossed.

[ASusan]

Originally Posted by luv-my-boys

I also found that if I would frequently allow it to air dry a few times as opposed to have it always filled/running for all the winter months it helped. Not sure if it did but I did it anyway. for example I got pretty good at judging how much water it needed to run at night and then would only put that much water in and then allow it to air dry completely open in the morning/day hours. I would swish out at night and put the water in and start all over again.

This is what I'm going to have to do. Supposedly, ours has a "never-needs-changing" filter (that you can't change, of course), and is made from plastic with that chemical that is supposed to inhibit bacterial growth. But it still gets slimy on all the parts that I can see/feel. And I can't actually get my hand inside to scrub down the walls of the tank or up into the mechanism.

Does anyone think it is worth it to do a whole-house humidifier? DH looked into it, and it will be about $500, but if you're buying a $100+ humidifier anyway, that does only one room/area, and then you have to replace every so often...$500 starts to look reasonable.

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by littlehoneybee

I've been using tap water and cleaning with watered down bleach as per the instructions.

Mom61508, a better reply would have been to tell me which machine you use. I came here for helpful answers, not sarcasm.

wow That's a little rude isn't it??? First of all I wasn't being sarcastic in any way I was stating that a good humidifier would result in less problems at least it did for us. SO a BETTER REPLY would have been asking which machine I use! Try not to jump off the handle so easily.

Good luck

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by luv-my-boys

um, really I dont think its a matter of expensive or cheap brands. I have had a $150 humidifier with horrible mold issues and a $25 dollar one we wore out because we used it so much that never had a hint of mold.

It really depends on how the machine is made to work. like if it has tons of little cavities where mold can go unseen/uncleaned. I would use distilled water and about 1x a month run a vinegar/water cycle and let it steam out. Like another poster recommended but I did do mine outside. I used very very diluted vinegar. and then would use a new filter. We have allergies and that is always an issue here. I also found that if I would frequently allow it to air dry a few times as opposed to have it always filled/running for all the winter months it helped. Not sure if it did but I did it anyway. for example I got pretty good at judging how much water it needed to run at night and then would only put that much water in and then allow it to air dry completely open in the morning/day hours. I would swish out at night and put the water in and start all over again.

Sorry I cant remember what kind I had but I do know its no longer available because I contacted the compnay (homiomedics?) so I'll be lurking to see what others say.

I know just because a humidifier is a lot of money doesn't mean it's good. I mean quality good reviews, reputable company etc. This is the one we have and it's been good You do have to replace certain parts every so often to keep it clean.

http://www.allergybuyersclubshopping...ml?itemId=1369 I like this site as well they carry good products

[blueridgewoman]

I'm not a fan of bleach, but I dilute bleach with water and clean ours that way-- I factor it into my chore list, so....maybe twice a week? I also run it constantly, and I figure that having water MOVE through it is probably better than having it sit.

[ASusan]

I'm bumping this to say we've recently had a very good experience using white vinegar. The machine was starting to smell quite bad. At first, I put a few tablespoons of white vinegar into the water and ran it as usual. The room smelled like a pickle jar, of course. Over the weekend, DH ran it with a full tank of water and about 2 cups of vinegar. He put it on the back deck to run for a few hours.

It was clean, and fresh, and pure...worked very well. I even think it smelled like the outdoors the first night we used it.

[Carson]

I've been using a warm mist one for two years and no problems with mold. I use tap water and don't do anything to treat it.

[CookiePie]

I clean ours with white vinegar as per instructions & no mold...

[KimPM]

I haven't used a cool mist humidifer for many many years because of the mold issue. I've found the warm mist ones generally work well (some brands better than others) as long as you keep them clean. They also have humidifiers with a UV lamp, and I think that helps keep the mold down as well.