For many of us, the winter months mean agony. The cold and dry climates make us uncomfortable, and we desire something that can relieve it. Luckily, a humidifier can often solve the problem effectively. You can wonder how long it will take for a humidifier to work. After all, we want it work as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, we can’t give a specific figure to answer this question. Usually, a humidifier will start to work within a few minutes but will take 3 to 24 hours to make a telling impact. The appliance’s capacity, room size, and room structure will all affect the outcome.
In this post, I have summarized 7 factors that will determine the effectiveness of a humidifier to estimate how long your humidifier will take to work and how you can speed up the process.
Let’s dive in!
How long does it take for a humidifier to warm up and work?
Not every humidifier will start to produce mist immediately once you turn it on. While cool mist humidifiers tend to work instantly, the warm mist humidifier will take 5 to 10 minutes to warm up. This is because the heating elements need some time to boil the water.
Once the humidifier starts to work, it will take at least a few hours for you to tell the effect. The humidifier works by releasing water molecules into the air. When the air contains more and more water, the relative humidity level will increase, relieving your conditions due to the dry air.
The capacity of humidifiers varies. Meanwhile, the water needed to be added also varies according to many factors. Therefore, it is hard to give a cut-clear answer to this question, but we will analyze all the essential factors in the following section.
Factors affecting a humidifier’s effectiveness
How long it takes for a humidifier to humidify a room is determined by both the humidifier itself and many external factors. If you are concerned about why your humidifier doesn’t work as you expect, you should consider these factors.
Types of humidifiers
If you want to moisten every room in your house, the whole-house humidifier is always the best choice. You can feel more comfortable no matter where you stay at home within 24 hours. However, it could be more costly than its other counterparts.
Vaporizers also have a good performance in improving the humidity. The warm vapor can disperse quickly in the air, but it is not a good option for summer.
Ultrasonic humidifiers and evaporative humidifiers release cool mist. It can create a concentrated area so that working with a fan together can shorten the time to achieve the target humidity level.
The least effective type is an impeller humidifier, but it is an affordable option.
The output rate of your humidifier
The more water a humidifier can release in a given time, the faster it will work. If you want to make your humidifier work in a shorter time, you should choose the one with a higher output rate or set your device at the maximum level.
Room size
The same humidifier will start to show telling impact quicker in a small room than in a bigger space. Given that the amount of water getting into the air will not change, the water droplets per square will be lower, and the performance will worsen in a large room.
Environment
Morning tends to be more humid than afternoon. Summer is usually wetter than winter. The external environment can impact the performance of your humidifier a lot.
For example, you may feel the parched throat or dry skin is relieved quicker in the morning than in the evening, even if the humidifier is on.
Room structure
The windows and doors can negatively affect the effectiveness of your humidifier. If the room where a humidifier is running has many windows or doors, the air outside can secretly get into the room through the crevices. So the humidifier has to be on longer to get the ideal humidity level.
Furniture
Some items in the room, such as carpets and wooden furniture, can absorb moisture. When the humidifier is on, a proportion of mist will enter the surface of these objects, which can’t increase the humidity in the air. Correspondingly, the humidifier will take longer to work than in another room.
Humidifier placement
In general, we often recommend users place the humidifier in the middle of the room and make sure the mist outlet is above the ground. This location can help the water vapor disperse into every corner of the room.
If you place the unit in the corner, it will take longer for people sitting in the opposite corner to feel the effect of a humidifier.
See also: where to put your humidifier?
How to make your humidifier work more efficiently?
To speed up the process and let the humidifier have a noticeable effect sooner, you should choose an appropriate model for a certain amount of square footage.
When the device is running, you should keep the windows and doors closed. Except for the fan we mentioned above, using an air purifier together will also promote the process.
Aside from that, placing a humidifier in the middle and up high is also beneficial.
How do you tell whether a humidifier is working or not?
As we have discussed earlier, a humidifier, especially a small humidifier, can take up to 24 hours to work. Many people can identify if it is working by observing if any condition such as congestion or static electricity is alleviated.
Alternatively, you can use a hygrometer to monitor the indoor humidity level. If it increases constantly, your humidifier should be working.
Conclusion
Many people have asked me how long it will take a humidifier to work, and my answer is always “it depends” since there are so many factors that will affect the outcome.
The more powerful the machine is, the quicker you can feel the impact. Some models can raise the humidity level from 30% to 50% within 3 to 4 hours. In addition, the humidifier can take less time to work in a smaller room.
The furniture in the room can absorb some moisture, and the dry air outside can also lower the humidity level if it gets in through the cracks of windows or doors.
For those who like to place the humidifier on the side table, moving it to the middle of the room can also make the humidifier work faster.
