Can You Put Essential Oils in a Cool Mist Humidifier?
With time, aromatherapy grows more popular. It can help to sooth your anxiety and stress. Essential oils can also alleviate colds, congestion, blockage and other respiratory issues.
But first, you need the right appliance to disperse the essential oils. Therefore, most people ask whether you can use essential oil like eucalyptus oil in humidifier.
So, can I put essential oils in my humidifier? You can use a cool mist humidifier with essential oils but add a few drops to 100ml of water. This humidifier has no heating element. It does not destroy the properties of the oil. It is much better to use an essential oil diffuser.
You can use peppermint oil in humidifier. However, for better effect, you should use an essential oil diffuser. You see, humidifiers and diffusers perform different functions.
How does a humidifier work?
Humidifiers perform by releasing moisture in the form of mist into your air. Therefore, it has a reservoir or tank in its design.
This holds the water and it continues to release cool mist until the water runs out or until the desired humidity is attained.
Humidifiers are either cool mist or warm mist. The former releases cool mist into the room while the latter releases warm mist into the room.
For the best performance, do not get an ultrasonic humidifier because it can cause humidifier white dust.
So can you use a humidifier as a diffuser? Well, when we look at how a diffuser works, you will find that this appliance is designed to perform differently.
How does a diffuser work?
Unlike a humidifier, a diffuser breaks down essential oils into tiny particles and then it disperses them into the air. There are different types of diffusers.
Ultrasonic diffusers – These ones have a disk that vibrates with electrical impulses and spreads the essential oil into your air. The vibrations break the essential oils into tiny particles and then they are dispersed as mist.
Nebulizer diffusers – This diffuser uses a cold air pump to pump out the essential oil as vapor. The vapor actually contains really small particles of the essential oil.
When you want to use essential oils, you should use a diffuser since it is specifically made for this. However, sometimes, you can just get a humidifier that uses essential oils.
As we have mentioned that we have an ultrasonic type of diffuser, it is reasonable to assume that you can use an ultrasonic humidifier essential oil.
Can you put essential oils in a cool mist humidifier all the time?
This depends on a few things. You can add eucalyptus oil in cool mist humidifier. While a humidifier has a plastic tank, the eucalyptus oil is not going to damage it.
However, you have to know how to add essential oils to a humidifier. First, you will add this oil into the tank.
Start with the water and then add a few drops of the essential oil. The cool mist humidifier will spray out the essential oil in the mist.
So, how many drops of oil in humidifier? We recommend that for every 100ml of water, you should add 5 drops of essential oil.
Please note that the humidifier with essential oil is not going to break down the essential oils into small particles. So, you might not enjoy the full benefit of your essential oil.
Also, some types of essential oils can cause the plastic to crack. Most of the essential oils have a corrosive quality. Therefore, they can damage the plastic tank of the humidifier.
Conclusion
To use or not to use essential oils in humidifier? That is the question. In other sources, people ask: can you put essential oils in a Vicks humidifier?
The answer is yes and no. It is really up to you. For instance, if you need essential oil therapy and you do not have a nebulizer or ultrasonic diffuser, you can add a few drops into the water in your humidifier.
However, we think that even the recommended five drops in 100ml of water is too much. In addition, just add the essential oils for a couple of times and buy a diffuser.
Be careful about how to use a humidifier with essential oils. Use essential oils in Crane humidifier very sparingly.
So can you use a cool mist humidifier with essential oils? Yes you can but do it so sparingly to safeguard the life of your unit.