Do Humidifiers Turn Off Automatically? Yes!
Does a humidifier turn off automatically when (a) it runs out of water or (b) it has released enough moisture into the air?
You use a humidifier to get rid of the symptoms of dry air in the house. It releases tiny droplets of water in the form of a cool or warm mist.
Imagine leaving a humidifier on at night to give you a good humidity level for the bedroom, and then having to wake up in the middle of the night to switch it off.
That doesn’t paint a very good picture!
Unfortunately, if you do not choose your unit carefully, you might need to wake up in the middle of the night to switch it off.
But to answer the question,
Most humidifiers are designed with an auto-off function that switches them off when the water level in the tank runs too low. This prevents the unit from running continuously, which would then cause overheating and a burning smell from the humidifier.
The full-house humidifiers integrated into the furnace will turn on and off automatically without human interference. The whole house dehumidifiers will also do the same.
Keep reading to see why auto shut-off on an empty tank is one of the most important features of a humidifier.
Will humidifiers turn off automatically?
The good news is that portable humidifiers turn off automatically after running out of water.
Therefore, to the question of: what happens if you run a humidifier without water, the answer is… it stops running.
But for the few that do not, it is possible to experience a humidifier burning smell as it becomes too hot. Still, there are not many cases of a humidifier catching fire because it ran out of water.
Most portable humidifiers do not turn off when they humidify the air to the required level. Most of them do not even come with a way to enter your desired humidity level.
For instance, if you check the Pure Enrichment humidifier instructions, you will see they just have a mist output control knob.
It has settings like low, medium, or high, to increase or reduce the mist output. Once the humidity level is increased appropriately, there is no means for the unit to shut off.
You will have to adjust the mist output knob manually, to a slow setting or switch the unit off completely.
If you find that your humidifier keeps turning off, there is something wrong with it. It should not do that.
If the humidifier shuts down after cleaning, it is faulty. Unless you check the tank and you see there is no water or the remaining water is too low, assume something is wrong with the unit.
Does Vicks humidifier turn off automatically?
No doubt one of the biggest brand names for humidifiers, it is reasonable to see why this question would arise.
In the past, we have looked at the Vicks warm mist humidifier instructions as well as a few things that can go wrong with a unit from this brand name.
We also said that if you see a Vicks humidifier red light, there is something wrong with the unit.
Whether you run a Vicks humidifier without Vapopads, or with them, it should turn off automatically as soon as the tank runs out of water.
You see, all portable humidifiers come with a small part called the water level sensor. If it senses that there is no water, or there is too little water in the tank, it sends the signal to the control board and the humidifier switches off.
In the post on Levoit humidifier not working or even the Pure Enrichment humidifier not working, we said the water level sensor can fail to work properly.
If this happens, the unit might continue running even when there is no water. In return, this would pose a fire hazard. A Honeywell humidifier producing a burning smell could be caused by this problem.
The only thing the Vicks cool mist or warm mist humidifier will not do is turn off automatically after raising the humidity level to 50%.
As long as there is water in the tank, the unit will continue running. If the water level sensor is working properly, the unit will switch off when it runs out of water.
Does the Honeywell humidifier stop automatically?
Imagine a humidifier with advanced features such as germ control, UV technology, and ultra quiet when running such as the Honeywell HCM350 Germ-free humidifier we reviewed here.
But it too does not have an auto shut-off function for when it has raised the humidity level to the appropriate level.
With this humidifier, you have to use it with a humidity monitor so that you can switch it off as soon as the indoor humidity level is 30 to 50%.
Instead of waking up at night to switch off the humidifier, perhaps you can leave it on a slow mist setting. That way, it will raise the humidity slowly, until morning.
As you will see from the Honeywell humidifier instructions, when the level of water in the tank is ½ inch or so, the unit switches off.
Therefore, if you want the unit to run for just a few hours, estimate the amount of water. You do not need to fill the tank completely.
If it runs for a continuous 8 hours when the tank is full at high mist speed, if the tank is ¼ full, it can run for 2 hours.
Does the Crane humidifier shut down on its own?
Indeed it does, as you will see in the Crane humidifier instructions. However, for your unit to work well, you need to keep it clean all the time.
If you use the unit daily, clean it daily or at least 5 times a week. Also, after cleaning, make sure the water level sensor is working correctly. Follow the instructions for how to clean a cool mist humidifier.
The drop-shaped Crane humidifier has an auto shut-off function. It will switch off when the tank runs out. This prevents continuous running, which might damage the unit.
What happens when a Crane humidifier runs out of water? The Crane drop cool mist humidifier turns off and the red light comes on. The red light alerts you of an empty tank and it turns green when you add water.
Remember, to add water to the tank, switch the unit off, unplug it and let it cool down for about 20 minutes.
Remove the tank and fill it with distilled water. Using tap water in a humidifier can cause white dust on your surfaces.
What happens if you leave the humidifier on?
This depends on the type of humidifier that you have. For instance, if you live a Pure Enrichment humidifier running, it will keep releasing mist until all the water in the tank is gone.
And then it will shut down automatically.
This is also one of the portable Levoit humidifier problems. As long as it has water, it will keep pumping mist into your indoor air.
The continuous mist release until the tank runs empty could be good for homes with really low humidity. However, there is the risk of over-humidifying the air, and raising the humidity to above 50 percent. This leaves the house at risk of mold, and your family at the risk of mold toxicity symptoms.
Too high humidity is not only nasty for causing mildew and mold, but it also makes other indoor allergens to multiply. For instance, dust mites thrive in high humidity.
Humidifier with a built-in humidistat
There is another type of humidifier, one that comes with a built-in humidistat. This can turn on and off automatically.
You just have to enter the settings for your lowest and highest humidity levels. For instance, you can set the lowest humidity as 30 percent, and the highest as 45 percent.
If the air moisture content drops below 30 percent, the humidifier turns on automatically, as long as there is water in the tank.
It will pump mist until the humidity level gets to 45 percent, and then it will switch off automatically. If you are traveling, and you would like to keep the required level of humidity for your indoor plants, you should get such a humidifier.
So, does a humidifier with a built-in humidistat have any disadvantages? Of course, it has. For instance, if the humidity in the house never dips too low, it means the unit is not spending the water. Thus, the water continues sitting in the tank, and this can cause pink mold in the humidifier.
How long does a humidifier stay on?
It is possible to run a humidifier the entire night and avoid the symptoms of sleeping in a dry room. But usually, the duration that a unit runs depends on various things such as:
The type of humidifier
A whole house humidifier will only run for as long as necessary because it comes with a humidistat. As soon as the desired humidity level is restored, the unit turns off.
A mini humidifier can run for a few hours before the reservoir goes empty, and it shuts down. Bigger portable units such as the Honeywell HCM350 Germ-free humidifier can run for more than 20 hours.
The size of the tank
Portable humidifiers have portable tanks. A mini atomization humidifier has a small reservoir, so it will run for a few hours and will humidify a very limited space.
A Vicks warm mist humidifier can come with a 1.5-gallon tank, or bigger than 3 gallons. The size of the tank depends on the size of the space that you need to humidify.
If you want to raise the moisture content of air in a room bigger than 1000 square feet, you need a humidifier with a 5-gallon tank. That one can at least give you between 10 and 16 hours of run-time.
The mist setting
The portable humidifiers come with three mist output levels. There is low, medium, and high speed. At low and medium, the water in the tank will last longer. At a high mist setting, the tank will drain faster.
If you would like the humidifier to run longer, keep it in the low or medium mist setting. This will be slow to raise the humidity level in your house, but if you want to raise it urgently, try the high mist setting.
The humidifier turns off all the time
Sometimes, the humidifier can turn off automatically before it has reached the set humidity. When this happens, there could be various causes, which I will elaborate below:
The humidity setting is wrong
If the humidifier keeps turning off after running for a short time, check the humidity setting. If you have set it too low, the unit will go off soon after, because it will have achieved the set level.
You can use a hygrometer to check the humidity level in your room. If it is too
There is water in the circuitry
Your humidifier will keep shutting off if there is water in the circuitry. Usually, the water leaks into the wiring when you are cleaning the unit.
To get the water out, dismantle the unit, and then air-dry the parts on a rack for a few days. Once you assemble it, it will start working fine.
Mineral scale on the tank
When you use tap water in the humidifier, the minerals in the water will form scale on the tank walls. In return, this will prevent the unit from working properly. In addition, you will get on your surfaces.
To solve this, you must use distilled water in your ultrasonic humidifier. If you must use tap water, be sure to use demineralization cartridges to prevent white dust.
The filter or the wick is clogged up
Once again, this comes down mainly to the type of water that you use in the unit. If you are using mineral-laden tap water, the humidifier filter will clog up. This will prevent water from getting through the filter properly.
Also, a cool mist humidifier that comes with a wick can have the wick all clogged up such that it does not absorb water from the reservoir. If the wick does not absorb water from the tank, the fan will blow air only into the room.
Adding humidifier tablets to the water can help with the minerals, but the best thing is to use distilled water.
The tank is not attached properly
The tanks of most small humidifiers are designed to be attached when inverted, with the cap facing downwards. Now, if the cap is not attached properly, the humidifier makes everything around it wet.
Also, it will fail to run properly and might switch off altogether, or keep going off after running for a few seconds or minutes.
Even if the tank cap is screwed on tightly, but the tank is not attached properly, it is going to keep going off.
The humidifier is not placed on a level surface
The humidifier should always be placed on a level surface. If it is angled in any way, it is going to keep shutting off after so long.
Remember, the unit should never be placed directly on the floor. Place the unit at least 3 feet from the floor. This ensures it gets enough airflow all the time.
The nozzle faces the wall
If the humidifier mist nozzle is facing the wall, the mist will hit the wall, condense, and roll down. This means the moisture will be concentrated on that one spot, and the humidifier goes as it senses the humidity level is high enough.
Make sure the nozzle faces an open space and that the humidifier is a few feet from the wall, furniture, or any other large item.
Should I turn off my humidifier?
During the winter, you will turn your heating on. Unfortunately, this dries the air and it causes static electricity in the house. There are other side effects of dry air on your health too.
That is why we turn on the humidifier during the cold season, to increase the moisture level in the indoor air.
But as soon as the warmer seasons of Spring and summer set in, you should just turn the heat off, and the humidifier too.
If you leave the humidifier on during the summer, it will raise the need for the AC to keep running longer. This can rack up your electricity bill fast. To avoid this, don’t run a humidifier in the summer unless your hygrometer says you need to increase moisture.
This not only applies to the portable units but also to the furnace humidifier. While humidifiers do not use a lot of electricity, you don’t need to deal with the excess humidity it will create.
Also check my earlier posts on:
Vicks Warm Mist Humidifier Red Light
Why does my dehumidifier blow cold air?
Why is my dehumidifier blowing hot air?
Why Is Your Midea Dehumidifier Not Collecting Water?
Benefits of using a humidifier in summer
Final thoughts
Does the humidifier turn off automatically? When a humidifier runs out of water, it shuts down automatically. However, a faulty water level sensor might not sense the low water level, causing the unit to keep running even when empty.
If you want your humidifier to shut down after a certain time, just add the right amount of water into the tank.
Do simple math, and find out how much water it spends at low, medium, or high mist output settings. This will show you how much water to add to the tank.
Before you order a humidifier from Amazon.com, find out whether it has an auto shut-off feature.
