Why Is the Inside of My Humidifier Pink? You Have Pink Mold
Is pink mold in a humidifier dangerous, or should you just worry about black mold?
There is no immediate danger for healthy people. Children and seniors who have compromised immunity can experience urinary tract and bladder infections, lung infections, heart problems, gastrointestinal tract illnesses, and other sickness symptoms.
Mold exposure symptoms in toddlers are dangerous. They can have you visiting the hospital frequently.
Eventually, they can turn to something more serious, such as memory loss, anxiety, depression, and irritability.
If someone has asthma, exposure to mold of any type can make the condition more serious. That’s why you always have to be on the lookout for mold toxicity signs.
Because of their constant contact with water, humidifiers do develop green, brown, pink, or slimy layers on the water. This is mold!
Is mold in the humidifier dangerous?
Mold in a humidifier, in a dehumidifier bucket, or anywhere else in your house is dangerous.
In humidifiers, mold starts to grow when you neglect cleaning them in time. Check the Pure Enrichment humidifier instructions that came with your model so that you can know how often to clean your unit.
The main problem with a humidifier is that if mold develops in the tank, it will be pumped out in the mist. This will happen whether you have a filtered or a filterless humidifier.
Mold from the humidifier can lead to the creation of new mold colonies in other spaces in your home. When mold matures, it produces spores that float in air, and settle in other spaces.
You will start to see exposure to mold symptoms in babies, adults, and even pets. Look out for the following health issues:
- Itchy eyes and skin
- Skin rashes
- Running eyes and nose
- Unexplained fatigue
- Stress, irritation, and anxiety
- Urinary bladder and tract infections
- Others
Mold probably causes all of the above symptoms. It can get even worse if it is coming from the humidifier because it pumps it out with the mist. And your family inhales it directly.
If you live in a high-humidity area such as Seattle, always check for humidity in your crawl spaces.
Of course, using a dehumidifier with a pump, a dehumidifier with a drain hose or a FRIGIDAIRE 70-pint dehumidifier in the basement can keep the humidity under control.
If you get rid of mold in the humidifier, short-term exposure will not be dangerous for your health. Long-term exposure can cause the aforementioned symptoms.
Why is the inside of my humidifier pink?
Crane drop humidifiers come with some color pomp. Unless the tank is pink by default, if you see any pink spots inside the tank, just assume you have A. pullulans, which is the name for pink mold.
Pink mold is not dangerous, at least not when you are just exposed in the short term. The problem is that the conditions that make it possible for pink mold to grow are the same as those that make it possible for black mold to grow.
If it has been some time since you last cleaned the humidifier, it is possible to develop pink or black mold in the tank.
The same is also bound to happen if you keep the humidifier in storage while you have not emptied and air-dried the humidifier tank.
If you use your unit daily, the humidifier user instructions say you should clean it daily. If it has filters, please check that they are clean and in good working order. Clean them too.
You can use your humidifier with certain accessories to make it work better. Some of these are demineralization cartridges.
If you use such, clean the demineralization cartridges, and dry them before putting them back in the tank.
On how to clean a cool mist humidifier, if there is pink, black, or other mold, sterilize the tank with bleach. You could also use white vinegar, but never with bleach.
How to keep pink mold out of a humidifier
While pink mold in the humidifier is not dangerous, you still need to get rid of it.
In any humidifier cleaning process, you need to know how to get rid of mold. That way, the mist coming out of the nozzle will be pure.
Two things can help you get rid of pink mold from your unit. These are bleach or hydrogen peroxide.
How to get rid of pink mold with bleach
Go through the basics, such as switching off the unit, unplugging it, emptying the tank, and removing it from the base. If you check out our post on Crane humidifier instructions, you will see all of these in more detail.
In 0.5 to 1.0 gallons of water, pour a teaspoonful of bleach. Let this solution stay in the humidifier tank for 20 minutes.
You can cover the tank with its cap and swirl the solution around it so that it gets to all corners of the tank.
Pour it out and rinse the tank thoroughly with clean tap water.
How to prevent pink mold in a humidifier
If you are running the humidifier daily, make sure you change the water. Pour out the past day’s water, clean the tank, and then pour in fresh water.
Since you do not want to add tap water to the humidifier, cleaning it daily could cost you some money. But it is worth it as compared to the issues you could face from exposure to pink mold.
If you pour in water with contaminants or impurities, the dehumidifier will release an impure mist. Also, do not use tap water in ultrasonic units because it leaves humidifier white dust.
How to get rid of mold with hydrogen peroxide
Mix one part hydrogen peroxide with four parts water. Cover the tank and let it sit for about 30 minutes. You could shake it a bit so that the solution gets to all parts of the tank.
Pour out the water and rinse the tank thoroughly in the sink. Air-dry the tank before replacing it on the base.
Mold can also develop on the base. Dip a piece of cloth in the hydrogen peroxide solution and wipe the base slowly.
Be careful not to let the water drip into the circuitry because the humidifier can stop working after cleaning.
Please note: You can use the same cleaning method to remove other types of mold from the humidifier.
Pink mold in a baby humidifier
Babies and the elderly are mainly considered risk groups with compromised immunity. Therefore, they can likely catch infections where other people would not.
Using a humidifier in baby’s room is recommended, even in the summer. Their airways are so delicate. They can become inflamed easily if your baby inhales dry air with contaminants.
However, while a humidifier is very useful and beneficial to the baby’s health, the slightest neglect can lead to the development of mold in the tank.
Mold inside the humidifier is not going to change how it works. However, the same mold will be pumped out with the mist, and your baby will inhale it.
To prevent the formation of pink mold in the tank, please change the water and clean the tank daily.
If you see mold in the humidifier symptoms, use bleach, white vinegar, or hydrogen peroxide to clean the unit, but rinse it thoroughly.
Conclusion: Is pink mold in the humidifier dangerous?
Pink mold is not going to cause any health complications, as long as you are healthy and not exposed to it for too long.
Cleaning the humidifier daily is going to prevent the formation of mold. Use bleach, hydrogen peroxide, white vinegar, or just water and soap.
Taking good care of your humidifier can reveal any other issues that these units develop from time to time. Therefore, it will never stop working.
If you see a different color in the tank of your unit, investigate it. Pour out the water, clean it, and refill it with clean water.
This is going to prevent the release of mold in the humidifier mist.
Please also check out my posts on:
Air purifier or dehumidifier for musty smell
Can mold cause sinus infection
Is Air Purifier Good For Mold?
Can Mold Grow At 60 Percent Humidity?
