Can you put essential oils in a humidifier
Most often, hitting the right humidity levels for the home by using the best humidifier alone does not satisfy our desire for comfort. Filling the home with aroma and a pleasant scent can be a source of relaxation and relieve stress. Thanks to technology, it is now possible to add essential oils to a humidifier. This makes it easy to add moisture to the air and increase humidity and still experience the fresh fragrance and benefits that come from diffusing oils.
In this article, we will discuss in brief if you can put essential oils in a humidifier and how humidifiers work while diffusing oils, and the benefits of diffusing essential oil in a humidifier. Let us get started!
Are there any health benefits or risks associated with using essential oils?
Most commonly we associate essential oils (whether you add essential oils in a humidifier or you use an essential oil diffuser), only to help with relaxation with its pleasant aroma or to alleviate symptoms of allergies, which are usually cold and flu symptoms. However, when diffusers transmit essential oils it comes with many health benefits.
Here we have a list of all the wonderful benefits that come when you diffuse essential oils, either regularly or if you diffuse intermittently.
RELAXATION
The ultimate benefit when you using essential oils in a humidifier or when you use an oil diffuser is the calming effect. When the room air is filled with the calming scent of essential oils it will help you to relieve stress. The essential oil room humidifier is the best choice to add moisture and add essential oils to the indoor air.
Sleep
Peaceful sleep is a must for everyone! When you select and use essential oils in a humidifier or essential oil diffuser to get the benefits of the specific oil you will witness a transformation. The best essential oil for sleep is lavender oil. Adding lavender oil to the oil diffuser will promote deep sleep. Many pregnant women have found the benefits of using products with lavender oil or adding lavender oil to the diffuser.
Energize
Did you know that peppermint oil can promote mental alertness? Rubbing in some peppermint oil on the wrists, temple region, or forehead where there are electrical impulses will help to stay energized.
Cold and flu symptoms
If you often experience cold and flu symptoms you can use essential oils that help with that- eucalyptus oil and tea tree oil from the original plant are the best essential oils for cold and flu symptoms. Itchy eyes, stuffy nose, dry nasal passages, congested head, allergies from small particles, etc., are the different symptoms that can be eased by adding essential oils like tea tree oil. It can also help to boost the immune system to an extent.
Alleviate symptoms of allergies
If you are prone to allergies from pet dander, dust mites, and other very small particles, experts recommend using essential oils like lavender, tea tree, sandalwood, and eucalyptus. These will gradually buildup your immune system.
The risks of using essential oils do exist, however, they might not be applicable to all. There is definitely a limit on how much oil you must use in the humidifier. Going overboard with the oil dose can aggravate migraine, vertigo, and headaches. Using essential oils for children can also trigger cough, headaches, and other signs of discomfort or irritation. Adding essential oils into a warm mist humidifier is a burn hazard in a child’s nursery. Doctors also advise thyroid patients to stay away from scented oils.
Which is better for essential oils, a humidifier or a diffuser?
Can you put essential oils in a humidifier?
This is a common question that comes across our minds because both the devices seem to be sending out steam or water vapor and have a water tank. However, you must remember that they are two separate devices. Humidifiers work differently from oil diffusers.
Humidifier
The two types of humidifiers are cool mist humidifiers and warm mist humidifiers. While cool mist humidifiers use a fan that helps the water vapors dissipate into the indoor air, a warm mist humidifier heats the water from the water tank and the water evaporates into vapor droplets.
A cool mist humidifier and a warm mist humidifier by themselves are two separate devices. Adding essential oils to the water tank directly can lead to clogging or oil buildup in the tank. They can even lead to forming of mineral residues in the water vapor. Most humidifiers that support aromatherapy have a separate compartment to add essential oils to them. This separate compartment will not interfere with the performance of the humidifier to add moisture and it will also prevent oil buildup.
Diffuser
An essential oil diffuser on the other hand is a device specially designed for essential oil use with a unit to add essential oils. Its mechanism will have water vapor filled with the vaporized oil. Its design for essential oil use will atomize oils and gently sprays the vapor across the single room it is placed in. Nebulizing diffusers are ideal for their therapeutic function.
In what types of humidifiers should essential oils never be used?
Most humidifiers made these have provision to add essential oils in them. A cool mist humidifier is a better option for aromatherapy. Just like how an ultrasonic diffuser vibrates, an ultrasonic humidifier will vibrate with sound vibrations to convert water into water vapor. This will retain the properties as taken from the original plant.
A warm mist humidifier is not recommended for the use of essential oils because a warm mist humidifier will heat the water to a boiling point that will diminish the properties of the oils taken from the original plant. If the warm mist humidifier has a compartment to add moisture and essential oils to them, you can go in for a combo model of this kind.
What is the best way to use a humidifier with essential oils?
The best way to use a humidifier with essential oil is to place it in a central position in the home. If a whole home humidifier model has a tray to add in an essential oil of your choice you can invest in that model.
How to choose the right essential oil for humidifier?
Choosing the right essential oils for your cool mist humidifier or warm mist humidifier (if the model is designed for it) is simple. Select an oil that can be used without a carrier oil, an oil that will fulfill your requirement (to promote sleep, and relaxation, or to help with cold symptoms), or an oil that is readily available.
Is it safe to put eucalyptus oil in a humidifier?
Yes. It is safe to add eucalyptus oil to a humidifier if the unit has a separate tray for essential oils. You must be cautious about the quantity of oil added.
How to make your room smell good naturally?
Do you want to make your home smell good without using a diffuser or humidifier? You can make your home smell divine by following these tips.
- Get rid of things that cause your home to smell musty or bad.
- Add lemon peels, orange peels, rosemary, and some essential oil to a pot of boiling water for a few hours.
- Add a few drops of essential oil to cotton balls and sneak them into different corners of the house.
- Make use of a battery-operated room freshener that sprays the air freshener at regular intervals.
Best Humidifier with essential oils
If you are looking for a great humidifier in which you can use essential oils, we recommend the LEVOIT 4 Liter Humidifier and Diffuser. This cool mist humidifier and diffuser 2-in-1 model has a large 4 l water tank that ensures seamless humidification for 5 nights.
The aromatherapy tray in this unit allows you to put essential oils in it to add moisture along with the essential oil. The whisper-quiet operation of the LEVOIT humidifier and diffuser assures undisturbed sleep, making it a perfect choice for any room.
The dual rotating nozzles and up to 300ml/h mist output is ideal to be to cover the entire room. The large and easily removable water tank makes cleaning this humidifier easy. Moreover, this LEVOIT unit also allows customization of the cool mist level.
Are you looking for the perfect unit among cool mist humidifiers that also allows you to put essential oils in them? Visit Amazon.com to purchase the LEVOIT 4 Liter Humidifier and Diffuser 2-in-1 combo at the best offer price.
FAQ Section
1. Can you put essential oils in humidifier for baby?
No. It is a bad idea to put essential oils in the humidifier that you use for a baby. Oils can cause irritation and suffocation in young children. It is recommended to avoid using even the best essential oils in your child’s nursery.
2. What happens if you put too much oil in your humidifier?
Using too much oil in a diffuser or humidifier can trigger migraines, headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and vertigo. Be mindful of the amount of oil you add and the type of oil added to the diffuser.
3. What should you not put in a Vicks humidifier?
You must not add the Vicks vapor rub. If the model has the facility to add in essential oils separately you can do that, but never add in any inhalant that the instructions prohibit.
4. Is it okay to just put water in humidifier?
Yes. You can add clean distilled water to your humidifier. Adding in tap water or bottled water can add moisture that is filled with mineral deposits. This reduces the quality of indoor air, forms white fine dust on surfaces, and leads to health complications when inhaled. Humidifier fever, lung infection, cold, itchy eyes and nose, etc., are the many hazards to health that come from inhaling white mineral residue.
5. Is there a humidifier diffuser combo?
Yes, there are plentiful effective humidifier-diffuser combos available in the market. The best model that we highly recommend is the ASAKUKI 5-in-1 Humidifier-Diffuser.
This 5-in-1 Humidifier-Diffuser combo comes with a 300 ml water reservoir that can hold water sufficiently to humidify and spread aromatherapy in the room it is placed in. The multiple mist modes in the unit are exactly what your home or workspace will need.
The different features that make this model one of the best combos available on the market are; 7 different relaxing LED light colors, Auto-off that is perfect to prevent overheating of the unit, and ultra-high grade eco-friendly PP materials that are safe to be used. This humidifier-diffuser combo guarantees to keep the surrounding filled with sufficient moisture to prevent dry skin, dry nasal passages, congestion, and other symptoms of low humidity.
Is your home in need of humidification coupled with relaxing aromatherapy from the best essential oils? Visit Amazon.com right away to purchase the ASAKUKI 5-in-1 Humidifier-Diffuser at the best offer price.
Wrapping Up
That’s a wrap on the article. We hope the article explained how can you put essential oils in a humidifier and the instructions that go along with it. Share with us in the comments below your experiences in using any diffuser-humidifier combo and which model is your favorite.
About The Author
Olivia — a self-confessed air quality addict — is a home climate enthusiast, fresh air advocate, and someone with deep personal experience and knowledge about mold extermination. Her work was mentioned in countless notable humidity publications. Previously she was an editor at Mold Remediation.