A humidifier is an essential home improvement appliance that adds moisture to the air in a dry environment to prevent dryness that can lead to respiratory tract irritation. Humidifiers are effective when it comes to dealing with dryness of the skin, throat congestion, and breathing difficulties. Honeywell is one of the best humidifier brands in the market today. If you have a Honeywell humidifier in your home or office, one question that will always linger in your mind is; how do I clean my Honeywell humidifier?
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Regular cleaning of your Honeywell humidifier is recommended as it prevents mineral buildups as well as bacterial growth. In this guide, we shall provide you with a step-by-step process on how to clean Honeywell humidifier, how to descale and disinfect Honeywell humidifier, and how to clean or replace humidifier air filters.
How to Clean Honeywell Humidifier
Cleaning a Honeywell humidifier is an easy task and it shouldn’t take much of your time if you know how to go about it. The trick is to know the safest and most effective cleaning procedures to follow.
Start by turning off and unplugging your Honeywell humidifier from the power socket. Remove the water tank from the humidifier base and drain any water remaining there. If your model is designed with Honeywell Humidifier Filter, consider removing it also and keeping it aside as it’s not supposed to be washed with either vinegar or bleaching agent.
To thoroughly clean your humidifier, you will need to remove mineral scales and disinfect it to kill any microbes.
Read Also: Indoor Air Quality Testing Procedures
How to descale Honeywell humidifier
Scale refers to the accumulation of water minerals such as calcium and magnesium in a humidifier. Too much scale buildup will reduce the effectiveness of your humidifier and that’s why it’s advisable to descale it frequently. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to remove mineral scale from the Honeywell humidifier.
Materials required
- A soft cloth
- 1 Gallon of water
- Cotton Swab
- 2 bottle cups of vinegar
Humidifier scale removal procedures
- Turn off the power socket and unplug the humidifier
- Remove the water tank from the base of the humidifier
- Completely drain any water in the tank/reservoir
- Add 2 cups of pure white vinegar to the water tank
- Put back the cup to the water tank, add water and tighten it. Tilt the water tank to look upside-down and shake the mixture several times to enable the vinegar to mix with water.
- Put back the water tank into the humidifier and allow the solution to stay in the tank for about 10 to 20 minutes. This allows the white vinegar to descale any water minerals that have accumulated on the nebulizer.
- After soaking for 10-20 minutes, you will then empty the tank by pouring out the vinegar/water solution mixed with vinegar
- Rinse the tank with cool water and use a wet cloth to wipe inside and outside of the tank to remove any mineral scale that has not been completely removed. Rinse the water tank thoroughly until the smell of vinegar is neutralized
- Pull the humidifier base to locate the section that contains the filter and wipe the outside section carefully with a damp cloth. No water should get into the control knob or motor.
- If the filter appears dusty, refer to the Honeywell humidifier manufacturer’s manual guide to see whether you can clean the filter or not. If it can be cleaned, you will follow the instructions provided in the manual. If it can’t be cleaned, consider replacing it with a new one if it’s in a bad shape.
- Once you buy, remove the old filter and replace it with a new one and your Honeywell humidifier will be ready for use.
How to disinfect a Honeywell Humidifier
The procedure of disinfecting a humidifier is almost the same as the one for descaling outlined above. You will only be required to add ½ tablespoon of bleach agent into a ½ gallon of water and the mixture to the humidifier water tank.
The next step will be to replace the tank cap and shake the solution around the tank severally. Let the solution soak for about 20 minutes before draining the water. Rinse the water tank thoroughly until the smell of the bleaching agent is gone.
It’s important to note that both descaling and disinfecting your Honeywell humidifier must be done separately. You should not mix vinegar and bleach agent together or use more than ½ tablespoon of bleach in a ½ gallon of water as it may damage your humidifier.
How often should you clean your humidifier?
If you have a small humidifier, you can clean it on daily basis and disinfect it once per week. For bigger humidifiers, you should clean them once per week to increase their efficiency. It’s very important to clean a Honeywell humidifier frequently as it determines how it performs.
A well-cleaned and properly maintained humidifier will run smoothly to help and effectively generate the much-needed moisture into the air. Using a dirty Honeywell humidifier can lead to health complications that are brought about by dry air. That’s why regular cleaning and disinfecting of a Honeywell humidifier is highly recommended.