A humidifier can be a great way to take care of dry air in your bedroom, but how close should a humidifier be to your bed?
A humidifier should be at least 3 feet away from your bed. Keep the humidifier 2-4 feet off the floor to ensure the mist can disperse throughout your bedroom.
If you’re wondering if it’s ok to sleep next your humidifier or if you should run it all night, you can find that all below.
Let’s get started.
How Close Should a Humidifier be to Your Bed?
Your humidifier should be at least 3 feet away from your bed.
This is so your humidifier has a chance to disperse the mist droplets into your room without exposing you to too much moisture.
Your humidifier should also be placed off the floor so that the mist droplets don’t end up on the floor.
If you have a warm mist humidifier, it may not be a good idea to keep it near your bed. The reason being is that it heats up the water to a boil, which can be unsafe.
If you have children or pets that may knock over your humidifier while sleeping, then you should not keep your humidifier close to your bed.
Is it OK to Sleep Next to a Humidifier?
Sleeping next to your humidifier is fine as long as you take the proper precautions.
It’s not advisable to use warm mist humidifiers while you sleep as they use boiling water. Children and pets can also knock over your humidifier, so be careful of that as well.
Use cool mist or ultrasonic humidifiers
The best humidifiers for sleeping are cool mist humidifiers or ultrasonic humidifiers.
By using high-pitched vibrations, ultrasonic humidifiers can increase the humidity levels in your room with a fine mist. They’re also quiet, allowing you to sleep.
Use a humidifier that can sense humidity levels
If your humidifier is working while you sleep, you need to ensure that it isn’t increasing the humidity beyond the recommended 50%.
If this happens, you can be damaging not only the wooden furniture and walls in your room, but your health as well.
A humidifier that can sense the humidity levels will turn itself off and on, preventing the humidity to get too high.
Use the right type of water
When using your humidifier, only use distilled water.
This will keep white dust from being left on your belongings and away from your lungs.
Mineral heavy water like hard tap water will leave mineral deposits inside your humidifier and is harmful to breathe in.
Don’t use essential oils
Unless your humidifier is made to be used with essential oils, do not put it inside your humidifier’s tank.
You’ll clog the wick filter which can damage your humidifier. It can be unsafe to breathe this in the entire night as well.
Should the Humidifier Run All Night?
The goal of a humidifier is to bring the relative humidity to a comfortable range around 30-50%.
Anything beyond that, and you run the risk of excessive humidity which is what you’re trying to avoid.
As long as your humidifier is capable of shutting itself off, then feel free to run it all night.
What height should humidifier be near bed?
The best elevation for your humidifier is between 2 and 4 feet.
You want to give it enough breathing room so that the dry air can absorb the moisture and keep the mist from collecting on the floor.
When you keep it 3 feet away from you, you avoid knocking it over when you wake up in a sleepy haze.
Should the Humidifier be on a Floor or Nightstand?
Your humidifier should be on a nightstand and not on the floor.
The humidity needs to disperse around your room to humidify the dry air.
If left on the floor, some of the moisture may end up on the floor and never have a chance to increase the humidity in your room.
Make sure that you don’t leave your humidifier in direct sunlight as it can get damaged over time.
How Close Should a Humidifier be to Your Face?
Just like in a bedroom, your humidifier should be at least 3 feet away from your face.
While it may feel nice to breathe in the moist water vapor, it can be harmful to your health if you’re exposed to too much humidity.
When Should You Use a Humidifier in Your Room
You should consider a humidifier in your home when the humidity level drops below the recommended 30%.
You can measure the humidity in your room with a hygrometer. Measuring your
home will give you an accurate humidity reading so you can determine if a humidifier is right for your room.
If you don’t have a hygrometer, these are signs of low humidity in your room:
- Dry skin
- Sore throat
- Cold and flu symptoms
- Allergy flare ups
- Static electricity
- Cracking furniture/wood
- Dry nose (can also be bloody)
- Dry lips
Where to Place a Humidifier in a Baby’s Room
Place the humidifier 3-4 feet away from your baby’s crib, elevated off the ground. Do not put it on the ground as it can be a hazard if your baby escapes its crib.
You should only use a cool mist or ultrasonic humidifier in a baby’s room.
They don’t use any heating elements, so your baby won’t be in any danger of boiling water.
It’s essential that you use the right type of water (distilled water) to ensure your baby stays healthy.
When water and electricity are present, it’s important that you place the humidifier high enough so it’s out of your baby’s reach.
Keep the cord concealed as well so your baby has no chance of knocking over the humidifier.
Final Thoughts
How close should a humidifier be to your bed is a question that gets asked often, but the answer is at least 3 feet away from your bed.
Warm mist models are not recommended for bedrooms as they can get hot.
Consider cool mist models.
While warm mist humidifiers can be great in the right environment, you want to avoid any heated or warm surfaces near where you sleep.
