Increasing humidity in winter improves air quality at home and can have significant positive effects on every family’s health. According to the 2011 EPA, one-room portable humidifiers are the most popular home humidification option, installed by over 8 million people annually.
There are two types of portable Humidifier: evaporation humidifiers and ultrasonic humidifiers. Both methods humidify the air in the house, but the methods are very different; each type of humidifier has its strengths and weaknesses.
In this article, take a closer look at how ultrasonic mist humidifiers work, how they became a great type of humidifier to use, and the benefits it gives.
What Is an Ultrasonic Humidifier?
The ultrasonic humidifier is a simple device that features membranes, reservoirs, or other types of vibrating elements. The membrane vibrates at very high frequencies outside the human audible range and is therefore called an ultrasonic humidifier. Small water droplets are thrown into the air by vibration. Water droplets evaporate in the air, increasing the humidity in the room. Because there is no water heating anywhere, these humidifiers are sometimes referred to as “cold fog” humidifiers.
However, many evaporative humidifiers also perform unheated evaporation and are also referred to in marketing collateral as “cold mist” humidifiers. The important terms that distinguish humidifiers are ultrasound and evaporation.
The Difference Between Ultrasonic and Evaporative Humidifiers
How is an evaporative humidifier different from an ultrasonic humidifier? To understand this, it is primarily needed to explain the difference between water vapor in the air and water droplets in the air. When water evaporates, it changes from a liquid to a gas; in the form of gas, water molecules are distributed in the air along with other gas molecules that make up the air. Droplets, on the other hand, are small droplets of liquid that are light enough to float in the air, at least temporarily. This difference is important in humidifiers, as water droplets can transport substances in the water, but water vapor cannot.
The ultrasonic humidifiers use vibration to send water droplets into the air. However, the evaporative humidifier evaporates the moisture in the humidifier and releases water vapor into the atmosphere. Some people do this by heating the water with steam. If it cools before the steam is released, it is called a steam humidifier or “warm mist” humidifier. Other evaporative humidifiers flow water through the filter and use a fan to blow cold air onto the filter. This evaporates the water and sends water vapor to the room.
Whatever method the evaporative humidifier uses, the water in the humidifier must be converted to water vapor, leaving behind all the substances in the water.
What Are the Benefits of Ultrasonic Humidifiers?
The ultrasonic humidifier has a very simple humidifying mechanism, so it can be built very small and compact. A factor that limits how small an ultrasonic air dryer can be is the water tank. Therefore, if users need to place the humidifier in a limited space, that is the right choice; they humidify the air very well. They add so much moisture to the air that this advantage is a disadvantage, resulting in excessive humidification of the air, which can lead to moisture and mold.
For this reason, ultrasonic humidifier require a humidifier that detects humidity and turns off the humidifier when there is sufficient moisture in the air.
