How to Use Cool Mist Humidifiers

Products Nannies Love: Crane Humidifiers

It's currently 13F degrees and it feels like minus -1F degrees where I live in New Jersey.

The children I care for and I have dry skin and patches of eczema and dry cracked lips due to the bitter cold and dry air. Plus, their little noses are dry (sometimes bloody) from the dry air. A dry environment makes it easier for viruses to invade the nasal lining to make children sick.

Cool-mist humidifiers to help clear their little one's stuffy nasal passages. Their mucous membranes work better in cool moist air.

Viruses can’t penetrate normal intact skin, and even moist surfaces like the lining of a mouth or nose does a pretty good job repelling viruses. But once the lining of a nose gets dried out and develops cracks and fissures, the viruses can grab hold and jump right in.

By preventing dry air with a humidifier, you’ll also keep whatever mucus is around nicely wet and runny — that’s good, because thin and runny mucus is less likely to plug up noses and sinuses and get infected with bacteria. Thick and sticky mucus just sits there, an inviting bacterial playground. Thin and runny mucus drains, carrying infection away.

If you do run a humidifier all winter, you’ve got to keep it clean. We prefer cool mist humidifiers because warm mist tend to have more germs and a warm, moist environment can also become a playground for mold. Once a week, take the humidifier apart, wipe it down with diluted bleach (one capful per gallon) and let the pieces dry before re-assembling.

While cool mist humidifiers do not boil water like the warm mist units, the ultrasonic humidifiers transmit energy to the water through high-frequency vibrations (well above human, and most animal, hearing) that can help break up any bacteria present. While in use the Ultrasonic Humidifier should be cleaned every day and before it is filled with water.

We recommend Crane humidifiers. These irresistibly cute Crane humidifiers make moisture fun! One of Crane's quirky animal pals can keep kids company on a sick day, help bring a smile to their faces, and help get them feeling a little better... stat!





Stop by next Sunday for another Product Review Sunday when we will review another product nannies love.