Cool Vs. Warm Mist Humidifier

I never had any luck with cool mist humidifiers. Plus I felt that they made the room slightly colder than I wanted. However, warm mist humidifiers do work better. It is true that they build up bacteria and such, but it is direly important to remember to clean them out everyday as we do. We have not had any problems with our warm mist humidifier and we have had it for over a year without any bacteria build-up.

Pregnant first time mom and pediatric nurse practitioner

Cool -- Warm ones may work a bit better, but I was concerned about both the potential for mold/mildew and the potential for burns, especially once your child is more mobile. Our pediatrician recommended cool mist for those reasons.
K.

I have bought both, from expesive ones to cheapers ones and the one that I found worked the best was the cheap one. Vicks humidifier, a warm mist. It was the most effective for my kids, plus you can add some vicks solution to it made for the humidifier that helps out a lot!

In "The Baby Book" Dr. Sears explains that impeller-type humidifiers harbor bacteria and mold and release them into the air. He says that ultrasonic humidifiers use sound to make water into a fine mist producing clean air by killing bacteria and mold but the air may not be safe to breathe because it may contain broken up particles of lead and other minerals from tap water, if you use this kind of humidifier then use distilled water or one with demineralizing cartridges. Vaporizers boil the water which kills bacteria and molds. He recommends using vaporizers for most illnesses because it moisturizes the breathing passages and warms the room. For an illness of croup he says that the humidifier is preferred. Check out his website www.AskDrSears.com for more information.
If you do use a vaporizer realize that the steam can cause burns so avoid putting your hand over the steam, keep it well away from baby and keep the cord out of reach. We've used a Vicks Vaporizer (it has a cup in the top for some vicks vapo liquid) for our 10 month old daughter for every cold she's had, it works well. Hope this helps.

I too have both versions. The cool one is nice in the summer when dry scratchy throats or allergies are acting up. The Vicks warm humidifier is my favorite for heavy conjestion, deep coughs and overall comfort with a bad cold. Adding the Vicks solution to the water helps a great deal. There are instructions on how to keep it clean.

Good luck.

I have two cold mist humidifier's and I don't think they work at all. I mentioned that to the nurse at the pediatrics office and she agreed. However, I heard that the warm ones build up bacteria and other bad stuff (too early think).