Can you add essential oils to a humidifier? Specifics of aroma use

Do you want to fill your home space with healthy scents? Do you think it is possible to add essential oils to a humidifier or do you need two different devices? Agree that buying several devices is expensive, and you need space to store this arsenal.

When the humidifier instructions do not have clear instructions on the use of aromatic additives, you should not experiment. This is hazardous to health and may damage the device.

We will help you understand the types of humidifiers that combine two useful functions in one device. We will guide you through the variety of essential oils. Well, if for some reason you do not want to buy a finished product, then we will tell you how to make it yourself.

Studying the instructions for the device

Not every humidifier can add essential oil. If you have already purchased a similar device, and the idea of ​​aromatization only came to you now, do not rush to implement it immediately.

Because the device must contain such a characteristic feature of the simultaneous use of both water and oil.The instructions for the humidifier specify how to properly fill it with these two different liquid components.

If you are still planning a purchase and are busy choosing a model, pay attention to the possibility of using the aromatization function in the device. Ask the seller what medicinal oils can be added to which parts of the humidifier without damaging the operation of the device.

Even if this additional flavoring feature doesn't interest you today, that may change in the future. After all, such a device is designed to last for many years.

So, let's study the instructions:

• It is written that you can add oil to a tank of water. This means that the device is both a humidifier and a fragrance. Along with the steam, essential oil will come out of it, filling the room with a unique smell.
• The design contains a special hole with a filter into which oil drips. This model should not be considered as a full-fledged flavoring agent. The aroma of the ether will only be felt in close proximity to the humidifier.
• The instructions do not contain permission or indicate a direct prohibition on the use of essential oils in the humidifier. You should not experiment with such a device; it can quickly fail.

A humidifier with a diffuser evaporates moisture while simultaneously filling the air with phytoncides of oils. Proportions not specified in the instructions for the device can be selected independently using a simple formula - for 5 square meters of room area, 2 drops of mono-oil or oil mixture.

Optimal home microclimate conditions

Not only does a certain temperature help create comfort in the home, ensuring standard humidity, but also a fragrant, peaceful atmosphere.For example, we associate essential oils with the scent of pine needles and citrus fruits with a festive, upbeat New Year's mood.

Rose oil, reminiscent of mother's perfume, evokes a state of calm, love, and protection. Is it worth buying a humidifier just for fragrance? It may well be that the air in your home is already quite comfortable.

Checking technical parameters

You can measure humidity with a device called a moisture meter or hygrometer. It provides humidity control and helps you navigate a rational humidifier operating schedule.

Electronic hygrometers have the highest accuracy in measuring humidity, but at home you can use an inexpensive mechanical sample

You can measure humidity levels without instruments using a simple method. Fill a clear glass glass halfway with water and place it in the refrigerator.

When the water temperature drops sufficiently, to approximately +2^OS, take out the glass. In a place far from radiators or other heat sources in the room, watch the top of the glass for about 5 minutes.

The output will be as follows:

• Air humidity is average, if after 5 minutes the walls of the glass are still fogged up;
• The air is dry if the surface of the glass fogs up first and then dries out;
• With high humidity, streams of water from condensation will appear on the glass.

A healthy microclimate has a humidity level of 40-60%. Perhaps you don’t feel particularly dry and just want to fill your apartment or house with pleasant smells. If the humidity levels in your home are already at or above acceptable levels, you can use scented alternative devices.

Essential oils are diffused here using special diffusers, these include atomizers and nebulizers. Remember when purchasing that heating is contraindicated for the oil, which is used in some models of atomizers.

What are the dangers of low moisture levels?

Suspicions of increased dryness were confirmed, which means the air needs to be humidified. Because breathing dehydrated air is dangerous. It reduces immunity and contributes to the development of diseases such as sinusitis and sinusitis. Many essential oils successfully resist the occurrence of these diseases.

In excessively dry room air, fountains, aquariums and some plants will increase the air humidity. In damp rooms all this beauty is harmful

Dry air is also harmful to children. The optimal level for them, according to the authoritative doctor E.O. Komarovsky, is 50-70%. In adults, low humidity causes headaches and skin aging. Over-drying of wooden furniture, plants, books, and musical instruments is harmful.

The dangers of waterlogged air

The other extreme is also fraught with trouble. Overdoing it with hydration will not cause the best sensations, but also illness and discomfort from dampness.

Increase humidity:

• Insufficient ventilation, rare ventilation;
• Prolonged boiling, drying things indoors;
• Water containers, aquariums, decorative fountains.

With high humidity, people develop allergies from fungi and mold. Fight it by ventilating, get rid of plants that give off moisture in large quantities. For example, such as hibiscus, parmania (household linden), ficus, cyperus, nephrolepis (indoor fern), dracaena.

Before adding green plants to your bedroom, you need to determine their moisturizing properties. When choosing, be guided not only by aesthetic, but also by physical parameters

For air oversaturated with moisture, climate control devices of the exact opposite design are used, which are called air dehumidifiers. These devices do not emit, but absorb moisture in the room.

How to choose a humidifier?

There are three main types of devices on the market. The most popular are ultrasonic ones, followed by traditional ones by a wide margin, and very rarely come across models with a steam operating principle. Among these types there are dozens of samples with aromatization and many other useful functions.

For example, with ionization, self-cleaning, built-in lamp, remote control, automation and alarm.

An important indicator is productivity. Based on this characteristic, you can easily calculate the volume of evaporating water. For example, a 3-liter tank that consumes 0.4 liters per hour will operate without refueling for 8 hours.

This is not much, it may not even be enough to sleep. Developers always indicate the humidification area and noise level. Control is possible from the instrument panel, remote control and using a smartphone.

Humidifiers for children have a wide variety of appearance. Those wishing to use essential oil nebulization in the children's room should definitely consult with an experienced pediatrician

You need to choose a device very carefully so as not to encounter inconvenient ergonomics when adding water or lack of steam settings. Convenient to use humidifying device, which is equipped with special automatic switching on and off.

It has a built-in hygrostat that controls the level of humidity in the room. This humidifier operates within a given range of technical parameters.

Humidity measurement sensors can be purchased and installed separately. This way the adjustment will be even more accurate, because they will show the level in the farthest corner of the room, and not next to the device, like the built-in ones.

Why do we need pleasant aromas?

Smells play an important role in a person’s emotional life. Molecules of essential oils enter the nose when inhaled along with air and steam from the humidifier.

Olfactory receptors instantly transmit information to an area of ​​the brain called the hippocampus. It is this department that is also responsible for emotions and memory. Therefore, smells take us back to the past in a split second.

In scientific circles, the phenomenon of involuntary emotional memories when suddenly smelling a familiar smell is called the “Proust effect.” In honor of the novel "In Search of Lost Time" by the French writer Marcel Proust

We come across scent marketing quite often in life. The smell of freshly baked bread in a coffee shop, the freshness and cleanliness of a hotel, the aroma of an expensive clothing store - all these are just the right aromatic tricks that increase profits by up to 15%.

Realtors, when showing long-vacant apartments in which a specific unpleasant smell of “undead” appears, also use this simple technique. They fill the premises with the smell of coffee and vanilla and sales increase. This is how proper use of a regular essential oil moisturizer helps business.

In everyday life, such memorable smells can be used as a kind of psychological “anchors”. Direct them not to past memories, but to future ones.

For example, if a beloved granny is constantly recharged with energy, vigor, and relieves anxiety with the help of orange essential oil and a steam device, then the smell in the grandmother’s apartment will be etched in the child’s memory. In adulthood, the familiar citrus signal will return a person to childhood and strong rainbow emotions.

What essential oils should I use?

Plant extracts perfectly help in restoring physical fitness and improve mental state.

People have known about the healing properties of essential oils since ancient times. Modern research has confirmed their influence on beneficial processes in the human body.

When choosing the types of aroma oils for your home air humidifier, you should think carefully about which one to choose from the many options offered. So that the benefits are obvious for both people and residential premises.

For relaxation, good mood

Essential oils have many positive properties, for example, they accelerate the removal of carcinogens from the body. Substances such as antioxidants contained in some species help slow down aging.

An air humidifier with aromatization has firmly established itself in the field of providing psychotherapeutic and aesthetic services. Everyday everyday device with essential oils is used by massage therapists, psychologists, cosmetologists

Not only in special medical rooms you can use procedures with the influence of essential oils and humidifier vapors. It's not difficult to master devices for home relaxation or increased activity.

Depending on your goal, psychotherapists advise using:

• Against anxiety, stress - geranium, chamomile, incense, bergamot, citrus fruits, which have a calming effect on the nervous system;
• For apathy and depression - lavender, orange, sandalwood, basil, which improve emotional mood;
• To improve memory and concentration - spruce, pine, black pepper, marigold, orange, energizing, tuning in to the work rhythm;
• Aphrodisiacs for sensuality - patchouli, musk, ylang-ylang, sandalwood, increasing desire and arousal;
• To activate brain activity - bergamot, which increases creative perception and extraordinary abilities.

All of the listed flavors need to be filled with space at the appropriate time of day. Improving sleep - at night, invigorating - in the morning, and so on. The exposure time is selected individually, but no more than one and a half hours.

Health support, medicinal purposes

Popular plant extracts will help relieve you of sinusitis, runny nose, and cough. Phytoncides in oils destroy viruses, antioxidants stimulate hair growth and strengthen the immune system.

The ingredients of essential oils are sprayed around the room by a humidifier; they instantly affect the human body.

Essential oils added to a humidifier enter the human bloodstream. That is why their exposure shows a very fast healing effect.

Medical professionals recommend:

• For difficulty breathing - rosemary, conifers, cloves, eucalyptus globulus, sage, anise, mint help with cough, stimulate ligaments;
• In the prevention of viral diseases - thyme, tea tree, yarrow, lemon slow down the spread of infection and fight germs;
• To improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract (gastrointestinal tract), cardiovascular system - orange, chamomile, juniper normalizes blood pressure;
• For headaches – lemon, lavender, mint, basil help with migraines and relieve spasms.

There is no need to mix everything, gradually study the effect on your body. Listen to your feelings; if the smell is unpleasant for you, discard this oil. Because there is nothing more subjective and individual than the perception of aroma.

Improving the ecology of housing

Essential oils are used not only for prevention and treatment. They are wonderful natural antiseptics that work well at disinfecting air, home surfaces and personal belongings.

Once you have won the fight against mold, you shouldn’t relax. This insidious disease can return at home if you do not take the full range of health measures

Oils protect against mold and mildew due to their bactericidal properties.

You can improve the atmosphere by:

• a mixture of tea tree and eucalyptus will help fight mold;
• Coconut oil, citronella, eucalyptus, lemongrass will repel insects;
• tea tree mixed with lemon will destroy pathogenic microorganisms;
• fir or cedar wood creates a bright fireplace aroma in the room.

Spraying a mixture of tea tree and lemon in the sports locker room is the best disinfectant for uniforms, shoes, and other special equipment.

The other side of the fragrant coin

Harmful consequences occur when you use too much humidifier-fragrance. For example, you know well what needs to be added to a humidifier when treating a cold, which oil is the most effective. But you absolutely don’t think about the quantity, and an overdose cannot be underestimated.

Not every remedy has the same positive effect on different people.What helps one may well harm another

For some conditions and chronic diseases, it is better not to know about essential oils at all.

So, without a doctor’s permission you cannot experiment with aromatherapy:

• pregnant women;
• nursing mothers;
• small children;
• people suffering from allergies.

People with kidney disease, any stage of asthma, thyroid dysfunction, epilepsy, and severe mental disorders should not use flavorings. Essential oils are contraindicated in painful conditions accompanied by high fever.

Proper care and storage of devices

You need to constantly care for your humidifier, even a rarely used steam or ultrasound machine Deep clean every 2-3 weeks. When using essential oil, perform care procedures in the following order:

Daily cleaning after use

Turn off the device, unplug the electrical cord, and pour out the remaining water and oil solution. Wash the humidifier parts with hot soapy water.

Use a brush when cleaning the tank from deposits and oil stains. Rinse with running tap water and dry all parts.

Be careful not to allow moisture to get on the electric motor and other operating parts of the device. For subsequent use, fill a completely dry humidifier with a water solution with essential oil.

Weekly cleaning and disinfection

After the soapy solution, treat the walls of the tank with diluted vinegar. Then rinse under running water. Perform all other daily cleaning procedures in the usual sequence.

Carry out when using a humidifier to treat with essential oils.Open windows before starting disinfection. You can use bleach at the rate of half a glass of bleach per 4 liters of water. Pour the resulting solution into the tank and turn on the device.

As soon as steam starts to be released, turn off the humidifier. After 3-5 minutes, pour out the disinfectant and rinse the tank. Then alternately change the water and turn on the device several times for 5-10 minutes. Stop treatment once the bleach odor disappears.

If the instructions prohibit the use of bleach, replace it with hydrogen peroxide to disinfect the humidifier.

For traditional humidifiers whose instructions allow the use of essential oils, follow the filter replacement requirements.

Particular attention is required to control the quality of the essential oil in the humidifier, which is used to treat a child, and its timely replacement. Keep an eye on the expiration date, store the product in a cool, dark place, and close the container tightly.

How to make it yourself?

You can humidify and scent the air without any devices at all. Just wet a towel, drop some essential oil and hang it near the radiator. To “automate”, you can dip one end of the towel into a container of water.

The easiest way to make a primitive humidifier using the almighty plastic DIY product. Fill the bottle with water, add some fragrance and place it near the battery.

When manufacturing structures that work on the principle of industrial samples, tools and electrical parts will be required. Connecting water and electricity in a homemade apparatus is not the safest way.Only specialists with sufficient experience can engage in such experiments.

An ultrasonic emitter for making a humidifier can be purchased for 4-5 USD. in Chinese online stores. It's called "Mist Maker" or "Mist Maker"

The circuit of a homemade ultrasonic humidifier consists of an emitter lowered into a container of water. The cold steam produced is pushed out of the container by a fan.

The emitter and fan are connected to a 220 V network via a power supply. At the terminals, the polarity of the “+” and “-” elements of the circuit must be observed. A special float mechanism holds the emitter on the water.

Drop essential oil into the vessel, turn on the properly assembled device and enjoy the aroma. For those who are not confident in their skills, it is better to purchase a ready-made device. The average market price of an ultrasonic humidifier with fragrance is 2-3 thousand rubles.

You will get acquainted with the best models that humidify the air in the room almost silently next article, which is worth reading for those who are concerned about the excessive sound of household appliances.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

Instructions for using a humidifier with fragrance:

Example of refilling with aroma oil and operation of an air humidifier:

Review of the new model of air humidifier with aromatization function Spa.Box 1.0:

You can easily find a useful device and flavors on trading platforms. The devices are easy to maintain and durable. Various models differ in price, design, and performance capabilities.

Air humidifiers with aromatization functions are available in large quantities on the websites of online stores and the shelves of regular sales departments of household appliances.As a rule, branded essential oils suitable for each model are offered at the same time.

How useful do you think scented air humidifiers are in a house or apartment? If you have experience purchasing and using such devices, please share it in the comments. Please post your opinions, questions, and interesting tips in the form below.