How to Make a Humidifier Cleaner
- 1). Empty your humidifier of any water in the reservoir.
- 2
White distilled vinegar cleans and sanitizes many household surfaces.Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Getty Images
Pour full-strength white distilled vinegar into the water reservoir to the "Full" line. Turn the humidifier on, and run it for 15 minutes to move the vinegar through the system. - 3). Allow the vinegar to sit in the water reservoir for 20 minutes to loosen lime scale and to kill mold and bacteria. Pour the vinegar out of the humidifier's water reservoir, leaving enough to cover the bottom.
- 4). Scrub the inside of the reservoir with a nylon scrub brush. Empty the reservoir, and rinse it with water.
- 5). Pour water into the humidifier, and run it for one hour to rinse the system.
- 6
Use bleach to kill germs and bacteria.Thinkstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
Add chlorine bleach to the water reservoir to sanitize it. Use 1 tsp. of bleach for each gallon of water in the unit. Run your humidifier for 15 minutes to work the sterilizing solution through the appliance. - 7). Empty the water reservoir, and rinse it well with water. Refill the unit with plain water, and run your humidifier as usual.
