The Three Best Homemade Humidifiers
Winter can be the perfect time to hunker down indoors and really get creative with some new crafts. Maybe you’ll accessorize your pet, or sculpt a tiny colony of penguins, or perhaps stumble upon the next trend in cold-weather fashion.
Whichever DIY projects you decide to cozy up to this season, one thing’s for sure: You’ll have to heat your home while you’re at it. And that means dryness. So here are three DIY humidifiers that are a great way to get crafty and ensure proper in-home humidity at the same time.
This homespun humidifier couldn’t be much simpler, and it’s been around for at least 100 years, so it works. All it takes is a metal hanger, a medium-sized mixing bowl (or large cereal bowl) and a hand towel.
(Photos: YouTube)
1. Fill the bowl about three-quarters full with hot water.
2. Bend the bottom bar of the hanger so it fits closely around the edge of the bowl and can stand sturdily on its own.
3. Place one end of the towel in the water and let it soak for ten seconds. Then wrap the other end on top of the the hanger’s hook. If you’re having trouble getting it to stay there, secure it with a light clothespin or binder clip.
4. Widen the towel’s stance so that it’s bordering the inside edge of the bowl, and ta-da! The water will be slowly wicked into the air, raising the humidity of the room, and keeping you from getting that awful combo of dry nose and hands that’s plagued under-moisturized men and women for eons. Do keep an eye on the water level as you’ll likely have to refill the bowl every two days or so.
(Photo: Instructables)
The Desktop Humidifier
This clever option requires a good bit more work than the first one (including a basic solder), but it’ll humidify a greater area and in a shorter time. You can also decorate the box and use a more stylish bottle, which will really add awesome flare to this already-impressive DIY hack. But as with any project that involves water and electricity, extra caution should be taken. Detailed steps can be found here.
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(Photo: YouTube)
The Sponge Humidifier
Here’s a great option that, if you already own a portable fan, will cost less than $25 in materials and less than ten minutes to assemble. All you’ll need is a fan, one disposable baking pan and two evaporative foam cooling pads (Kitchen and car sponges will work fine, too. You’ll just need more of them).
One quick note regarding this project: While this method is really effective during the cold months, it may lower your room’s temperature a bit. Using warm/hot water will combat this side effect, but do keep an eye on your thermostat, as you don’t want to go trading one winter woe for another.
1. Cut the pads to a size 1/4” smaller than the pan.
2. Fill the pan half way with hot water.
3. Stack the pads, then place them in the pan. Let them soak for a good five minutes. Press lightly on the top pad to make sure they’re both soaked.
4. Position the fan at one end of the pan and give it a 15-30 degree downward tilt.
5. Turn the fan on its low setting (medium if it’s a smaller fan), and feel the humidity rise within the hour!
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