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To humidify or not to humidify? In this post, I’ll review five of the best humidifiers for plants that are perfect for your indoor jungle, as well as other humidifier and humidity questions.
Do humidifiers help plants grow?
Many houseplants grow naturally in rainforest environments, which are also humid environments.
Now, it’s not like your plants are all going to die in normal household humidity levels, as long as it’s not too low. But, some plants are extra sensitive and need higher humidity.
Even for plants that are not as sensitive, providing humidity-loving plants with extra humidity using one of the easiest methods—a humidifier—is only going to help them thrive.
Humidity also becomes more important in the dry winter air which is usually made even drier with the heat coming out of our vents. Summer air can also become too dry with the air conditioning on full blast.
As important as humidity can be for some plants, remember that not all plants like humidity, such as desert cacti and other plants found in dry environments.
The Quick List
Here is a quick list of the five best humidifiers for plants discussed in this post. Then, I’ll break down each one in detail below.
- Large Air Innovations Humidifier – The Winner
- Vicks Medium Room Cool Mist Humidifier – The Runner Up
- TOPPIN Top Fill Cool Mist Humidifier
- hOmeLabs Cool Mist Humidifier
- GENIANI Portable Small Cool Mist Humidifier
The 5 Best Humidifiers for Plants
Large Air Innovations Humidifier – The Winner
- Tank Capacity – 1.7 GAL
- Run Time – Up to 96 hours
- Filters – Permanent ceramic filter. You won’t have to worry about replacing the filter but you still must clean the humidifier.
- Noise – Described as “whisper-quiet”
- Humidifier Type – Ultrasonic
- Other Comments – This one made the top spot on the list of best humidifiers for plants because—come on—a 96-hour run time?! Other reasons include the size (it can provide humidity to rooms up to 600 square feet) and it will automatically shut off and beep when the water runs out.
Vicks Medium Room Cool Mist Humidifier – The Runner Up
- Tank Capacity – 1.2 GAL
- Run Time – Up to 30 hours
- Filters – None. You won’t have to worry about replacing the filter but you still must clean the humidifier.
- Noise – Described as quiet
- Humidifier Type – Ultrasonic
- Other Comments – This one made the runner-up spot on the best humidifiers for plants list because it’s not as expensive as the ultimate winner but it’s still an excellent humidifier.
TOPPIN Top Fill Cool Mist Humidifier
- Tank Capacity – 2.8L / 94oz
- Run Time – 20 hours on low mist, 16 hours on medium mist, 12 hours on high mist
- Filter – None. You won’t have to worry about replacing the filter but you still must clean the humidifier.
- Noise – Light noise when turned on high but has a sleep mode that turns off all button lights and noise
- Humidifier Type – Ultrasonic
- Other Comments – This humidifier conveniently refills from the top for ease of use.
hOmeLabs Cool Mist Humidifier
- Tank Capacity – 4 L
- Run Time – Up to 40 hours
- Filters – None. You won’t have to worry about replacing the filter but you still must clean the humidifier.
- Noise – Described as ultra-quiet
- Humidifier Type – Ultrasonic
- Other Comments – Honestly, sometimes humidifiers are ugly. This humidifier, in my opinion, is the most aesthetically pleasing with its modern design.
GENIANI Portable Small Cool Mist Humidifier
- Tank Capacity – 250ML / 0.06 GAL
- Run Time – Up to eight hours
- Filters – None. You won’t have to worry about replacing the filter but you still must clean the humidifier.
- Noise – Described as quiet
- Humidifier Type – Ultrasonic
- Other Comments – This small, USB-powered humidifier gets a spot on the list because it makes a great desktop humidifier for just a few plants and it’s portable.
More Humidifier Questions Answered
Can you use any humidifier for plants?
Yes, techincially you can use any humidifier for your plants, as the purpose of all humidifiers is to increase humidity.
However, there are a few specific things you’ll want to consider when choosing the best kind of humidifier, as described in the next section.
What kind of humidifier is best for plants?
When thinking about what kind of humidifier is best for plants, a lot of this will depend on your specific needs, such as room size and the number of plants that you want to provide humidity to.
A few other general areas to consider are run time, tank capacity, noise, filters and other maintenance, and aesthetics (although that part is subjective).
Two common types of humidifiers include ultrasonic and evaporative.
Ultrasonic humidifiers use ultrasonic vibrations to form fine mist droplets. They are typically more expensive, but you won’t have to worry about filters and they are quieter.
An older type of humidifier, but still commonly used, evaporative humidifiers basically use the concept of evaporation. A fan inside sucks in air and blows it into a wick filter. The resulting mist is then put back out into the room.
Evaporative humidifiers make more noise because of the fan, and you will have to replace the filter eventually, but they are usually cheaper.
How often should you use a humidifier on your plants?
In order for the humidity to be effective, you should let the humidifier run at the very least a few times a week.
You can use your humidifier every day, but don’t think your plants will suffer if you’re not running it 24/7. Feel free to run it during the day and turn it off at night, for instance.
Humidifier placement for plants
Don’t put your humidifier too close to your plants unless it’s a small tabletop humidifier and you need to put it closer in order for it to be effective.
The humidifier should be at least a few feet away and you should not be seeing moisture accumulate on your plants or other surfaces.
Do plants like cool mist humidifiers?
A warm mist humidifier vs. a cool mist humidifier does not matter that much for plants. You are not going to be putting your plant inches from the humidifier, so the temperature won’t have much of an effect.
One of the biggest differences between the two is the heat from the warm mist humidifier helps to kill bacteria, so you’ll probably have to clean a cool mist humidifier more often. However, a cool mist humidifier is a little more energy efficient.
So, while there are differences between the two that might affect your decision, the temperature itself doesn’t matter so much.
What humidity levels do plants need?
Many houseplants will generally be OK in 40-60% humidity. However, some plants need as high as 80-90% humidity. You will need to research whether or not your plant likes high humidity, moderate humidity, or no humidity.
Humidifier maintenance
You do need to keep your humidifier clean and ideally, your humidifier should give you instructions for the kind of maintenance involved.
Not only are dirty humidifiers bad for your home and plants, but they can be unhealthy for the people in the home, too.
In general, you should clean out your humidifier every couple of days, especially if you’re using it every day. Make sure you thoroughly rinse it of any chemicals after you’re done cleaning it.
If your humidifier has a filter, change the filter as instructed for that humidifier. Use clean water every day when refilling the tank—don’t let the water sit forever in the tank to be used over and over again.
Potential problems with humidity
Although humidifiers are beneficial, you really don’t need to have extremely high humidity at all times. In fact, that can cause problems.
Very high humidity can cause mold and bacteria in your home or on your plants. Make sure the walls, floor, and plants are not getting wet with condensation, and that you’re using an appropriately sized humidifier for the room it’s in.
As mentioned in the section above, you should also be regularly cleaning the humidifier. Bacteria can form in a dirty humidifier and subsequently be pushed out into the rest of the room.
Also, some pests are attracted to wet, humid, muggy, air-flow-lacking environments, which is something you’ll need to monitor if you use a humidifier regularly.
However, if you own many houseplants you will probably experience pests at some point regardless of humidity levels!
Absolute humidity vs. relative humidity
Absolute humidity describes the air’s water content. It is not measured as a percentage, but usually in grams per cubic meter or grams per kilogram.
Relative humidity describes the amount of humidity as a percentage of the maximum amount of humidity for that temperature. So, when you see “50% humidity,” for example, that is referring to relative humidity.
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