Both cool mist humidifiers and steam vaporizers can add moisture to your home air and help relieve respiratory symptoms without medication. Humidifiers are used to add moisture to the air, usually with the intention of combating dry climates or relieving cold and flu symptoms. A vaporizer is a type of hot mist humidifier that uses boiling water to create hot steam. Both devices can ease discomfort when used properly, but daily cleaning is important to lower the risk of bacterial growth.
Because they use boiling water, vaporizers may not be suitable for young children. Unlike humidifiers, vaporizers can be used to administer medications and relieve symptoms of the common cold. And because vaporizers use heat to boil water and release steam, you're less likely to spread mold and bacteria throughout your home. Even more compact, the Vicks Soothing Vapors plug-in waterless vaporizer can also be used with Vicks VapoPads.
If you are looking for relief from dry skin and nose, chest congestion, and coughing through a natural solution that is relatively inexpensive, both cold steam vaporizers and steam vaporizers are a good choice during the dry months of the coming winter. A major advantage vaporizers have over humidifiers is the fact that boiled water from a vaporizer is purified, meaning that the vapor it emits is clean to breathe.
