Humidifiers and Bronchitis

[Jemma]

I've been pondering getting one of these for Amir as my apartment gets very dry and hot during the winter.  As my thermostat is in the apartment next door, I have no control of the heat.  Yeah, Mike Holmes would love my place. 

Anyway, because of Amir's bronchitis, I was thinking that a humidifier along with his air purifier may be beneficial.  So I was curious if anyone uses one for their hounds (or themselves) and which type (warm/cool mist)?  The research I've done, I'm leaning towards a cool mist though not sure which brand wins.

[Anna]

Go warm mist, they are quieter and stay cleaner.  Get one with a humidistat so that it turns off when the humidity in the room reaches your setting (prevents mold/mildew problems), and one with auto shutoff when the water runs out.  All humidifiers require regular cleaning to deal with scale build up and to prevent bacteria, mold, and mildew growth.
A console humidifier can do a larger area but are more cumbersome to clean than tabletop models so it's a trade off of which you prefer.
Consider using distilled water if you have hard water, for less cleaning.
For tabletop go with the Vicks or Safety 1rst models.  Or for console the kenmore is supposed to be good.
hope that helps!

[Jemma]

Sorry if I sound dense but wouldn't a warm mist one make increase the heat?  Heh, as one review I read on the two, it said a warm mist would be comparable to trying to breathe in a sauna.  I've never owned a humidifier or vaporizer before so I'm a tad dim in this area.  Thankfully, the noise level isn't a factor.  

And many thanks for the tips!  I had thought of using distilled over tap water.  I'm not entirely sure if anywhere in PEI doesn't have hard water, heh.

[RockysMom]

A warm mist humidifier does increase the temperature in a room if it is small or the door is closed.  I used a warm mist humidifier when my daughter was little and had a cold.  It was the only thing that eased her cough.  I had the Vicks table top model.  It was fantastic.

To ensure you don't wind up with serious respiratory infections, dump the water out daily (never let water sit in the tank when it is not in use).  The warmth will increase the growth of bacteria significantly.  Mine came with specific instructions for cleaning and I followed them to the letter and had no issues. 

It worked wonders for my daughter!