How to Clean a Crane Humidifier? Follow These Tips

Crane Humidifier inside the box

​Many people wonder how to clean a Crane humidifier. Since respiratory health is extremely important, keeping humidifiers clean and safe to use for the winter is imperative. Instead of using chemical solutions and mixtures that could be potentially dangerous, learn how to clean a Crane humidifier with natural cleaning solvents like vinegar.

What Is A Crane Humidifier?

Crane Humidifier

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Humidifiers help to reduce dry air in a home. Dry air can cause symptoms such as coughing, scratchy voice, headaches and even bloody noses. (It’s been traced to snoring in some individuals, too.) Homes with low humidity can also contribute to difficulty breathing. Humidifiers help put moisture back into dry rooms, preventing sickness, cracked walls, and damaged door frames. While many humidifiers require filters that need to be frequently changed, Crane humidifiers do not.

The Benefits of a Crane Humidifier

Man Sleeping in bed while beside him is a crane humidifier

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During the coldest months of the year, many people frequently spend time together in a single room. Whether in an office or living room, when many people share the same air, its quality is important. Without a humidifier, the colder months can make breathing difficult. A Crane humidifier is an efficient model, designed to make the most out of its vapor for extended periods of time. While using the humidifier, air quality is noticeably increased.Because the Crane humidifier only needs one refill per day, a full tank can last 24 hours at a time. This cuts down on both electricity and cost. Although they do not have a filter, it is still important to learn how to clean Crane humidifiers. Without regular cleaning, mold can grow inside your unit and vaporize alongside the water: that’s not good, no matter how you frame it. Adding an extra step to your weekly cleaning will only cost you a few more minutes, but can make a major difference in your health.

How to Clean a Crane Humidifier

Just as a humidifier can improve the air quality of a room or home, if not cleaned properly, air quality can decrease. Some of the symptoms caused by unclean humidifiers include allergy issues and flare-ups, asthma, coughing, sinus infections, and even lung problems. When standing water is distributed throughout the air, anyone in the room can become sick.

To understand how to clean a Crane humidifier, it’s important to assess the humidifier’s parts. There are three separate parts that need to be cleaned: the base, the tank and the accessories. Each of these will need to be cleaned to ensure your humidifier gives you nothing but clean vapor.

Ingredients Needed

Cleaning a Crane humidifier is very simple. Although maintenance cleaning is necessary, you only really need a few ingredients to do a thorough, yet efficient, job. All you need is three tablespoons of distilled white vinegar, a soft cloth, and water. With these inexpensive materials, learning how to clean your Crane humidifier will be a breeze.

Vinegar, a natural cleaning aid found in many household kitchens, is environmentally friendly, inexpensive, and a cleaning solution proven to work for many different items. Not only is it tough on bacteria, but it’s safe for most pets. With a little bit of elbow grease and a bottle of white vinegar, cleaning a Crane humidifier is easy.

How to Clean a Crane Humidifier in 5 Steps

Step 1

To begin cleaning a Crane humidifier, each piece must be disassembled. Before taking it apart, make sure the humidifier is turned off. As with any electrical appliance, water and electricity do not mix well. To ensure there is no electrical shock, unplug the appliance, too. Wait a few minutes before disassembling.

Step 2

To clean the tank, first fill the reservoir to the top, leaving just a little bit of room for splashage. If you’re wondering how to clean a Crane humidifier without chemicals, this is where the white vinegar helps. In addition to home cooking, white vinegar can clean almost anything; it’s safe and chemical-free, making it a great addition to any home, especially if you’re eco-conscious. Add three tablespoons of white vinegar (white vinegar has a higher acetic acid level compared to distilled vinegar) to your water reservoir and stir with a spoon.

Step 3

After mixing the white vinegar and water in the reservoir, screw the cap tightly back onto the tank. Once it’s safely secured in place, shake the tank from side to side and up and down, ensuring the solution is vigorously mixed together. Shake for at least thirty seconds. After approximately one minute, drain the tank and rinse repeatedly with tap water. Purified water can also be used, but it’s usually not necessary for cleaning. Continue to rinse until the smell of vinegar is no longer present. It will probably take two or three rinses to completely get rid of all the white vinegar from the tank. Before continuing to clean the rest of the Crane humidifier, inspect the water tank for any cracks. If you clean the Crane humidifier on a regular basis, checking for cracks can ensure the humidifier is not damaged. Depending on the length of your warranty, a replacement tank can be issued.

Step 4

Learning the importance of disinfection is key when learning how to clean a Crane humidifier. Similar to cleaning the water tank, any diffuser accessories will also need to be cleansed with white vinegar. To mix the proper amount of cleaning solution for a diffuser accessory, use water and slightly less vinegar than needed for the water tank. Depending on size, one to two tablespoons of vinegar should be enough to properly disinfect the accessories. Residue build-up can look different, but a pinkish tint is common. Once all residue is scrubbed until completely removed, let the accessories soak for a minimum of ten minutes. In addition to the diffuser, other accessories may include a humidifier cap, lid, diffuser dome, and/or an air purifier UV bulb. Make sure to rinse the accessories afterward, allowing for extra time to dry.

Step 5

Cleaning the base of the humidifier is much like cleaning the accessories. Once the base is almost completely filled to the top with water, add two tablespoons of white vinegar. Instead of shaking the base, let the white vinegar and water solution sit. After thirty minutes, the dirt and residue should loosen from the base. Upon draining the solution, check for any missed debris or residue. If there are remnants of dirt, simply wipe the cloth in the vinegar solution to disinfect. As with the tank, rinse the base with water until the vinegar smell is entirely gone. To completely get rid of all the white vinegar, rinse the base at least twice. (If there is still a hint of vinegar smell, rinse again.) Let dry for approximately thirty minutes, or until completely free of water.

For humidifiers that already have an excess build-up of mold or residue from standing water, there are other cleaning tools that you can easily find at a drug or grocery store. Toothbrushes can be helpful for small cracks and hard-to-reach grooves and are an efficient way to scrub film and mineral build-up in areas that aren’t easy to see. Another ingredient that is easy to locate is hydrogen peroxide. By using three-percent hydrogen peroxide, scum and dirt are broken down and can be rinsed away. Although hydrogen peroxide is not as natural as using white vinegar, it is a powerful cleaning tool for humidifiers. Though there are other methods of how to clean a Crane humidifier, vinegar and hydrogen peroxide are the most lung-friendly, given how close they are to being all-natural solutions.

Cleaning a Crane humidifier before packing it away for a season is highly recommended. By cleaning it before storage, there is a decreased risk of mold and other potentially toxic build-up. This risk is only decreased, however, if the humidifier is completely dry before it is stored. Dry off each part of the humidifier with a clean cloth in addition to letting the tank, base, and each accessory air dry. Air drying should take thirty minutes minimum.

How Often Should I Clean It?

Depending on how often the humidifier is used, regular cleanings will vary. Factors such as temperature change, seasons, and where you live all influence how often a Crane humidifier needs to be cleaned. If there is still sludge or residue inside the humidifier despite cleaning on a regular basis, try using filtered or distilled water. The quality of water may impact any possible mold or residue despite how often the humidifier is cleaned.

​Occasional Use vs. Regular Use

By only using a humidifier for a few hours per night, regular cleanings should occur every two or three weeks. In the winter, when the air is more likely to be dry, you might use your humidifier more often. In this case, it is recommended that the humidifier be thoroughly cleaned at least once per week.Dumping out old water after each use will help prevent unhealthy bacteria from growing. If the bacteria is not eliminated, the risks of low air quality and airborne sickness increases. Brushing up on how to clean a Crane humidifier, as well as regularly cleaning your unit, can cut down on illness as well as cost. When humidifiers stop working, it is often because of residue build-up.

Conclusion

Crane Humidifier

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​Humidifiers can be extremely helpful in improving the air quality of a room or home, but if not cleaned properly, they can have the opposite effect. To ensure a healthy respiratory system as well as prevent other illnesses, knowing how to clean a Crane humidifier is crucial. Crane provides easy-to-clean humidifiers with no filters needed. They do not require special cleaning solvents and can be easily taken apart for a thorough clean. When air quality and respiratory health are your top priorities, Crane humidifiers are a great choice: they are long-lasting and consistent.

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