End of Season Humidifier Care
March 8, 2015 9:13 AM Subscribe
How do I get into all the nooks and crannies of my Crane teardrop humidifier?
I have a Crane teardrop humidifier which has been great all winter long. Daily and weekly maintenance has been easy and I have followed the instruction manual to the letter. Unfortunately, I'm not sure their end of season care instructions will work.
When I have done the weekly cleanings, I have been able to get rid of the vast majority of calcium build up. At the same time, there are areas I cant seem to thoroughly get clean and wipe down, specifically:
-Corners in the interior lower portion
-The inside of the tube where the moisture is released in the air
-The pronged plastic attachment at the bottom of the tube
-The ridges on the water basin cap
If I follow Crane's end of season instructions, there will still be dried calcium buildup within the humidifier due to these areas. What is the best way to get these parts fully clean?
I have a Crane teardrop humidifier which has been great all winter long. Daily and weekly maintenance has been easy and I have followed the instruction manual to the letter. Unfortunately, I'm not sure their end of season care instructions will work.
When I have done the weekly cleanings, I have been able to get rid of the vast majority of calcium build up. At the same time, there are areas I cant seem to thoroughly get clean and wipe down, specifically:
-Corners in the interior lower portion
-The inside of the tube where the moisture is released in the air
-The pronged plastic attachment at the bottom of the tube
-The ridges on the water basin cap
If I follow Crane's end of season instructions, there will still be dried calcium buildup within the humidifier due to these areas. What is the best way to get these parts fully clean?
Best answer: Here's what I do:
Get a bucket or rubbermaid plastic bin, or a large sink basin that you can plug. Fill with water, a squirt of dish soap, and a bunch of white vinegar. Like maybe 1/4 of a gallon jug or a bit more...it might be excessive but it works well for me.
Unscrew the lid from the tank, remove the tank nozzle, and take off that little white clip and the float below it. Put everything but the base in that soapy vinegar water. Make sure the tank is open and get some of the water in there too. Swish it around inside the tank.
Take about a cup of that solution and pour it into the (unplugged) base. Let everything soak for a few hours. Swish the vinegar solution around inside the tank few times too.
Use a toothbrush (I have one that I keep for cleaning things, but you could use a clean older toothbrush or a freebie that you're not going to use) or a dishbrush and scrub everything down nicely. If you have a bottle brush (they are really useful for cleaning out water bottles) they work really well to get in the base of the humidifier. The bottle brush also works well to clean out that tube through the tank, where the vapor rises. If you don't have a bottle brush, I sometimes push a dishcloth through that tube and spin it around in there a few times - it seems to wipe out the gunk pretty well too. I have been known to clean that one really annoying corner in the base with a q-tip.
Rinse everything well and let dry completely.
Put the whole thing in a rubbermaid bin or one of those giant ziploc bags. I keep the lid of the tank open, and choose to store it disassembled. If you have some of those desiccant packs from shoes or other purchases, put a few of those in the container for the summer.
This has kept my Crane humidifier working well for several years, but we don't have super hard water. You can also replace the vinegar with bleach if you'd prefer.
posted by barnone at 10:00 AM on March 8, 2015 [5 favorites]
Get a bucket or rubbermaid plastic bin, or a large sink basin that you can plug. Fill with water, a squirt of dish soap, and a bunch of white vinegar. Like maybe 1/4 of a gallon jug or a bit more...it might be excessive but it works well for me.
Unscrew the lid from the tank, remove the tank nozzle, and take off that little white clip and the float below it. Put everything but the base in that soapy vinegar water. Make sure the tank is open and get some of the water in there too. Swish it around inside the tank.
Take about a cup of that solution and pour it into the (unplugged) base. Let everything soak for a few hours. Swish the vinegar solution around inside the tank few times too.
Use a toothbrush (I have one that I keep for cleaning things, but you could use a clean older toothbrush or a freebie that you're not going to use) or a dishbrush and scrub everything down nicely. If you have a bottle brush (they are really useful for cleaning out water bottles) they work really well to get in the base of the humidifier. The bottle brush also works well to clean out that tube through the tank, where the vapor rises. If you don't have a bottle brush, I sometimes push a dishcloth through that tube and spin it around in there a few times - it seems to wipe out the gunk pretty well too. I have been known to clean that one really annoying corner in the base with a q-tip.
Rinse everything well and let dry completely.
Put the whole thing in a rubbermaid bin or one of those giant ziploc bags. I keep the lid of the tank open, and choose to store it disassembled. If you have some of those desiccant packs from shoes or other purchases, put a few of those in the container for the summer.
This has kept my Crane humidifier working well for several years, but we don't have super hard water. You can also replace the vinegar with bleach if you'd prefer.
posted by barnone at 10:00 AM on March 8, 2015 [5 favorites]
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posted by wwax at 9:58 AM on March 8, 2015