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How to Make a Humidifier With a Fan

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Updated July 21, 2022

If you are a newborn babe in the world of breezy appliances, you may want to learn how to make a humidifier with a fan. Many of the best fans, after all, do not include a humidification function, and dry heat is the worst. So why combine a fan with a humidifier, and how do you make one of these contraptions? Keep reading to find out.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

You can easily make a DIY-friendly fan with a humidification element using common household tools.
Position the fan so that it blows air over a large block of ice inside a bucket or bowl of water to create a cooling mist. The result is a homemade humidifier that uses water vapor.
Other options to increase the humidity level are to purchase a dedicated humidifier or to use a swamp cooler, otherwise known as an evaporative cooler.

Why Combine a Fan With a Humidifier?

If you are learning how to make a misting fan, you know that fan-assisted moisture helps cool down the ambient temperature of a room. So it makes sense to combine a fan with some sort of humidifier, especially when learning how to position fans to cool a room. Even cooler? Many DIY humidifier/fan hybrid designs don’t require additional power beyond the fan if you are wondering how to run a ceiling fan without electricity.

Insider Tip

Try to use only fresh water for this process. Otherwise, foul odors could accompany the humidification.

How to Humidify a Room With a Fan

The process here is rather simple and perfect for DIYers, even if it doesn’t teach you how to fix a noisy ceiling fan.

STEP 1 Make Some Ice

This requires a whole lot of ice, so ditch the tray.
Instead, fill a large bucket with water and place that in the freezer overnight.
Bigger buckets are better here due to an increased surface area.

STEP 2 Place the Fan and Bucket of Ice

Next, remove the ice bucket from the freezer and tilt it backward, allowing it to rest on folded slabs of cardboard or a wedge.
The point here is to position the bucket directly in front of a fan so that the fan blows over the ice and not the bucket.
It could take several tries to get the placement right.

STEP 3 Strain the Water and Enjoy

The fan should now be helping to create a cool and humidifying mist.
Strain any excess water from the bucket, disposing of it or saving it to make more ice.
Try not to let water accumulate, as this diminishes the efficacy of the humidification component.
A large block of ice in a bucket should last around two hours on a hot day.

STAT: The transducer in a humidifier is responsible for creating a cold mist. It works by vibrating at a very high (ultrasonic) frequency. (source)

Humidifier With Fan FAQs

How to fix a loud humidifier?

Humidifiers may fix the issue of dry skin, but they can be loud during use. To fix this, keep an eye on the water level and turn the machine off when you have reached optimal humidity.

How to make your home humidity itself?

To avoid dry conditions so your home doesn't feel like a drying rack, install a store-bought humidifier, a portable humidifier, an ultrasonic humidifier, or rely on evaporative humidifiers.

Can you use a fan and a humidifier at the same time?

Sure, it's fine to use both at the same time to regulate your home's humidity level. Just be sure to clear out excess bowls of water during use and to keep an eye on water vapor.

Lawrence Bonk

Lawrence Bonk is a copywriter with a decade of experience in the tech space, with columns appearing in Engadget, Huffington Post and CBS, among others. He has a cat named Cinnamon.