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We had taken our children to the doctor (2.5 years old and 6.5 months old) and the doctor (not their regular doctor) had mentioned to not use the warm air humidifier because of new research seems to indicate that it can cause problems.

Now, I can't actually find anything online that supports this. Short of going back to see their actual pediatrician, has anyone heard or know of this?

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I don't have a humidifier but over the time I've read about following issues with humidifiers:

  1. Bacteria growth
  2. The danger of burns from steam vaporizer.
  3. White dust from minerals in the water

I found one resource which talks about it in more details: http://www.aerias.org/desktopmodules/articledetail.aspx?articleid=99#humidifier-hazards

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  • The doctor made it sound as if it was something long term and that it didn't really help a cough. But your link was a great resource. I'm going to continue using it and definitely clean it more often! Thanks!
    – Dave
    Commented Apr 25, 2011 at 19:27
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    If you don't clean them they will get dirty, and you don't just rinse out the container but the coils and everything else. I take ours apart every couple of months to clean it (I would not recommend this unless you love to tinker like me). I know I've voided my warranty but the humidifier is almost 10 years old and I've kept it in good order so I don't have to worry about how unhealthy the steam might be. Keep it in a high, stable place and you can avoid steam burns; though I find that slightly overrated as a danger.
    – MichaelF
    Commented Apr 26, 2011 at 12:06

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