Cleaning - Gresham,OR

Hi D....
Uncooked white rice added to hot soapy water will act as a scrubbing agent for all the nooks and crannys that are hard to reach. Just put a cover over the opening and swirl/shake (lots of rinse-work afterwards, but usually good results). Works great for those small necked water bottles, also. Hopes this makes things easier!
S

D.,

If it is to the point where it is slimy in the bottom, I would use something small to get into the nooks and crannies. Putting rice in the container with soap and a little water and shake it around for a little while. The rice will scrub off the slimy stuff for you without you having to use anything in the humidifier that might come back to haunt you. Good luck.

Sounds like you got some great idea for cleaning I have one for prevention in the future. We add a couple of drops of pure T36-C5 Melaleuca oil to the water. It's a natural anti-microbial and it keeps us from dealing with that slime issue.

C.-WAHM of ~5 y/o virtual twins
Owner: http://www.BeHappierAtHome.com

Not sure on how to get nooks and crannies because my humidifier comes apart very easily to get all areas. But my owners manual says to use a vinegar/water solution and it does quite nicely. I find I use vinegar for almost everything now with a small child. No harsh smells or worries of ingestion. It does hardwood floors, windows, your bathroom (takes the hard water stains out) and I know my humidifier gets those even using the ball you drop in the water. Hope it helps and good luck. O' and the vents where it blows out, we have an electric pump that just blew out all the gunk. Again good luck and have a great day.
S.

Run diluted vinegar through. It doesn't smell great so we put it on the back porch to run, but it definately did the job to clean ours!

I'd try a bit of bleach and then rinse it out good afterward.

You've got some great ideas...also thought I'd mention one other:

Pipecleaners.

:)

We use a solution called Kaz Humidifier and Voporizer Treatment. It is safe to put in the water while you are actually using it and there isn't a smell. You can usually find it next to the humidifiers and accessories in the store.

J.

I have always used baking soda to clean a humidifier. Ran it with the baking soda in water

I'm no expert, but I use vinegar for a lot of my cleaning. It seems to do the trick on a lot of stuff. You could try running the humidifier with vinegar in it. You could even try a bit of lemon juice in it. Not sure if this helps though. :D

D.,
I use generic brand denture cleaners. They don't always work depending on the severity of the dirt, but they have worked for me with moldy coffee carafs and coffee makers as well as moldy sippy bottles with boiling or hot water.

Best of luck.

Vinegar! It works for my humidifier. I think no matter what though there will be some build up hard to get rid of. It is just a matter of staying on top of cleaning it.

Also I use the smallest brush head for the Sonicare toothbrush and use for cleaning the nooks & crannies. Since I wouldn't use that small of a brush head for brushing teeth there is no confusing it and I store with cleaning supplies.

run some vinigar and water through it for a few mins and that should do the trick

i would suggest a bottle brush and some good old degreasing dish soap. get a bottle brush with a nipple cleaner, that could be really good for the tight little corners. you can get one at the dollar tree.

Vinegar. I pour some into mine and let it sit for awhile.

If you still have the packaging or can check the specifics of the item out online, look that over to see if the humidifier is dishwasher safe. The one we bought is. So when ours gets a little gunky, we take apart the components and give it a run through the dishwasher. Works every time. (But, again, you want to make sure yours can go in the dishwasher before attempting this method of cleaning.)