necessary to clean humidifier tank? how often?

[JLtheDrone]

Hi guys. I was watching YouTube tutorials last night and a guy was saying that you should empty out any unused water from your humidifier tank every morning and wash it all in warm soapy water. The reasoning was that bacteria love wet and warm conditions. Be that as it may, I hardly ever clean my water tank. I usually top it off with new water to fill it to the line each night and call it good. I use distilled water. So, should I be worried? If it means deathly illness, then I am willing to change my ways.

[bennyhur]

There was another thread on this forum recently discussing this issue. The OP had some pretty bad infections from doing exactly what you are doing. I cant find the thread I am remembering through the search though... EDIT: found it: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=99414&p=924088

Personally I do dump and clean the tank every morning because it does not take long for bacteria to grow in that environment.

[Chimpanzzz]

I just refill w/distilled water each day like you do now. I'll sanitize the tank (50/50 water-bleach) about once a month. I don''t have any respiratory conditions or sensitivity to infection. My house is very clean of particulates; no pets or pests, excessive dander, or pollen. All of which could be factors.

I did once forget a cleaning cycle and noticed an odor after close to two months. On that occasion, I couldn't "see" anything in the tank but I could smell it.

My conclusion is once a month is good enough for me. I'll probably smell it before it becomes an issue.

[LSAT]

I think I have cleaned my tank twice over the past 7-8 months. I always use distilled water and never have any bacteria or smell.

[palerider]

There was another thread on this forum recently discussing this issue. The OP had some pretty bad infections from doing exactly what you are doing. I cant find the thread I am remembering through the search though... EDIT: found it: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=99414&p=924088

Personally I do dump and clean the tank every morning because it does not take long for bacteria to grow in that environment.

and, maybe the OP in that thread, who said they were prone to bronchitis anyway, just happened to develop an infection... correlation does not equal causation.

most of the "sanitize your stuff daily" is probably lawyerease for "don't sue US if something happens and you didn't follow all our instructions to the letter".