Humidifiers are crucial to restoring balance to your home’s moisture conditions. But don’t expect them to work some infinity stone magic and fix your humidity level with a snap.  Of course, it is absolutely normal to ask questions like how long does a humidifier take to work.

The truth is, it takes time for a humidifier to have a visible impact on the level of relative humidity of your interior air.  But exactly how long this will take depends on a lot of factors that you should be familiar with. This includes the mist output capacity of your dehumidifier, its speed, the coverage capacity of the unit among other considerations.

Since all of these factors vary from one scenario to the other, determining how long a dehumidifier takes to work can be a tricky business. Still, it is crucial to have some sort of answer to this question to put your mind at rest and help define your expectations from any unit you purchase. Knowing how long it takes a dehumidifier to work also helps to determine if the unit you have purchase is faulty or functioning as you would.

Read also:

How Long Does It Take To Humidify A Room?

This is one of those questions that you are not likely to get a specific answer for. How long it would take to humidify a room depends on several parameters most of which vary from one unit to the other. Some humidifiers would be able to humidify a room in just a few hours. Others may require more time to get the same result.

Ideally, you should begin to feel a noticeable difference in the air within 3 hours of turning on your humidifier. However, it might take longer depending on many other factors. Generally, if you are not seeing any noticeable result within 24 hours, then something might be wrong somewhere.

How Long Does It Take For A Humidifier To Warm Up?

While it might take hours for you to begin to feel the effect of having a humidifier on in your room, a well-functioning unit sets to work immediately. Hence, you can expect your humidifier to warm up within 10 to 15 minutes of turning it on.

Although different types of humidifiers indeed take different amounts of time to warm up, if the water of the right temperature is used and the unit is working properly, this should only take a few minutes. If the humidifier is still yet to warm up after an hour of use, then it needs to be checked for damages.

Factors That Determine How Quickly A Humidifier Starts To Work

In determining how quickly a humidifier should work, there are different factors to put into consideration. These include the following:

  • Size of the room

The size of your room is a major factor that determines the kind of humidifier to purchase in the first place. A portable humidifier may work for a small space or closet, but you will barely notice any difference in the humidity level if you use the same unit in a much larger room. The size of the room will therefore determine how soon you will notice the effects of the humidifier.

  • The capacity of the humidifier

A basic assumption is that you are using a humidifier that is correctly sized for your space. The capacity of humidifier units varies from one unit to the other. This refers not just to the tank size of the unit but also to the rate at which it humidifies a room and how much coverage the unit can get. Typically, the manufacturer will indicate the ideal room size the humidifier should be used for. Be sure to check this and compare it to the size of your space.

  • The initial humidity level of the room

Generally, experts recommend that indoor humidity levels be kept between 30% to 50% for comfort. The further outside this range the current humidity level of your space is, the longer it will take for you to notice the effects of the humidifier. Thus, if you are close to this range already, it won’t take long for the humidity level to balance out to the appropriate level.

  • Design of your room

This design of your home is another factor that determines how quickly it can be humidified. This is particularly true for whole-house humidifiers. Rooms with a simple design will be humidified quickly. But homes with special architecture like a high roof or many corners or closets will need more time for humidified air to fully circulate.

  • Height of your humidifier

Typically, the higher your humidifier, the better it performs. Humidifiers with a height of about 2ft or more are best. These types of humidifiers are high enough to be placed on the ground.

In addition to all of these. Other factors that can determine how long it would take for your humidifier to start working include how insulated the room is, the kinds of objects in the room, and other related factors

So, How Long Will It Take A Humidifier To Humidify A Room?

Putting all of these factors together, you should have an idea of how long it might take for you to begin to notice the effects of the humidifier. Generally, larger-sized rooms will take longer to be humidified. But you can stop this problem by simply using a high capacity humidifier that is correctly sized for that room.

Also, the fact that the humidifier is taking time to pick up does not always mean that it would not work sufficiently in the long run (although this is a pretty good indicator). If your room has a lot of moisture-absorbing surfaces for instance such as wooden furniture or carpets, humidification may be slowed down at first. But as the unit continues to work, the humidification will pick up and will progress much faster.


At the end of the day, the most important factor that determines how fast a humidifier will work is the capacity of the unit you are using. This is why buying a quality unit that is properly sized (or even slightly higher) for your room is important. This way you won’t have to bother about questions like how long does a humidifier take to work?