I Love Cleaning My Humidifier
Said no one ever! We understand cleaning humidifiers isn’t exactly something anyone will rush home to do, but it is extremely important in order to maintain a healthy home. Crane tries to make it very easy to clean our humidifiers. We recommend they be cleaned at least once a week during the season and that the excess water be dumped out after each use to avoid bacteria growth.
Before storing your humidifier, it is highly recommended, mandatory if you will, to clean your humidifier and make sure that it is completely dry before storing. Let me repeat; please make sure your humidifier is 110% dry before putting it away when you’re not using it. This way you can make sure that your humidifier is ready to use when you need it! In case it’s been a while, here are the instructions:
- Dump out any excess water from the tank and base
- Put about 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 2 cups of water in both the tank and the base.
- In the tank, swish the vinegar and water solution around inside the tank. Dump out the solution, rinse with water.
- Set the tank aside with the cap off to completely air dry
- In the base, pour the solution carefully to avoid getting any of the vinegar and water solution in the fan vent.
- Allow to sit for about 20 minutes. Feel free to use a cotton swap to clean the tight areas of the base.
- Dump out the vinegar and water solution from the base and set aside until it is completely dry.
Do not store your humidifier in an area that could get damp to avoid moisture from collecting on the humidifier while you’re not using it. If you have any questions about cleaning or storing your humidifier, please contact customer care: 888-599-0992 or email customer-service@crane-usa.com. One of our three lovely in house customer care representatives are happy to help you!
Hello..I cleaned my Crane ultra sonic cool mist humidifier a few days ago with white vinegar just like directions said. 2 days after cleaning ..I noticed a pinkish residue along the base of unit. Could you tell me how to get rid of this? And is this mold?
Thanks for your help
Amanda
I used a brand new (not previously used) Magic Erase to easily clean off any pink residue after soaking with white vinegar. I only needed 1 Magic Eraser since the residue was light however, if you have a lot of residue, you may want to use more than 1 brand new Magic Eraser since they get crumbly with use. Make sure to replace your Magic Eraser before it gets crumbly, so that no crumble ends up on your humidifier unit. Not sure if Crane would endorse this approach however, it worked for me!
I had the same thing happen to me! It had not done that before until I added the vinegar into the cleaning mix. Wondering what it’s from and I hope it’s not damaging it or making it harmful to breathe in!
Same question. I have cleaned my humidifier with vinegar and then with bleach in an attempt to get rid of the red film. No luck. I can’t take apart the water tank so I can’t get to it to wipe it down. What is it and is there any fix? Thanks.
We too are having this problem. Would love it if Crane were to post a fix to this because the way they say to clean it does not remove this stuff.
I have the same problem with mine as well. Except mine started before I cleaned it, so I assumed the film meant it was time to clean..
I also have the pink film problem, especially in the cylinder-shaped hole in the middle of the tank. Now I have the additional problem that while trying to get rid of the film, I also somehow got water inside the base (it was dripping out the bottom grates!). So now my humidifier is out of commission for at least one night while it dries thoroughly, and I’m not putting it back in my son’s room until I’m sure it’s safe!
I have an older model. Used water &vinegar. Still some deposits left. Cant get inside tank to clean there. Any ideas ?
Man, look at how responsive the folks at Crane are!!
Samesies. Come on Crane!
The pink slime is a bacteria that is commonly found in household pipes and tends to appear in non-sterile humid environments. There is a lot of information on this related to CPAP machines and is one of the reasons that CPAP machine use distilled water and are generally cleaned and dried daily.
For those of you wondering about the pink bacteria buildup, I just got off the phone with Crane (as they clearly haven’t been responsive here). I asked about using a bleach+water solution to clean the tank and the Crane representative stated this is ok to do. You would use 2 Tbsp of bleach to half a tank of water. She said you can add crushed ice as well and then shake vigorously to try to loosen any of the buildup. Then let it sit for 30 minutes. Dump the solution and rinse the tank thoroughly (maybe even several times to be sure the bleach is completely washed out so nobody is breathing in any bleach). After rinsing, allow the tank to air dry.