Hello,
I got a warm mist humidifier (Vicks brand) but found out that heating element is covered with teflon type of material "for easy cleaning" , so I returned it. We need a humidifier this time of year badly. Any recommendations? (Something inexpensive would be nice). I personally prefer warm mist because i think it helps rise temperature and just feels real cozy in winter. I have used exactly the same "Vicks" in the past and the birds were ok. Not sure, if teflon covering is a new feature or always been there...
I've also seen warm mist that say antimicrobial feature - anyone know what they use for that and if its safe for birds? Thanks a lot!

I don't know much about humidifiers so I can't advise on them. You'd be better off googling for information or emailing the manufacturers to ask for information. I have a small humidifier that I use occasionally, but it's cool mist and doesn't have any antimicrobial features. So there wasn't anything special that I needed to learn about.

Thanks tielfan,
I have never owned a cool mist. The way they work - nothing suspiciously toxic (for birds) in them ever, right?

The only thing to worry about with my cool mist humidifier is keeping it clean so bacteria and mold doesn't grow in it. Which must be an issue with warm mist too, since they wouldn't be putting antimicrobial features on it if it wasn't a problem.

There might be fancy cool mist humidifiers on the market that have fancy features like antimicrobial action. But I have a cheap model that doesn't do anything but blow water into the air, sort of like a spray bottle that runs continuously. There's no heat at all, so no need for teflon, and even if they did put teflon in it for some reason it wouldn't be a problem because it would never get heated.

I still have no new humidifier to use. They all r so crappy with bad reviews in stores. I used vicks without knowing in had teflon. And they were fine. Its heating water.. maybe thats why no big deal? Its not overheated Teflon in the air, right?
What about cold mist ultrasonic?
I swear i read you advised evaporative cold mist ( with filter) or was it in my nightdream that i saw you wrote that?

With the warm air humidifier, there's something hot inside that's heating up the water and yours is coated with Teflon. I don't know what temperature it's reaching, but if it gets hot enough there will be Teflon fumes emitted into the air.



I don't know if the word "evaporative" really applies, but it's a cool mist humidifier. I don't think there's any kind of filter. It just uses a fan to blow water particles into the air. The water does evaporate sometime after it goes into the air, because I live in the desert and the humidity is low. Anything wet is "evaporative" around here lol.

There are 2 types of cold mist: ultrasonic (visible mist) and evaporative (no visible mist, there is a rotating fan that cam make it noisy, it uses a filter, and a benefit is that it cant add more humidity than air can hold, so its self- regulating)
Speaking of teflon in warm mist - fumes would go in the water , not exactly in the air (but i dont know for sure)

Mine has a visible mist. It's this one here, and they're calling it ultrasonic. Who knew. https://crane-usa.com/product/puffington-the-penguin/

Thanks tielfan, Btw if you click your link, you will read about antimicrobial material in the base.

If i have an old warm mist Vicks thats supposed to have Teflon but was used around my birds last winter with no problems ( i had no clue about non stick in it), should i assume it's safe to use it again?

There aren't any guarantees, but if it turned out OK last year it will probably be OK this year.