In this post I’m going to go through what I think the best humidifier is for you. We are going to learn about whether you need one, what to look for, and how much to spend on one so you’ll be fully knowledgeable if you aren’t sure what to get.
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A Word to the Wise – They aren’t all they are cracked up to be
Whilst I may suggest a few different types of humidifiers in this post, I don’t want you to get the wrong impression about them. They are not a fix for good preparation, practice, training, and looking after yourself. They are somewhat of a stop-gap solution, a quick pick me up if you will. However, don’t ever think that if your voice is in bad shape you can fix it by simply getting yourself on a humidifier or even a nebulizer.
You need to have the proper base in place before you start thinking about why your voice doesn’t sound as good as you think it should.
Do you even need a Humidifier?
The first thing we’ll deal with is do you even need one. If you are feeling blocked up or dry in your throat, then you may think that by using a humidifier you will be able to sing again. This is true to a point. What a humidifier does is essentially give a lining to your vocal cords and gets them more moist than they were. This in turn, gives them more elasticity which allows you to sing more freely.
Essentially humidifiers do two things for singers:
- Give a liquid lining to your vocal cords
- Give your vocal cords more elasticity and flexibility
Therefore, I feel that it’s a good idea to have some kind of portable humidifier somewhere around just to give you a little helping hand now and then.
Some people swear by them and use them every time they sing. I’m not going to dispute them, but I would say that you have to know and learn your body. Sometimes this is true and other times it’s just not.
Is Drinking Enough or Do You Need a Humidifier?
If you have a bit of a sore or dry throat, or you feel that you are very dry then the first thing to do is ensure that you are taking care of yourself. This means drinking enough liquids – nothing with sugar in it as this dries you out. Eating properly, sleeping enough.
Once you are sure that you weren’t just thirsty then you can try a humidifier to loosen up those vocal cords.
So in answer, yes and no. Drinking is a first step and once you’ve done that and still haven’t got any improvement then you can go ahead and start using a humidifier.
A Word to the Wise on Water
When it’s hot outside people like to drink cold water. It may even be that you can’t stand drinking tepid or room temperature water. This is a mistake and as hard as it may be, you have to change this habit.
For sure, drink cold water when you don’t have to sing. You will come to no harm in that case. However, when you have to sing and perform you have to stay away from it.
And not just cold water but anything cold if you can. Cold makes things shrink and less elastic. This will affect your ability to sing well. I know it may be uncomfortable, but the truth is, if you have a little bit of a sweat going, you will be able to sing and perform that much better.
Is Steaming Good for Singers?
The answer is pretty simple, yes. Every singer needs to have moist and flexible vocal cords. And steaming helps. It’s as simple as that. Where it gets a bit more complicated is what type of steam to use, and is it always needed.
Do You Need to Steam before Every Singing Session and Performance?
Steaming is a good thing to do but it is no substitute for good practice, healthy vocal cords, health in general, and ensuring you are fully warmed up before you start singing.
Whilst steaming is a good thing to do, don’t get fooled into thinking that it’s the most important thing to do. It’s no more than the icing, the cherry on top if you will.
Don’t lose sight of the fact that you can only go so far with talent, you need to practice, you need to get those singing muscles strong in order to be a good singer. Only, and ONLY when you have done that, should you start worrying about the extras.
Once you are ready to perform though, I would say that steaming is a nice thing to do if you feel that it helps with your voice. If you have a long set to sing, then I would definitely give it a go.
If anything, it’s worth it even if all it does is help you feel that you are singing better. Whether or not that’s actually true isn’t worth debating. If you feel good with it, then by all means, go for it!
What to Look for in a Humidifier
Before you think about looking into buying a humidifier though, it’s important to know what kind of humidifier you actually want and need.
Just as an example, I once had a hot water urn that was set on boil the whole night long. This obviously isn’t the normal use of it.
What you are supposed to do is get it to a boil and then put it on the low setting. Well, that’s not what happened and when I got back to the room in the morning the whole room was filled with steam.
The walls were lovely and clean….. but obviously that’s not what I was planning on. I just wanted a cup of coffee!
So what should you look for when buying a humidifier?
The first thing we need to know is what is the purpose of it and what you are trying to achieve with it. If what you need is just a little pick me up in the morning then I wouldn’t even bother buying one.
I would simply fill up a mug or bowl with boiling water and put a towel over your head and shoulders and put that over the water. This was you’ll get the steam and add moisture to your throat area. And it won’t cost you a penny!
The other two options in general are portable humidifiers for the air in the entire room and a personal vaporizer.
Filling the Entire Room with Steam
There are many different models that you can get that fill the entire room with steam. My main concern with them in general is that you only need them for your throat.
This being said, there are many singers who like to go to sleep with them running in the room overnight.
This is a good preventative measure and is also easy to use. It doesn’t take up any time and gives you a definite benefit.
However, if you want to zoom in to the actual source and reason why you want a humidifier, you will find that the benefits aren’t as big as having a personal steamer or even putting your head under a towel over a bowl of hot water.
Getting the Steam Personally
The other option is to get a personal steamer that is like a face mask and just fits over your mouth and nose. The steam will get into your eyes, but you get used to it after a little while.
This is definitely the way to go if you want to get some steam just before you perform. They are much smaller than other machines, even smaller than a towel and bowl.
They are small enough to fit into an overnight bag so if you are travelling and you want some steam, this is your answer.
However, for some people they are uncomfortable and in truth, I tend to stay away from them just because as long as my voice feels good, then it is so. Nothing beats a good technique!
What I Recommend
Before going out and buying anything, the first thing I would do is try out the towel and bowl method. This definitely gets you the steam you need in your vocal tract and may be enough for you. In fact, if it doesn’t really help you at all I would stay away from buying one. If you do, you’ll just be wasting your money.
If it does help and you are not really comfortable with it, then I would suggest a personal humidifier. These are cheaper than the whole house or whole room devices and they will give you a good blast of warm mist and steam for a short period of time.
If you really get into the humidifier thing though, then go ahead and buy one for your room or even your whole house.
The advantage here is that you don’t have to waste any time before a singing session to prepare your steam, it’s already been done for you.
Recommended Personal Humidifiers
There are two that I would recommend. The first one is on the cheaper side and best used only occasionally.
Vicks Personal Sinus
Since all we are trying to do here is improve and line the vocal tract I think this is a great model.
Being Vicks you can expect that it is built with quality and won’t have any running problems. It has enough of a reservoir to give you a 15-minute steam session.
The one thing about this model though is that although you can hold it in your hand, it’s best to keep it on a surface and bring your head to it.
The reason why is because the water tends to spill a bit and not work as well if the device is slightly off. It’s therefore just not the most user friendly and easy device there is.
MyPurMist
This is more the industry standard. I wouldn’t say it’s perfect but the steam that you get from it is the purest and gives you the best lining performance that you could wish for. The best thing about this model is that it’s completely handheld unlike almost all the other model.
The second thing that makes this steamer stand apart is the air quality that it gives you. By integrating a HEPA filter and a “self-cleaning” system you are not only getting the steam you want but you are also staying away from the bad bacteria that exists in the room and in many other devices.
In the past and especially with the older models that you had to plug in there were issues with it leaking. However, with this premium model, they seem to have fixed these issues therefore making it a much better choice.
Extra Flavors
A note about the extra scent pads that you can get with most steamers and humidifiers. Whilst the smell may be lovely and really refreshing for you, as singers, keeping the moisture in your vocal tract is what we want to achieve.
These machines were not especially designed for us, they were designed to help people with sinuses, asthma, allergies, people with colds etc. These people want completely free airwaves and do not care about how they sing.
Since you do, it important to know that often these scent pads dry out your voice as well. You won’t get the full benefit of the device unless you keep it pure and simple.
Room Humidifiers
When looking to get a room humidifier for singers, you are going to have it going when you are sleeping. Therefore the sound of the machine is going to be an important factor here.
Again here, I’m going to give you two different options, the cheap but good one and the more expensive but better one.
Homech Quiet Ultrasonic Humidifier
This is one of the cheaper models at around $40. However, this doesn’t mean that it’s not good.
On the contrary, with a 4 Litre tank that gives you a 40 hour run time you can keep this one on for a long period of time.
More over, you get a 360 degree dual mist nozzle so you can point the steam to wherever you feel you want it most.
This doesn’t have a filter though and although they claim that you just don’t need one with the technology that there is available today, I don’t really buy that. It needs cleaning every couple of weeks but at least it’s easy to do so.
LEVOIT Ultrasonic Air Humidifier
This is a really cool model and I like it a lot. Not just because it actually looks really nice a modern but because of the functions it has.
Warm and cool mist, super quiet, has lots of different settings that you can control with a remote as well as on the actual unit. My only gripe with it is that it doesn’t have a built-in filter.
Having a humidity sensor can be really useful for singers as you will be able to work out what level of humidity levels works best for your voice.
Once you have discovered it, you can simply set it and the machine will get the room to that level and keep it there throughout the night.
In Closing – What I Suggest
There are so many different portable humidifiers now out there. However, finding one that is a good humidifier for singers isn’t so easy. They aren’t typically designed for us.
I hope you find my suggestions helpful. Bear in mind though that my number one solution is and continues to be the DIY one.
Give that one a try first and if you aren’t comfortable with it then try something else. However, there is no need to waste your money when you don’t need to.
Hi, I'm Ben and I've been a singing teacher for over 15 years. In my time I've learned so many things that really speak to students.
That's why I've got this site.
To Help You Succeed in your singing journey.
Feel free to get in touch with me at info@carefreesinging.com
Sing Well and have fun!