How Long Can You Leave a Vaporizer On? How Often Should You Use?

Having a vaporizer in your home can help you deal with a lot of complications like nasal congestion, cough, pneumonia, and other symptoms of dry air. Also, vaporizers are often used for a lot of aromatherapies and treatments, especially for herbs and other nutraceuticals.

But having a vaporizer and knowing how and when to use it are two different things. You may ask, how long can I leave my vaporizer running? Can I leave it on all night? What happens if I sleep with a vaporizer on?

There are many questions that need answers regarding the use of vaporizers. This has to do with concerns around lifespan which may be affected by how often you use it, whether it is safe to use it throughout the night, and whether the heat can be left burning all day, continuously.

We’ll dig into all of that in this post and tell you all you need to know about how long you should run your vaporizer.

How Often Should You Use a Vaporizer?

You should use your vaporizer as often as you need to. This can be anywhere from a few minutes a couple of times a day, a few hours every day, to even all day long.

The point is, some people, depending on where they live, may need vaporizers to breathe and live comfortably.

Also, if you suffer from cough, nasal congestion and other respiratory infections, you may need a vaporizer to run continuously to help you get relief. For regular steam moisturizing, we recommend you run your unit for 3-4 hours during the day and about 4 hours at night.

Doing the above twice daily will provide you with the right amount of humidity you need in your room. In very dry regions, you can run it intermittently for 6 hours on and off to provide needed moisture but also afford the unit some time to rest.

For people with health conditions, the frequency of running your vaporizer will largely depend on how severe your condition is.

This may mean running the unit at a full stretch of 9-12 hours daily to get the needed relief. For some, it may mean running the unit continuously for the entire duration of the illness.

Generally, the frequency and duration of use are determined by the doctor and this can just be about 15 minutes, twice daily, or for several hours non-stop. Vaporizers also run on water or other recommended liquids.

Depending on the size of the tank, you’d need to refill it again and again for as long as you keep it running. If you’re not there to refill, this can be a problem, especially if the unit is not equipped with auto shut-off technology.

Is It Ok to Leave Vaporizers On All Night?

We do not advise that you leave a vaporizer on all night. But, if you must, ensure you do not run it during the day. This will give the unit enough rest and you’ll only need to run it for around 8-10 hours at night.

Again, the only reason you should do this is if it’s extremely needed. Perhaps, your child has the flu and you need to offer some herbs.

Keep it some feet away from their bed and make sure you check occasionally throughout the night just to be safe. The quality of the unit will generally determine how comfortable you’d be leaving it on all night.

Another factor to consider is the technological advancement of the vaporizer. Some are built with safety features that automatically turn them off when water drops to a minimum level or when the unit overheats.

There are also some that feature a humidistat. With a humidistat, the unit can detect and monitor the humidity level in the room and only trigger the switch on and off button based on the level of moisture in the room.

As long as you accurately set the humidistat, you won’t have any problem dealing with too little or too much moisture.

Can I Sleep with A Vaporizer On?

Yes, you can. As long as precautions have been taken, you’ll have no trouble running your vaporizer while you sleep. Just be sure it’s placed on a hard surface and your unit doesn’t overheat easily.

Running your vaporizer while you sleep can help take care of a number of health issues, including pneumonia, congestion in the nose and chest, biological irritation, dry cough, and so on.

But, you need to be safety conscious, and that means using a unit that has relevant safety features including a humidistat, auto shut-off, durable wires, and a large tank.

A durable vaporizer is what you need if you want to run it while you sleep. The Vicks Warm Steam Vaporizer seems like a good bet with a 1.5 gallon tank, round, flat and wide base, and just big enough for small to medium rooms.

How Long Can You Use a Vaporizer?

You can use a vaporizer for as long as necessary. Some people use it all day, even though that’s not advised. We believe, like every other machine, vaporizers need some downtime to recoup, cool off, and re-energize.

Overall, there’s nothing wrong with running your vaporizer all day long, but you’ll have to consider some factors. In terms of lifespan, a typical vaporizer can last up to 3 or more years if used the right way. Some can even last as long as 7 years in the right conditions.

If you’re going to sleep off at night, it’s best you turn off the vaporizer. It is also important to turn off the unit before you leave the house. Leaving it unattended can lead to accidents.

Besides, you’d need to consider electricity costs and the lifespan of the unit. Using it continuously will wear it down more quickly and cause it to break down faster than it should.

You’d also be paying more bills if you run the unit continuously. Again, running your vaporizer all day will cause humidity to build up. Ensure relative humidity doesn’t go beyond 50% to avoid the growth of mold, mildew, fungi and bacteria.

Final Words:

So, how long can you leave a vaporizer on? You can leave it on all day if you need to, but we do not advise that you do that. Having some intervals will help keep the humidity level at a controlled state, save you some money on energy bills, prevent overheating, and even prevent wear and tear.

Always ensure your humidistat is attached and functioning so that it can trigger the vaporizer whenever moisture is needed in the room. On the other hand, your doctor should recommend how long or often to rum the vaporizer if you’re using it for some therapy.