5 Differences between Diffuser, Humidifier, and Purifier

Indoor air that is clean and good is not easy to make. There are many different air purifiers on the market right now, like diffusers, humidifiers, and purifiers. This is not surprising.

Most people, especially those who live in cities, want to have these three tools. All three are thought to improve the air quality in a room, so they are used together.

Still, some people think a diffuser, humidifier, and purifier are different. Each of these three tools does something different and works in another way.

Differences between Diffuser, Humidifier, and Purifier

So what are the differences between a diffuser, humidifier, and purifier? To find out, let’s see the explanation below:

1. Function

The first thing that makes a diffuser, humidifier, and purifier different is what they are used for. All three are different, though, as follows:

Diffuser

The purpose of a diffuser is to clean the air in a room and spray a scent made from essential oils. Most of the time, the diffuser is used as a tool for aromatherapy.

Humidifier

As the word “humidifier” suggests, this tool makes the air in the room moister. This tool is excellent for people who live in or visit hot, dry places.

Humidifiers can also give off a scent and are very helpful for people with dry skin, a cough, the flu, asthma, or allergies.

Purifier

And the cleaner’s job is to clean the air by getting rid of harmful things like dust, viruses, bacteria, fungi, etc. People think that purifiers can stop diseases from being spread through the air.

2. How Its Works

The next difference is how the diffuser, humidifier, and purifier work.

Diffuser

The diffuser works by spraying steam that contains essential oils into the air. If we look deeper, we can see three types of diffusers based on how they work. These are heat diffusers, ultrasonic diffusers, and steam diffusers.

  • The heat diffuser heats the essential oil and converts it into a vapor form gradually into the air.
  • Ultrasonics diffuser, using the frequency of water and electricity to disperse essential oils into the air in the form of mist and droplets.
  • A steam diffuser utilizes airflow from a fan to blow air through the filter until the essential oils fill the room.

Humidifier

Humidifiers work by making air vapor, which makes the air moister. A humidifier has four types of systems that work: a steam system, an electronic wave system, a hybrid system, and a vaporization system.

  • The steam system heats water to produce water vapor that is warm enough.
  • The wave system decomposes to water and converts it into high-temperature water vapor.
  • A hybrid system is a combination of steam and vaporization systems.
  • The vaporization system uses a paper humidifier by utilizing the wind to pass through a filter containing water and water vapor. This system is like a wet towel in the room so that the room will feel damp.

Purifier

The purifier cleans the air by taking it in and putting it back out in a better state. Before being taken out, the air will pass through a filter. This means that the dirty air taken in will become clean when it is let out again.

It’s also important to remember that the type of purifier affects how it works. Because some air purifiers use high voltage to clean the air, and others use photoelectrochemistry to destroy particles.

3. Duration

The length of time you can use these three tools also changes based on the temperature and the amount of liquid in the container.

Because both the diffuser and the humidifier put out water vapor, how long you can use them depends on how hot it is.

When it comes to the diffuser, the higher the controlled temperature, the faster the liquid evaporates, which means the liquid in the container runs out quickly.

Even though the air temperature isn’t too high, the air from the humidifier evaporates in a short amount of time.

Unlike the other two tools, the purifier doesn’t need water. This means that it can be used for longer. A purifier can clean the air for anywhere between 30 and 120 minutes.

4. Placement Position

From the point of view of what they do, the three can’t be put anywhere.

The diffuser works best in a small room because it doesn’t cover a large area and isn’t very big. Putting it in a small room, like a bedroom, also helps spread the essential oils around.

While the humidifier shouldn’t be put in damp places like the bathroom because it can make the air even more humid and lead to mold, it should be put in a dry place.

The air purifier should be put in a room with a lot of dirty air. Purifiers can be placed in the living room, the bedroom, and the family room at home.

5. The Needs

In line with its purpose, the diffuser is only used to scent the room, so you don’t need to put water in the container. Instead, you need to add essential oils. But some diffusers only need between 300 and 500 ml of water.

The humidifier is meant to make a room more humid, so it needs a lot of water, about 3 liters or more, depending on how much water it can hold.

If you choose air purifier instead of the two tools above, you won’t need any water. Because this tool only takes in the air in the room and lets it out again after it has been cleaned.