Not so many people know the differences between air purifier and humidifier. They might look the same, but actually their functions are totally different. Before we start to explain the differences between air purifier and humidifier, you need to know what kind of problems that you want to be solved with these items. 

If you are care about the health of your babies and indoor air quality, then the Air Purifier is the best solution to your concerns. But if you want to improve the humidity levels and adding some wetness in your room, then the Humidifier is the answer. 

Now, let’s take a look the differences between those two. 

What is the difference between air purifier and humidifier? 

Air Purifier 

Air purifier is used to clean poor air by removing pollutants from the air. It has two basic components; a fan and a filter surfaces such as HEPA filters to ionizers. Most air purifiers are trapping or removing harmful particles in the air that is passed through the unit, then releasing cleaner air back to the room without adding any moisture to the air. 

These devices are comprised of two main elements: 

• Fan that draws the polluted air in and expels the clean air. 
• Series of filters that capture or/and destroy airborne pollutants such as dust, pollen, smoke, odours, mould, mildew, pet dander, and certain bacteria and viruses. 

Humidifier

On the other side, Humidifier has nothing to do with indoor air pollution or air quality. The humidifier works by simply adding water to the air by boiling water into steam, vibrating water droplets into the air with ultrasonic technology, or by evaporating water using the fan and wick. 

The function of humidifiers is plainly adding wetness to dry air. The normal air that we usually enjoy in the summer around 40-50% humidity levels, while in the winter, the humidity levels can fall below 20%. 

The principle of how humidifier raises air humidity levels is fairly easy to understand. Air humidifiers create water mist in two ways:

• Evaporative way. Humidifier basically uses electricity to boil water and create mist; much like a tea kettle. Evaporative humidifiers create a hot mist. 
• Ultrasonic way. Humidifiers have a transducer that creates ultrasonic waves. These waves help detect water molecules from the water surface. Ultrasonic humidifiers create a cool mist.