Humidifiers are used to avoid a lack of humidity in homes. Dry air can be the cause of various allergies and respiratory problems as well as an increase in dust and bacteria. A humidifier uses a wick or filter to absorb water from a reservoir and to enable the water to evaporate into the air to add moisture. Humidifier wicks can require regular replacement to ensure the machine continues to function properly, and replacing the wicks often can become costly. However, you can make your own homemade wicks, which is more cost-efficient.

  • Humidifiers are used to avoid a lack of humidity in homes.
  • Humidifier wicks can require regular replacement to ensure the machine continues to function properly, and replacing the wicks often can become costly.

Flatten out 23 coffee filters.

Place a coffee filter facing up on a flat surface. Stack a second coffee filter onto the first upside down. Continue stacking four more filters while turning every other filter upside down until you have six filters stacked together. Make three stacks like this.

Use scissors to cut along every third ridge around the outside of the coffee filters to make fins clusters. Make a cut between 1.5- and 2-in. long.

Cut the fin cluster squarely at the base to leave an octagon centre shape behind. Discard of the centre of the filter. A regular coffee filter will give eight fin clusters per stack of filters.

  • Use scissors to cut along every third ridge around the outside of the coffee filters to make fins clusters.
  • Cut the fin cluster squarely at the base to leave an octagon centre shape behind.

Stack five filters into each other, and turn the stack upside down.

Place the five coffee filters into each other, and staple them together to secure the filters.

Place the narrower base of one fin cluster into one of the ridges on the outside of the stack of five coffee filters. Staple the fin cluster to the five coffee filter stack. Repeat the procedure to staple each of the fin clusters to the ridges in the five stacked coffee filters. If your filters have 24 ridges, staple one cluster to each ridge. Otherwise, skip a ridge between fin clusters.

  • Place the five coffee filters into each other, and staple them together to secure the filters.
  • Repeat the procedure to staple each of the fin clusters to the ridges in the five stacked coffee filters.

Insert the upside down stack of filters into the base of the humidifier. Pour a small amount of water on to the stack of filters to help hold them in place.

Place the finned wick on top of the stack of filters. Place a plastic cap in the middle of the coffee filters, and place three quarters inside the cap. This will serve to hold the wick in place.

Replace the wick when necessary or when the existing one becomes clogged.

TIP

Use other types of coins if quarters do not fit into the plastic cap. Adjust the amount of filters used to fit into your humidifier depending on the type of humidifier.