Editing Humidifier (section)

===Evaporative humidifiers ===
An "evaporative", "cool moisture", or "wick humidifier", consists of just three basic parts: a reservoir, a wick, and a fan.

The wick is made of a [[Porous medium|porous material]] that absorbs water from the reservoir and provides a larger [[surface area]] for it to evaporate from. The fan is adjacent to the wick and blows air onto the wet wick to aid in the evaporation of the water.  Evaporation from the wick is dependent on [[relative humidity]]. A room with low humidity will have a higher evaporation rate compared to a room with high humidity. Therefore, this type of humidifier is partially self-regulating; as the humidity of the room increases, the water vapor output naturally decreases.

These wicks become [[Mold (fungus)|mold]]y if they are not dried out completely between fillings, and become saturated with mineral deposits over time.  They regularly need rinsing or replacement; if this does not happen, air cannot pass through them, and humidifier stops humidifying the area it is in and the water in the tank remains at the same level.

Evaporative humidifiers function similarly to [[evaporative cooler]]s.