In May this year, a Brisbane surgeon spoke in the media about the dangers of using vaporisers with children because the steam can cause significant burns. Below, we explain the difference between the steam vaporisers doctors are talking about and the safer vaporisers we sell here at Shop Naturally with a list of pro's and con's for both so you can make a safe and informed choice for your family.

The Steam Vaporiser

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You'll find them in the chemist, you're probably familiar with a steam vaporiser. They work by putting a fairly significant amount of water in the tub and then the water is boiled and steam comes out the top. They're noisy (think boiling a kettle) and their footprint is around 30cm diameter or larger. The Vicks steam vaporiser is just one example. Euky Bear is another popular brand. There are many others.

PROS
What they're really good at is creating humidity in a room so little dry throats can have some soothing relief from the wet air.

CONS
What they're really bad at is creating a potential burns hazard for little ones who won't leave them alone, so please make sure you put them out of reach.

The worst thing about a steam vaporiser (besides the noise they make) is the moisture they leave behind in a room. If you leave one on all night (which is what most people do), you wake up the next morning with condensation on your windows, damp curtains, blinds, carpet, doonas and more. If you don't dry it out, especially if you run one over repeated evenings, the mould growth in your home is a very dangerous health hazard.

If you must use a steam vaporiser, keep it out of reach of children and also ensure you dry out the room completely the following day. Failure do to both of these things can land you in some trouble.

You can read some independent reviews on the Vicks steam vaporiser at productreview.com.au where there are repeated comments about them tripping the power, being too noisy and more. It will give you more of an idea whether you want to choose this as your vaporiser option.

The Ultrasonic Vaporiser - the safer option

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These are the only style of vaporisers we sell at Shop Naturally. The ultrasonic vaporiser does not use heat, it uses vibration to create vapour. They are incredibly efficient at dispersing essential oils too. While they don't alter the humidity of a room as much as a steam vaporiser does, they're perfectly safe to have near a child and our favourite model (above) has a direction nozzle on the top so you can direct the flow toward your child or baby.

PROS
There's no risk of steam burns and no condensation to cause mould growth if the room doesn't dry out. I personally find them better at dispersing essential oils and if you're using high quality essential oils such as the therapeutic grade oils from doTERRA, there is information to suggest that heating the oils degrades their therapeutic properties, so using a cold vibration method is better than boiling the water and making steam.

CONS
If your #1 goal is to create as much humidity in a room as possible, the steam vaporiser does a better job.

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Ultrasonic vaporisers can be used without essential oils to just create humidity. They are more commonly used with essential oils. In our store, by far the most popular essential oil blend to diffuse for seasonal breathing issues is doTERRA Easy Air. The vaporiser can also be used all year round as an aromatherapy diffuser, where you can diffuse any oil or combination of oils that you find pleasing to the nose. Where you'll only use a steam vaporiser when your kids have the sniffles, the ultrasonic vaporiser can be used as an air freshener 365 days of the year.

Also pictured above are vaporisers from Lively Living which work on the same vibration technology as our featured vaporiser in this article. The blue one on the left is the popular Aroma Bloom diffuser available in a variety of colours. On the right is a portable diffuser suitable for use in the car as well as at home.