Vicks Warm Steam Vaporizer 1.5 Gallon Humidifier Logo
Posted on Aug 03, 2008

Vicks caporiser is spitting water instead of steam

Vicks warm mist vaporiser is spitting water instead of emitting steam.

  • mammaofthree Sep 27, 2008

    Mine is also spitting HOT water and very little steam. I lowered the amount of water in the reservoir as indicated but it didn't change anything. Then, I added approx 1/2 tsp of more salt and the steam became a little stronger but so did the spitting hot water.

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  • Posted on Dec 07, 2008
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Clean the unti - and do not add salt. I live in a major hard water city...and was amazed at how much dirt the tank collected. I tried adding salt to to stop the spitting, which did make a lot more steam, but did NOT stop teh water spit. I also noticed, with salt added, water in tank would only last 4-6 hours, not the 18-24 hours it should. I just figured it out, and now mine works great again, and does not spit. I cleaned the water tank throughly, several rinses, then wiped out entire inside. If you want it to work like new, you have to keep your tank as clean as new. I am going to start filtering my water that I put in with a double pantyhose I made simply so there no more dirt ~ a clean tank will fix the problem, it did mine :)

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  • Captnrusty Dec 18, 2010

    Vaporizers are designed to put moisture/steam into the air and usually along with it a medication such as Vicks Vapor Rub or Camphor. They work on the principle of having two electrodes submerged in the liquid with electricity passing between them and heating the liquid to its boiling point or vapor point. An inherent problem with this process is minerals in the liquid through electrolysis forming a coating (insulating) the electrodes. These minerals, coating the electrodes makes them less efficient and should be cleaned periodically. If you have the owner’s manual for your unit, follow their instructions for cleaning the unit. If you do not have the manual then you can use vinegar to clean the unit. Vinegar is a mild acid and will react with the mineral deposits to loosen them. Then rinse with clean water. You can use more aggressive chemicals if you feel confident in using them. You can save yourself a lot of grief if you use only distilled water in the unit. Distilled water contains no minerals that will coat the heating elements. I have found that the problem with the unit spitting water instead of steam is due to over filling. Try operating the unit about ¾ or ½ full. Usually there is a resivoir at the steam port to put Vicks into or you can purchase Camphor (6% liquid) or other medication to put directly into the water. Adding a pinch of salt to the water raises the boiling point of the liquid or forces it to get hotter before it turns to steam/vapor.

  • Juanita
    Juanita Nov 20, 2013

    Cleaned it, added distilled water and teaspoon of salt. works like brand new

  • Saul Pe?a Mar 17, 2014

    It means the water has too much salt in it. It is hazardous if it is spitting out too much water it means it is drawing too much power and the cable may get hot. Dump out the water, use distilled water and keep adding pinches of salt until you get steam. If you over do it on the salt, you get water psitting again.

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  • Posted on Feb 05, 2012
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I tried all the above, finally I just said ...... and put a giant towel under it.

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  • Posted on Oct 29, 2008
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Have you cleaned it recently? Sometimes that's an indicator that it needs to be cleaned.

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I bought our Vicks vaporizer and it worked great the first night we used it. We had added a pinch of salt and it steamed all night. Now my husband is sick and we cannot get it to work correctly. We added...

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