Why Dyson Humidifier Not Using Water?

Dyson humidifiers are very straightforward appliances. When you turn them on, they’ll turn water into a mist that humidifies your room. So, why would it not use any water if you leave it on?

Dyson humidifiers are so silent that it’s challenging to know when one is accidentally turned off and no longer consuming water. Besides that, incorrect humidity settings or high humidity levels can prevent the appliance from using water to add more moisture to the air. Lastly, an internal clog can prevent water from moving from the tank to the body when needed.

Fixing this problem doesn’t take long, regardless of its root cause. So, spend a few minutes reading this guide to troubleshoot your Dyson humidifier and get it working again.

Why Is My Dyson Humidifier Not Using Water?

It’s pretty unusual when the water tank in a Dyson humidifier never runs low or goes dry. Still, it’s not always a sign that the unit is faulty.

Here’s why your Dyson humidifier isn’t using any water and what you can do to correct it:

No Power To The Unit

About this: Dyson humidifiers are electrically-powered appliances. So, they must have a reliable power supply to reach the humidity targets you set for them.

These humidifiers come with a removable power cord that plugs into your wall socket on one end. The other end of that cord plugs into the back of the Dyson unit.

A power indicator light behind the Dyson humidifier also turns on when the unit receives power.

How it happens: When you first notice that your Dyson humidifier isn’t using any water, the first thing to troubleshoot is the unit’s power supply. The unit likely stopped operating due to a power supply cut that stopped it from consuming water.

One of the strengths of Dyson humidifiers is they operate silently. Unfortunately, that silent operation can make it easy to overlook when they suffer power supply disruptions.

For example, the wall socket you use for the dehumidifier might have shorted out. Or, more typically, the circuit breaker for that socket has tripped.

How to fix it: Fixing this problem won’t take long. Firstly, check that the circuit breaker for the wall socket hasn’t tripped. If it has, you must reset it to restore power to the wall socket.

However, a shorted or faulty wall socket must be repaired by a qualified electrician. In the meantime, you can plug the dehumidifier into another working socket.

Read: How To Fix Dyson Fan Noises? Troubleshooting Guide

High Humidity In The Room

About this: You can enable Auto Mode on your Dyson humidifier to let it operate without your input. 

When you do that, the unit will continuously monitor the room’s humidity, only adding to it if the air gets too dry.

How it happens: Another reason your Dyson humidifier isn’t using any water from its tank is that the humidity levels in your room are still too high.

Remember: a Dyson unit on Auto Mode will only use water to add moisture to the air if the humidity levels drop too low. So, until that happens, your Dyson humidifier will not drain water from its tank.

How to fix it: There’s nothing to fix regarding this matter because the Dyson humidifier is working correctly.

But let’s suppose the water remains unused for extended periods. That can lead to algae growing inside the water tank.

So, it would be an excellent idea to clean the tank more frequently and fill it with new water. Doing so will keep the water fresh for when the humidifier needs to use it.

Read: How To Reset Dyson Vacuum?

Incorrect Humidity Settings

About this: When your Dyson humidifier isn’t in Auto Mode, you have complete control of the unit’s humidity settings. So you can adjust the humidity levels to your liking, no matter how low or high that might be.

Once you do that, the Dyson unit will turn its water to mist so it can reach your target humidity levels.

How it happens: Manually setting humidity targets for your Dyson humidifier can also cause it to not use water.

For example, if you set the humidity levels much lower than your room’s, the unit won’t have to add more moisture to the air. As a result, it will drain little or no water from its tank.

How to fix it: You can fix this issue by adjusting the humidity levels to something more reasonable. Dyson recommends keeping the humidity levels between 40% and 70% to maximize comfort.

When you set it within that range, you’ll see that your Dyson unit will use water to continuously add moisture to your room.

Read: 5 Reasons Why Dyson’s Vacuum Suction Motor Is Not Working

Internal Clog

About this: When you fill a Dyson humidifier’s water tank, that water will remain there until it’s needed. Then, it’ll go through quite a journey from being liquid in the water tank to mist in your bedroom air.

As the humidifier begins adding moisture to the air, it’ll pump water through a column from the tank into the humidifier’s main body.

Once there, the water is converted to a mist that adds humidity to the surrounding air.

How it happens: As you can see from the description above, water must pass through several of the humidifier’s parts before being turned into mist.

Unfortunately, water carries plenty of impurities that can gradually clog the humidifier from inside. 

For example, dirt and debris from unclean tap water can get stuck inside parts of your Dyson humidifier and cause a buildup. As the buildup grows, water flow from the tank will become restricted.

Worse still, those buildups can become so severe that no water can pass through. That will prevent your Dyson humidifier from using any water from its tank.

How to fix it: The most effective way to clear a clog inside your Dyson humidifier is to clean it thoroughly. You can do that by pouring an equal mixture of water and white vinegar into the water tank and leaving it to sit for an hour.

Your Dyson humidifier should be unplugged during this process. Letting the vinegar mixture sit undisturbed for an hour will dilute any buildup causing the internal clog within your humidifier.

When the hour is over, drain the water tank and wash it thoroughly with water.

You can prevent this problem from recurring by only using distilled water in your Dyson humidifier if that’s possible where you live.

Read: 4 Reasons Why Dyson Vacuum Smells Bad

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Need a bit more help understanding your Dyson humidifier? Here are a few more handy questions and answers:

Can I Use Tap Water In A Dyson Humidifier?

Yes, your Dyson humidifier will work with tap water. However, that’s not healthy for the humidifier in the long term. Tap water has lots of impurities that can lead to clogs later on. Ideally, you should be using distilled water for your Dyson humidifier.

Does A Dyson Humidifier Get Moldy?

Yes, Dyson humidifiers can develop mold like any other brand or model. However, you can keep mold at bay by cleaning the unit regularly.

How Close Should A Humidifier Be To Your Bed?

The rule of thumb is to place your Dyson humidifier at least 3 feet away from your bed. That will maximize the benefits of having the unit in your room. Simultaneously, that distance minimizes the downsides, like potentially bothering your nose and throat by being too close to it as you sleep.

Read: Dyson Vacuum Troubleshooting Guide

Are You Supposed To See Mist With The Dyson Humidifier?

Yes, if the fan speed is low enough, you will see mist coming from your Dyson humidifier. However, the mist is less visible at higher speeds and lower humidity settings. Don’t worry, though. A lack of mist doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not working.

Can You Run A Dyson Humidifier Without Water?

If you run a Dyson humidifier without water, you won’t get any of its humidity benefits. So, if you can’t fill the tank for any reason, it would be best to shut the unit off.