# Home fog machines (tap water)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-fog-machines-tap-water/276783>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 26, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-fog-machines-tap-water/276783 "2004-11-26T20:38:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-fog-machines-tap-water/276783/1 "2004-11-26T20:38:50Z")

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My parents have this odd little contraption. It’s a fountain, kind of. They put regular tap water in it, and somehow it turns to vapor. Not heated, not dry ice, though it looks just like dry ice fog. It’s electric.

How does this work?

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**Author:** ![daffyduck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ec9cab/32.png) [@daffyduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/daffyduck)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-fog-machines-tap-water/276783/2 "2004-11-26T20:42:12Z")

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It works with ultrasonics.

[Ultrasonic Water Fogger](http://www.mainlandmart.com/foggers.html)

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**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-fog-machines-tap-water/276783/3 "2004-11-26T20:42:34Z")

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There’s a little “button” at the bottom of the little puddle in the machine; this button vibrates at an ultrasonic frequency, breaking the water up into microscopic droplets.

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**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-fog-machines-tap-water/276783/4 "2004-11-26T20:51:26Z")

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I love this board!

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**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\
**Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-fog-machines-tap-water/276783/5 "2004-11-27T00:29:09Z")

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One thing about the ultrasonic vaporizers is that the water is really broken up into droplets, and not evaporated. This means the minerals present in the tap water are left in the fog, and will fall out as dust when the water droplets evaporate. There’s a surprising amount of minerals present in most tap water. If distilled water is available and affordable I’d use that instead.

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**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\
**Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-fog-machines-tap-water/276783/6 "2004-11-27T01:57:51Z")

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Is that the same sort of thing that’s in a humidifier to make the cold mist?

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**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\
**Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-fog-machines-tap-water/276783/7 "2004-11-27T02:58:45Z")

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Darnit **daffyduck**. If you’d said it was a Dihydrogen Monoxide Transmogrifier that would have been much more impressive. 😉