Best Patio Misters: How to Choose the Perfect Misting System

You can almost hear them coming – the dog days of summer are well on their way. Here at Patio Heat and Shade, we have dedicated ourselves to the pursuit of outdoor patio comfort and have amassed a stable of patio comfort experts who know how to keep you cool when the sun becomes relentless.

We asked our experts for the best ways for families (and guests) to keep cool during the hottest of days and to my surprise they all came back with the same response: Patio Misters are one of the best ways to keep your family cool in summer.

There are three basic ways of getting cooler during the summer months:

• Shade – Use of an umbrella, shade sail or awning can comfort your family
• Wind – Installing outdoor ceiling fans to help move air will aid in evaporation (keeping you cooler)
• Mist – Fine droplets of water evaporate in thin air, lowering the air temperature

What are patio misters, and how do they work?

We all know about evaporation… but we do really know how it works? The engineering brainiacs that work for the misting companies sure do.

The best patio misters include a high-pressure pump connected to a water source, and increase the water pressure by as much as 10 times the normal rate. When you increase the water pressure above 700 psi (pounds per square inch) the water molecules are atomized, pushing the smallest possible droplets through the nozzles. These droplets are blown into the outside air using a small fan in the misting system, dispersing the droplets far from their original source.

Once the water droplets leave their high-pressure homes and are introduced to the outdoor air, they begin to flash evaporate. The process of evaporation requires a source of energy… and in this case they suck the energy they need from the hot air molecules. The fine water droplets begin to cool when the air molecules expend their energy, turning the water liquid into a gas. This same process happens to the millions of droplets released into the air as the misting system continues to spray, and the surrounding air can be cooled by more than 30 degrees Fahrenheit!

Since this process relies on the qualities of the air (specifically how hot the air is and the humidity level), the absolute best place to use a patio misting system is in a hot, dry space (think Arizona or Nevada), but even temperate climates will see significant benefits to misting systems.

Why pick misting versus other patio cooling solutions?

Obviously, the greatest advantage of a patio mister is the drastic (up to 30° Fahrenheit) drop in temperature of the surrounding air… but there are other significant benefits that only a patio mister can provide.

The fine mist that a high-pressure patio mister creates helps to keep away insects like flies, bees, and mosquitoes from your outdoor oasis, and who doesn’t like a mosquito-free play space?

Patio misters also help you keep you healthy by reducing dust, smoke and other pollutants.

Do patio misters make everything wet?

Where should I place patio misters for the best results?

Do patio misters keep mosquitoes away?

How much water does a mister generally use per hour?

Types of patio misting systems

Low-pressure misting systems

Medium-pressure misting systems

High-pressure systems

Best Patio Misters: Our Expert Recommendations

Now that you’ve got so much knowledge about patio misters, how they work and what to watch out for, let’s see which systems our brainiac patio experts suggest as the best of the best: