“Misting System” describes a whole range of outdoor cooling methods that use a fine spray of water to cool you, your family, your guests, your customers, your workers, teammates, employees… even your animals — pets or livestock.

These systems are known by a number of terms including “Fogging Systems” or “Spray Cooling”.

But every one of them fits in the category of Misters, and every one of them works the same way.

How a Misting System Works

All misters work with evaporative cooling – the natural cooling effect that happens when water evaporates in warm air. They all work beautifully in dry weather. Some can work beautifully in humid weather, but not all, so do your homework here before you buy one for a humid area. See the next section on When and Where to Use a Misting System.

Misting Systems can reduce dust and odors in the area, as well as static electricity and the presence of flying insects. They can even help regulate humidity so are terrific for plants –greenhouses, atriums, courtyards, etc. And they can cool you without getting you wet. There are some that can get you wet, though.

Water is forced through very small nozzles to create a fine mist or a very, very fine fog. As the droplets of water evaporate they cool the air immediately around them. The finer the mist the more thoroughly it evaporates, cooling you off more than a coarser mist. And the finer the mist, the closer you can get to the nozzle without getting wet.

The terms “mister” and “fogger” are often used interchangeably so there is much confusion about which is which. Some misters create a spray made of larger droplets that can get you wet. These are usually systems that use low or medium water pressures and larger spray nozzles. But foggers use high water pressure and tiny spray nozzles to create a fog-like mist that evaporates before it has a chance to get anything wet.