Best Humidifier Reviews

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Does your hair have flyaway strands that won’t stay flat? That’s a sign that summer is over and the dry air is settling in as fall and winter approaches.

The humidity begins to drop in the air, and you may start to notice signs of cold-like symptoms.

Before you reach for cold meds, consider purchasing a humidifier! These little devices can turn tap water into a helpful cool or warm mist that adds humidity to the air inside your home.

Of course, you’ll want the best-rated humidifier you can find, but first, you need to learn a little about the different types, which one is best for your situation, and how to pick one based on its features.

Check out the comprehensive and detailed humidifier reviews below:

Best Humidifier Comparisons

What are the Different Types of Humidifiers?

When you start searching for a brand of a humidifier, you might feel like you’re wandering down the aisles, as if being lost at sea.

First, if you were anywhere near the sea, humidity wouldn’t likely be an issue, but I digress. There are a lot of choices. So, let’s break down the different types of humidifiers and their quality that are on the market.

Warm Mist

The way these humidifiers work is by heating the water you add to the tank to the point of boiling. The resulting steam is released into the air as the mist and adds humidity back to the air you breathe in your home.

There are benefits to using a warm mist humidifier over a cool one, and the biggest benefit is for your overall health. The water that’s used is heated, so any bits of material that could be harmful are killed in the heating process.

You’re still going to have to clean your humidifier to prevent fungi growth. Generally, this is a healthier option, and it requires less maintenance.

Cool Mist

A cool mist humidifier doesn’t rely on heat to create a mist. There are typically two types: ultrasonic and evaporative.

The first uses vibration to break down the water into smaller and smaller droplets, and finally into the cool mist that’s released. The evaporative humidifier uses a wick and a fan. Water is absorbed by the wick and then the fan blows on it to create a cool mist.

These humidifiers are going to need more attention, as there’s more of a potential for mold, fungi, and bacteria growth.

So, changing filters and cleaning the containers is going to be quite a chore. It’s also one of the safest humidifiers to use, which is why a cool mist humidifier is a top choice for those with children, as there’s no potential for burns.

Keep in mind that these humidifiers might release white dust that’ll get all over your home. The white dust is simply minerals in your water, and it may be more noticeable with hard tap water.

Small

For small bedrooms or an area that’s less than 500 square feet, a tabletop humidifier for your bedside should be perfect.

It can give you just the right amount of humidity. Of course, these won’t work as well in large, open areas, so you might want to consider a slightly larger unit for a loft or living room.

Medium

A room humidifier is equipped to pump enough humidity into the air to cover a space from about 600 to 1200 square feet, which is why many people choose these for large rooms and living spaces.

Large

If you’re looking to increase the humidity for your whole home, and you’re not concerned that it’s portable or not, you’ll need to purchase a much larger unit.

As such, it’s more economical to opt for a cool mist humidifier, as they draw less electricity to work. Plus, you’ll need to make sure you have enough space for a large humidifier.

What to Look for in a Humidifier

Once you’ve gone over the pros and cons of each humidifier, it’s time to decide on one. But what about the extras?

Not all bells and whistles are worth spending extra cash for, so let’s look at each possible added feature of humidifiers to help you weed out the units you don’t want and get closer to the best one for you.

Timer

This is an obvious feature that will shut the humidifier off after a certain amount of time. It’s useful to have to prevent a humidifier from running all night long while you sleep.

It can also prevent your humidifier from running dry.

Humidistat

Even better than a timer is a humidistat, which will measure the humidity of the room, and once it reaches a certain point, it shuts off. It’s a super convenient feature.

Antibacterial System

Some humidifiers are made with materials that naturally stave off bacteria. It can help reduce the amount of maintenance you have to perform on your humidifier, but it won’t eliminate cleanings altogether.

Quiet Operation

There are certain types of humidifiers that are much quieter than others. The ultrasonic and warm mist humidifiers are generally quieter than the evaporative cool mist ones.

Filtered

Many humidifiers come with filters that clean the water so that when the tiny particles of water hit the air, it’s as pure as can be. These typically come on cool mist humidifiers, and they need to be changed at least monthly.

Essential Oil Tray

If you love adding scents from essential oils to your air, find a humidifier with an essential oil tray. It’ll release a bit of the essential oil into the mist to give your air a calming or energizing scent.

Nightlight

An added benefit to some humidifiers is a built-in night light. It’s not necessary for the operation of your unit, but it makes it easier to see at night.

Top 5 Humidifier Reviews

A bedroom humidifier that has no filter sounds like a great idea, and that could be why the Vicks filter-free ultrasonic cool mist humidifier is such a popular choice.

It can add plenty of humidity to a bedroom or small living room without much maintenance on your part at all.

In fact, you have the option of choosing how much or how little mist you want to disperse in your air. Choose a middle-of-the-road setting and you’re likely to see this little humidifier go for 30 hours without you having to add water.

This is also a quiet machine that shouldn’t keep you up at night. The thing about these kinds of humidifiers, though, is that any mineral content in the water you add is going to be pushed out, as well, as fine dust.

There’s a solution, but it might be costly over time. Use distilled water and you’re not likely to see those white particles anymore. Also, there’s no option to add essential oils. You can use the pads made specifically for this machine, but that’s it, and your only option is the menthol.

If you’re looking for an affordable humidifier for the bedroom, a playroom, or a small living area, this could be a good choice for you.

Pros

• Accepts Vicks pads
• Easy to refill and use
• Quiet operation
• Long runtime
• Little to no leakage
• Affordable

Cons

• No essential oils can be added

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To find a humidifier that will work for a 400-square-foot space, you’d think you’d have to pay an exorbitant amount of money. Turns out that you can find an affordable one in the Everlasting Comfort ultrasonic humidifier.

This cool mist humidifier turns water into vapor without heating it at all, and it can run for 50 hours without you having to add more water.

If it does run out of water, the humidifier will stop on its own to prevent any damage to the unit.

There’s no filter included and no need to use one. Just clean the unit once in a while to keep from buildups of bacteria, mold, or fungi. Of course, that’s easier said than done with this humidifier.

It has some tight spaces and moving parts that can get in the way and make it more difficult for you to scrub clean.

Plus, some reports mention leaks are common with this unit, so don’t place this in an area where a leak would be detrimental.

For a cool mist humidifier that allows for essential oils and won’t require you to change out filters, consider this one for your larger bedroom or living room space.

Pros

• Auto shut off
• No filter
• Quiet operation
• Long runtime
• LED nightlight
• Allows essential oils

Cons

• Hard to clean
• Leaks common

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One of the most popular, highly rated, and easiest cool mist humidifiers to use is URPOWER. This small unit will work well in a bathroom or bedroom, and it works both as an essential oil diffuser and a humidifier.

It’s one of the most affordable ones on the market, but you have to keep in mind just how small this is. It only holds about 100 milliliters, and its runtime is only six hours. And those six hours are if you use the intermittent setting, in which it pumps out mist every 30 seconds only. Continuous use and you’re looking at maybe three hours.

The color-changing LED light lets you choose from two modes. One cycles through all the colors constantly, but if you press the button again, you can either turn off the light, or choose one of seven colors, including pink, green, light blue, aqua, blue, yellow, and red.

There’s no filter to worry about, but you’ll still have to clean it often. It can be hard to clean because the top may be difficult to remove.

If you only want a small humidifier that is super affordable and attractive with your choice of colors, this little one might be right for you.

Pros

• Color-changing LEDs
• Auto shutoff
• Quiet operation
• Allows essential oils
• No filter
• Affordable

Cons

• Short runtime
• Hard to Open

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It seems as though the only choice you have in a humidifier is giant or small, but the PurSteam ultrasonic cool mist humidifier is in that happy medium size that makes it good for a medium to a large bedroom. The tank capacity is just over two liters, and the runtime is 17 hours.

That long runtime is only for the lowest setting, though, so you may find yourself refilling the water tank every day.

Although there is no essential oil tray, many people have simply added oil to the water and found that this unit diffuses the oils just fine. This humidifier is quiet when operating, and it has an optional nightlight. One of the best things about this humidifier is that it’s easy to clean.

Every part is reachable and big enough for you to fit a hand in to really get in there and scrub away any buildup. Unfortunately, there are quite a few reports of defects. The good news is that customer support for this company typically comes through with replacements.

Consider this one, if you need a humidifier for your bedroom that is affordable and easy to clean.

Pros

• Auto shutoff
• Easy to clean
• Quiet operation
• Nightlight
• Affordable

Cons

• No essential oil tray
• Reports of defects common

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You’d be hard-pressed to find a hybrid warm and cool mist ultrasonic humidifier like this one from LEVOIT. It includes all the bells and whistles, and it still remains relatively affordable.

You can control the unit by using the touchscreen on the face of the humidifier, or you can use the included remote control. You can choose whether you want a warm or cool mist, and there are three different levels of output.

There’s also a humidistat, so you can set your humidifier to reach a certain level and it will shut off once it reaches that point. Once the dry air sets back in, it’ll smartly start back up to maintain the proper level of humidity.

There’s an essential oil tray included, so you can diffuse the scents you like. The runtime is up to 36 hours when used continuously. And there’s a 12-hour timer, so you can set it to run for a certain amount of time.

LEVOIT includes a two-year warranty, which is important because there are numerous reports of cracking and leakage. The company claims this was fixed with an updated leak-proof design, but it’s still something to watch for.

For a humidifier that can add water back to your air with either warm or cool mist and includes all sorts of features for a decent price, you might want to look into this humidifier.

Pros

• Includes remote
• Warm or cool mist
• Includes humidity levels
• Long runtime
• 12-hour timer
• Two-year warranty
• Essential oil tray

Cons

• Leaks common
• Warm mist mode loud

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The Bottom Line

All the humidifiers featured here are considered the best on the market and for good reasons. They’re either small and unobtrusive, giving you just enough humidity for your little corner of a room, or big enough to work well in a large bedroom or small living space.

Many allow you to use essential oils that can help relax or energize you. And they’re all affordable for what they are and do. Is there one that stands out above the rest? Yes.

The LEVOIT Humidifiers, 6L Warm and Cool Mist Ultrasonic Humidifier give you more options than any of the other humidifiers on this list.

You can choose whatever level of humidity you want, or you can pick a certain amount of time that your unit runs. Plus, you can pick between warm or cool mist humidity. The humidifier includes a remote control and a humidistat.

No filters are required, and this machine is easy enough to keep clean. Is it the best on the market? It definitely checks a lot of boxes that most humidifiers don’t.

We do hope that our humidifier reviews and guide can help you with what kind of humidifier you need!

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