Heating and air conditioning strip your home’s air of its natural humidity. The result of uncomfortable dryness leaves your skin feeling dehydrated, contributes to sinus and respiratory problems, and even promotes static electricity—that annoying shock you get every time you cross a carpeted room and touch the television.
A little added moisture in the air helps alleviate dust mites and soothes irritated nasal passages. In addition to a handful of household hacks, homeowners can rely on humidifiers to help the situation. Humidifiers have been around for decades but today’s models offer more choices than ever before. We’ve done the legwork and found out what features buyers want most in humidifiers as well as which models they rate as the best humidifiers.
Keep reading to learn all about today’s room humidifiers and to discover why we’ve selected these as top choices, depending on your home and your needs.
- BEST OVERALL: TaoTronics Warm and Cool Mist 6-Liter Humidifier
- BEST FOR SMALL ROOMS: InvisiPure Sky Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier
- ALSO CONSIDER: Truky Aromatherapy Ultrasonic Aroma Diffuser
What to Consider When Choosing the Best Room Humidifier
Warm Mist vs. Cool Mist Humidifiers
Both cool and warm mist humidifiers add much-needed moisture to dry indoor air, with slight differences:
- A standard warm mist humidifier brings water to a boil to inject the room’s air with a little extra moisture. The high heat reduces the risk of bacterial transmission, leading it to be considered slightly healthier. Warm mist humidifiers are also typically quieter to operate since steamy mist naturally rises, eliminating the need for an internal fan. They do require additional cleaning because the boiling process leaves behind mineral deposits.
- A cool mist humidifier uses a fan to blow air through a damp wick, so it can be noisy when it turns on. Cool mist humidifiers are preferable to warm mist humidifiers in homes with small children since there is no danger of burning little fingers.
Ultrasonic Technology
Ultrasonic humidifiers can disperse a warm or a cool mist, or both. The cool mist option is more common, but some models include an internal heater that facilitates a cool mist in the summer and warm mist in the winter. Instead of utilizing a strong fan, as your standard cool mist humidifier might, an ultrasonic humidifier breaks up water droplets into mist using a ceramic diaphragm that vibrates at a frequency too high to be audible to the human ear. Best of all, most ultrasonic humidifiers are whisper-quiet, so they won’t interfere with your sleep.
Size
A humidifier that is too small may not be sufficient, while one that’s too large could add so much moisture in the room that droplets appear on furniture and other surfaces. Fortunately, humidifiers are rated by the intended room size. A small room humidifier effectively treats rooms with less than 400 square feet of floor space. They are often portable and lightweight, making them a good choice for bedrooms, nurseries, kitchens, and other small rooms. Medium-size room humidifiers treat rooms between 400 to 900 square feet and are only semi-portable. For a room with 1,000 square feet or more, look for a large room humidifier. Large room humidifiers feature bigger water reservoirs and are stationary.
Our Top Picks
We considered factors such as warm versus cool mist, size, and technology to determine the best room humidifier for your home.
Photo: amazon.com
The TaoTronics Warm and Cool Mist Humidifier provides both cool and warm mist to keep your sinuses and skin hydrated. The ultrasonic humidifier automatically works to maintain comfortable indoor humidity and will turn off automatically when the desired humidity is reached. The top-fill humidifier makes it a breeze to refill and clean and essential oils can be used to infuse the air with your favorite fragrances. The extra-large 6-liter water tank produces up to 60 hours of continuous cool mist to moisturize dry air and a handy remote gives you control over all settings: mist levels, temperature, humidity levels, timer, sleep mode, and auto mode. This humidifier operates quietly and an LED display turns off when the water tank is empty.
Photo: amazon.com
With whisper-soft operation, the InvisiPure Sky Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier is a hit with light sleepers as well as parents of infants and toddlers. It comes with an easy-to-clean 1-gallon water reservoir that gently humidifies rooms for up to 40 hours on a single fill. The InvisiPure features a 360-degree nozzle so you can direct the mist output in any direction and the unit automatically shuts off when the reservoir runs dry. At less than 12 inches high and 7 inches wide, this compact humidifier won’t take up much room on a dresser.
Photo: amazon.com
Set the mood with a relaxing or uplifting aroma just by adding a couple of drops of essential oil to the Truky Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser. Resembling a decorative vase, this stylish glass humidifier allows you to add your favorite essential oils and infuse the air in small rooms for up to five hours on a single fill. This fragrant accessory is a perfect addition to the space where you sleep, meditate, or practice yoga. The Truky humidifier features a seven-color LED light, so you can select a colorful glow to match your current mood.
