The Best Humidifier
January 2020

Compbrella Guide for choosing the best humidifier for your home

Closing up your home for the winter may sound like the right thing to do when winter comes. After all, we need to keep the cold air out and the heat in, right? Yes, but the side effect of that is that it dries out your home. Dry air will leave your body parched and thirsty for the moisture it needs to operate properly. Humidifiers release moisture in the air, leaving your home more comfortable and can help prevent allergies, coughs, headaches, and even bloody noses. The best humidifiers will even help you look better! Dry air makes your skin, lips, and hair brittle and fragile, so moisture in the air will not only make you feel better but also look better!

What are the different types of humidifiers?

Humidifiers come in two basic types: warm or cold mist. They’re both equally effective but their process is different:

• Cool mist humidifiers release a mist into the air that is room temperature. They will usually spread to cover a large area and help you breathe easier. They also have the added benefit of using less electricity than warm mist humidifiers.  

• Warm mist humidifiers heat water to a boil and then release the steam into the air. This air is usually warmer and damper but it’s also healthier. These humidifiers kill more germs than the cold mist ones and filter out the toxins more efficiently, adding to the health benefits.
• Ultrasonic humidifiers are available in both warm and cool mist, but they use vibrations instead of electricity to vaporize the water, emitting a pleasant mist but is extremely quiet.

Where is the best place to locate a humidifier in the house?

Before you buy a humidifier you need to consider the space you’ll put it in. You’re actively putting moisture into the air so the size of your humidifier is directly connected to the size of the room it’s in. 

• Small rooms, up to around 300 sq feet, need small humidifiers. Medium humidifiers work well in rooms up to 500 sq feet.
• If you have a small or medium room, using a tabletop or portable humidifier is adequate and cost-efficient. The downside is you will frequently have to refill the tanks.
• For large spaces, you should look into purchasing an ultrasonic console humidifier. While it doesn’t necessarily emit more mists than large warm mists humidifiers, they are considerably quieter, giving you a humidifier that is powerful enough to alleviate the dryness in the room but quiet enough that it won’t bother you.

Bottom Line

Best Overall: Pure Enrichment MistAire Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier

Compact, silent, and energy-efficient, this room humidifier is essential if you have young children or suffer from dryness. The easily adjustable settings will keep your room the optimal condition for up to 16 hours!

Best Value: VicTsing Cool Mist Humidifier

Excellent value and easy to use make this room humidifier an excellent bargain and perfect for rooms big and small. The VicTsing has a 360° spray ensuring an even level of distribution throughout your home. 

Biggest Water Capacity: Everlasting Comfort Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier

Works perfectly. This 6-litre capacity includes an essential oil tray spraying aromatic and therapeutic mists all around you. You’ll want to buy one for every room in the house.

Why you should trust us

Compbrella was founded by a group of entrepreneurs with over twenty years experience working in retail, electronics, and e-commerce. Over the years, we have spent endless hours writing and revising consumer guides, interviewing customers about the products they enjoyed using, and talking to an untold number of technicians about why some products fail and others don’t. We draw from our own experiences about what products a household needs and what we use in our everyday lives. If we’re reviewing a product, it means we one of us has it in their home and thinks it, or a different version, would be a great addition to your homes. We stand by our recommendations because we make them to each other first.