Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
The best humidifiers are great at ensuring the air quality and humidity levels in your home are kept at the best possible levels. There are some best practice guidelines you should follow to ensure they are running at their best, and we spoke to an expert, Tim Carroll, a representative from the Environmental Protection Agency, to get his breakdown of how to care for your humidifier: This humidifier is easy to clean and its humidity levels perform well on both the high and middle mist setting, climbing to a 68% level within two hours on the highest setting. Another quiet model, it will last for 19 hours on a high setting, but 60 on a lower setting. However, the built-in humidity sensor is quite sensitive and the model does need to be cleaned regularly to avoid bacteria getting into the water.
Having worked for many years in the NHS, initially as a GP, and then as Lead Clinician for an integrated Community Sexual Health Service, Dr Deborah Lee now works as a health and medical writer, with an emphasis on women’s health. She is a menopause specialist. How we test How do we test humidifiers on Live Science? In practice, all of these humidifiers will raise the indoor humidity but we found cool mist humidifiers to be the best option on the market. In our testing, cool mist humidifiers were far less energy demanding than warm mist (avg. 40 watts cool vs 260 watts warm), and considerably easier to clean. Benefits of Using a Humidifier The Elechomes HTJ-2119 Ultrasonic Humidifier is an excellent option if you want a humidifier with extra features but don’t have the budget or space for larger, more expensive models. We like that this humidifier has a big water tank for its size, even though it's smaller than other models. Running continuously on the highest setting, the water tank didn’t run out of water for 12 hours. The Elechomes SH8820 is an excellent value ultrasonic humidifier that comes with a full gamut of features. At 26.5cm x 18cm x 30.5cm, this humidifier is a perfect size for both floor or desktop use. We especially like its simple Apple-esque styling, the clearly etched lettering on the touch sensitive control panel, the ingeniously simple uni-directional vapour spout with integral aroma diffuser, and the way you can fill its ample 5.5-litre water tank without having to lift it out. Small wonder it’s one of the most popular humidifiers in the USA.
What else should you look for in a humidifier?
As a smaller model, it’s ultra-quiet but is capable of holding a large amount of water, which means that it can run for up to 36 hours. Humidifiers are of most use in arid countries and well-sealed modern homes with air conditioning, which is very drying. It’s also worth noting that a humidifier won’t be as practical if your home has poor insulation, old-fashioned floorboards with no carpeting or you leave your windows open all year long. This is because outdoor air already has a relatively high level of natural humidity. and what’s outside comes inside. Every humidifier in this guide has been tested to the exact same standards, using the same processes. The front of the humidifier is home to all the controls, which are duplicated on the thin remote control that comes with the appliance. Although the controls all have an icon, they’re neatly labelled in English, too, leaving no doubt over the function of each button. Where to put your new humidifier depends on the conditions of each room in your house and what you hope to achieve by using one. For instance, if you struggle with snoring, then it would make sense to put your humidifier in your bedroom. Humidifiers in the bedroom should be kept at least three feet away from the bed to avoid disturbing you while you sleep, although you might want it temporarily closer if you’re battling a respiratory infection. Some humidifiers have LED displays and run louder than others, so you might want to place it somewhere the lights aren’t directly visible from the bed and far enough away that the sound isn’t disturbing.
A humidifier requires regular cleaning to keep bacteria and mildew at bay, especially if the unit is in storage with water still in the tank. Some ultrasonic models, like the Dyson, delay the need for cleaning by using ultraviolet light to kill bacteria. But even these humidifiers need cleaning on occasion, while all evaporative models require a regular deep clean of the paper filter and possibly a replacement if it looks too soiled. The ability to set a humidity target and set a timer so the humidifier will turn off after a certain amount of time are nice features that let you keep the humidity of your room at a comfortable level without wasting extra water. The timer, for instance, would let you run the humidifier in a bedroom for a few hours before bedtime and through the night, making it automatically turn off during the day when no one uses the room.It’s recommended that you aim for around 50% humidity in any room, to provide the optimum level of comfort and to keep skin healthy. Increasing humidity means that your heating would have to warm the water in the air, which might take longer in a more humid environment than a dry one – but the temperature will drop more slowly as a result, increasing comfort. There are lots of factors you'll want to consider when buying a humidifier, most importantly: how often will you be using it and for what purpose? Whether you're looking for a machine to humidify a large room or a smaller version for your desk at work, the capacity, runtime and square footage will tell you everything you need to know. Most humidifiers on this list hold around a gallon of water in their water tank and runtimes range from 6 to 70 hours. If you're looking for a machine that you can leave on all day every day with minimal refills, then you'll want the one with a higher runtime and capacity most likely. But if you're just looking for a humidifier to get you through the night, a smaller capacity and runtime may be okay, especially if it means a lower price point. The square footage a certain model is able to cover will also tell you if it will work in the space you have in mind because, like air purifiers, humidifiers work best in small, enclosed spaces. Unlike other humidifiers we’ve tested, the Dyson AM10 Humidifier doesn’t have multiple mist settings. Instead, it asks you to target a humidity level. The humidifier will run until your set humidity is reached and regulate the humidity from there. Humidity levels can be set to between 30 and 70 per cent. However, this humidifier also aims to regulate your desired temperature and will change according to the temperature in the room. Our tester also noted that the noise on any level was never louder than her air conditioner.
Using an external humidity sensor, I found that the reading in the test room was a couple of per cent out from the SH8820’s own internal reading. Certainly, you can trust that that this humidifier’s automatic setting will get you close enough to the comfort level you’ve set. Second, you can turn on the Heat mode, choosing from three levels. Heating the water brings two benefits: it kills bacteria and it pushes warm water into the air, making it more comfortable during the winter months. There are two main types of humidifier: ultrasonic and evaporator. Ultrasonic models use a vibrating diaphragm that agitates water droplets which are then blown out of the unit by a fan. These machines tend to produce a fog-like mist that is clearly visible. However, they also tend to leave a very fine layer of white calcium dust on furnishings, unless, of course, you use expensive distilled water. The tank is small enough to easily fit under a shallow bathroom sink. Our tester tried the Elechomes HTJ-2119 Ultrasonic Humidifier in her bedroom and was able to fill the tank in the bathroom closest to her room instead of carrying it to and from the kitchen.This Dyson humidifier is a great investment piece, especially as it doubles as a fan, which means that in the summer months it won’t sit dormant. Maintains humidity accurately, but it’s better suited to rooms smaller than the quoted maximum size in my tests Turn on the humidifier and you’ll see a set of LED light up to display the current humidity level in the room. If you use the Humidify option, you can set a target humidity level between 30% and 80%, increasing in 5% increments.
Great Deal 
New Comment