Winter sucks.
The average American will moan about it 5 times a day throughout the season. It’s no surprise. Winter is cold, wet, dark, and seems to last forever.
It also has a nasty habit of removing moisture from your home. The heaters you call upon for help can cause humidity levels to take a nosedive. In record time, everyone and everything is dryer than a bone.
Allergies, chapped skin and the flu all occur.
Thankfully, this particular problem has a technological savior: humidifiers. These useful items restore humidity to bearable levels.
Knowing how to choose a humidifier can be a challenge though. You’ve got a lot of options to choose from; picking the right humidifier for you isn’t easy. Looking to make winter a little easier with the perfect humidifier? Let us help.
Read on to discover 7 top tips for finding the best one for your home.
1. Type
First thing’s first: not all humidifiers are the same.
A central decision to make is what type of humidifier you want to use. There’s no right or wrong; each option operates differently and has its own set of pros and cons.
Two primary models on the industry are cool mist and warm mist humidifiers.
Evaporative cool mist humidifiers blow air across a wet wick with a fan. What’s called an ultrasonic humidifier is another cool mist example that solicits a nebulizer to discharge water.
Warm mist humidifiers, by contrast, boil water and release the steam that’s produced. They work well, though a downside can be the cost of replacing filters contained within them. The heated water also comes with a burn risk, which is worth considering if children are around.
2. Space
The right humidifier will depend entirely on the space it needs to serve.
Is your entire home in need of humidity help, or is the issue isolated to a particular room?
Smaller areas can get away with table-top style room humidifiers. They’re lightweight and portable, meaning they can be moved from room to room as required.
Whole-house humidifiers will be required to rectify more significant issues. Of course, bigger and more technical solutions will be more expensive. It’s all about weighing up the pros and cons. That extra expense could be well worth it if your humidity problems disappear!
Needless to say, always consider the square-footage a humidifier is said to cover. Make sure it’s adequate for the room(s) they’ll serve.
3. Effort
How much effort do you want to go to with your humidifier?
The different varieties available require differing levels of maintenance and input. For example, most room humidifiers will need to be refilled with water at various periods.
The more they’re used, the more regularly they’ll need to be refilled. Thankfully, even the smallest humidifiers can sometimes get a month’s worth of use before requiring a refill.
However, are you looking for a complete hands-off humidifier? Well, you’ll want one that works with your HVAC system. These can connect to the water system, meaning they continue to operate with no refills necessary.
4. Budget
All purchasing decisions tend to take the budget into account.
Like anything, large and fancy technical humidifiers can cost an arm and a leg. The bigger and better they are, the more they’ll cost. Of course, they’ll also do a better job!
Smaller and less powerful models will always be cheaper. They might also be just what you need to correct the humidity levels in a room or two.
Nonetheless, budget options inevitably carry greater risk of breaking. That potential hassle might be enough to persuade you to invest extra in a better model.
5. Style
Functionality is great. But, let’s face it…
You want the thing to look good too!
Style’s going to be another central part of choosing the perfect humidifier. There are as many designs and aesthetic options as there are types of humidifiers to decide between.
The best bet for you will depend on personal preference. You might prefer a smaller, compact, table-top humidifier with a sleek and trendy getup. With more space at your disposal (that needs some added humidity!), you may want something larger and floor-based.
6. Noise Levels
Humidifiers are mechanical devices.
They rely on moving parts and mechanisms to work. That means you should expect them to emit noise when they’re being used!
In this way, noise tolerance becomes a factor in your decision-making process. Alas, you can’t as easily check the noise levels when you’re buying online. You might, however, consider watching review videos of the model in question. The footage could reveal the noise involved.
Buying in store allows you to ‘try before you buy’ and get an idea of the noise.
If noise is an issue (for instance, when you need a humidifier in the bedroom at night), think about getting an ultrasonic model. These, by virtue of their design, are renowned as the quietest solutions available.
7. Humidity Levels
It’s no good getting a humidifier that doesn’t create correct humidity levels.
You’re looking to create a humidity of between 30 and 40% in your home. That’s the optimum level for comfort and relief from the wintery issues we mentioned above.
Lower than that and you’ll feel less of an impact. Higher than that (anything over 50%) and you can end up with more problems than you started with. Dust mites become a problem, for instance, and mold can start to form.
Every house is different. The right humidifier for the job will depend on your circumstances. Find a humidifier that’s suited to your home conditions.
Read humidifier reviews to properly satisfy your personal criteria.
Now You Know How to Choose a Humidifier
Winter is a trialing time for many American households.
The cold and dark can take its toll as time goes by. Even worse, the house itself, and those living inside start to suffer. Cold and inclement weather makes heating essential.
Unfortunately, that can sap the moisture from the air, reducing humidity to levels that are egregious to health and comfort.
Learning how to choose a humidifier can solve the problem. Hopefully, this post has provided sufficient insight to find the best one for you.
Want more articles like this? Check out the other posts in the technology section right here on our blog.