Recommendations for room humidifier?

I'm in southern AZ, where the room humidity is 26-30% right now. I run my cpap humidifier at 2-3, which avoids rainout, but I would still like a little more humidity, and have been thinking about adding a room humidifier, at least in the winter months.

I've been researching room humidifiers, but there are so many mixed reviews, and you never know the credibility of the reviewer.

Anyone here use a room humidifier? What brand and model, and what do you like and dislike about it? Thanks!

I hate filling them!
As a Canadian who has survived many winters and innumerable humidifiers Make sure they are easy to fill and clean. A green swamp in the bottom of your humidifier is not beneficial.

The ones that "ionize" the particles create a problem for electronics but are easy to handle and usually don't encourage algae.

The nicest ones I have used for the bedroom are the ones that make steam , you can add scents to them (in a special container not the water)- no algae survives in side the tank! But they can create enough humidity to have your wall paper peel off! They are also dangerous around small kids.

Another thing to consider is your water. If it has lots of minerals you have to descale the humidifier (especially the steam version) fairly frequently.

My sister just uses fountains around the house which she cleans weekly to make sure there is no algae growing in them.

Hi, Katie.

I have the Vicks warm mist model V745A (second one down on the left on this page: http://www.vicks.com/products/humidifie ... agodTXZyuA).

Pros:
*It holds a full gallon of water.
*It's quiet.
*It puts out a nice, warm steady mist that does seem to make a positive difference - especially re: static electricity.
*It has a little cup on top for adding Inhalant (menthol-eucalyptus, like this: http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/product/e7 ... 6e06d43a4/) when you're congested or have a cold.
*It shuts off automatically if it runs out of water.
*It's easy to fill.

Cons:
*My water is very hard. I have to descale the heating element with white vinegar monthly, which means disassembling the humidifier (which is fairly easy to do). I fill the heating element basin with vinegar and just let it sit, then use a popsicle stick to scrape off any build-up that doesn't want to dissolve. (Distilled water would solve that problem, but it's too expensive, cheap as it is, to use in any large humidifier regularly.)
*This isn't a "con" for me, personally, but the settings dial lights up on the front of the unit. It's a soft green light, but it is light, so if you like to sleep in total darkness, that's a consideration.

HTH

Mine is an older machine from Bionaire model W 6-S. It has some features I would want in any room humidifier namely the capacity (6 gals.) and a thermostat type setting to come on when humidity reaches X% so it's NOT running all the time.

Like a dehumidifier a humidifier will increase electricity use.

Two containers hold 3 gals each. You'll be surprised just how much water the air and furniture and carpet and curtains and clothes can and will absorb. The large capacity is what attracted me to this unit many years ago. A 1 or 2 gallon unit will require 'daily' attention. I can go about 1 week before needing a refill.

I learned to start this unit as soon as the furnace gets turned on. The furnace seems to dry the air right out.

This is a cool mist type humidifier with a foam type (cleanable) air filter. There is a wick inside which I have never been able to find in stores near me, so I have always bought one close and just cut it to fit. The wick will need replacement bc it retains all of the nasties that do not become airborn.

Other ways you can add moisture to your home -
Gumby's fav - Just hang laundry around the house to dry. Use either a clothes line or a drying rack from the big box stores. Out of clothes? Wet a towel to dry the same way.

Boil water? It works - just not too efficient.

A hot shower will help to add some moisture - not too efficient either.

HTH and Good Luck

For my office, I used a Venta-Airwasher. It's very expensive, and I can't say it's worth the $ because it's the only one I've ever used. But I did feel that the quality of the air was improved (it was a temperature-controlled building and the windows coul;dn't be opened. So the air needed improvement.)

Pros:
quiet & efficient
never any algae growing

Cons: expensive

I have tried several over the past ten years and I found that the Honeywell quiet care is the best I have tried. I have two of them right now and they are rated for I believe up to around a 1000 square foot room. This is an upright one with the tank on top behind the control panel. It has an evaporator wick in it that is easily replaceable. The wick is less than 20 bucks, but I found a web site that I can get them for less than half. This unit also filters the air and has one of those lights in it that kills the bacteria before it can get going. One of mine has the rotary dials on it to adjust it and the other one is digital with a couple buttons. I got the last one at BestBuy and believe it was about 80 bucks. That may seem a little expensive for a humidifier but it is over four years old. Until I got these, I never had one last longer than one season because of our water being so hard and full of minerals as we are on a well.

Here is a link to the unit I have. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Honeywell+- ... Id=7799064

I would recommend this humidifier to anyone.

Gerry

Thank you everyone. That gives me a good jumping off point for more research....and shopping.

I'm probably going to be looking for one soon....now that I got a hydrometer that reads below 20%...I see that its only 7% in condo right now.

I tend to flip flop between warm mist and cool mist units. But stay away from ultrasonic....that fine white dust everywhere just isn't good (and I don't think I'd want to run my home water distiller that much to keep me a humidifier fed).

For me...warm mist puts out more moisture, but the build up of scale is faster and harder to clean....and its makes a mess since most every one I've tried....has condensation of mist n the unit and drains out of the machine...and puddles around it.

Cool mist just don't seem to put out that much moisture, perhaps I keep my place too cool....though the ones with disposable pads are nice, because after it turns into a rock you replace it. But, then you also have the problem of stuff growing in them....

Not sure where I stand this year....was going to see if I could do without.....since I have the CPAP humidifier for my sleep comfort....though I'm awake a lot more now....

The Dreamer.

Katie,

It doesn't matter where you add moisture, before or after the CPAP; the air can only hold so much water vapor at a given temperature. Be careful you're not inducing rainout. You may have to turn down your CPAP humidifier after adding a room humidifier.

Steve

The water at my house is about the worst you can have for a humidifier. I am on a well with high iron and mineral levels. I have an iron curtain inline right after the well tank then a water softner. I still get rust marks in my showers and the toilets. The humidifiers that I use are the only ones I have found that put up with this water and don't require a lot of maintenance. I change the filter wick pad once a year in them but should probably change it a couple times a year.

With warm vapor units, I had to clean them at least weekly. Cool mist units would stop working if I didn't clean them weekly. The warm vapor and cool mist units would not last more than one season for me, but these that I use now last.

Gerry

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Gerryk wrote:I have tried several over the past ten years and I found that the Honeywell quiet care is the best I have tried. I have two of them right now and they are rated for I believe up to around a 1000 square foot room. This is an upright one with the tank on top behind the control panel. It has an evaporator wick in it that is easily replaceable. The wick is less than 20 bucks, but I found a web site that I can get them for less than half. This unit also filters the air and has one of those lights in it that kills the bacteria before it can get going. One of mine has the rotary dials on it to adjust it and the other one is digital with a couple buttons. I got the last one at BestBuy and believe it was about 80 bucks. That may seem a little expensive for a humidifier but it is over four years old. Until I got these, I never had one last longer than one season because of our water being so hard and full of minerals as we are on a well.

Here is a link to the unit I have. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Honeywell+- ... Id=7799064

I would recommend this humidifier to anyone.

Gerry

This one sounds great. I like that it cleans the air too. I'm going to have to consider this.

Well, I ended up going with a cool humidifier....

Got the Essick Air 3D6 100 - http://www.amazon.com/o/asin/B001XW1ZMQ/4--20/

It was bigger than I expected, and still a mess (the tanks are oddly shaped and drip water everywhere)....otherwise, it is putting humidity into my home and not too noisy (on low)...

room humidity is around 25-35% in the living room (where I have the humidifier) and around 20% in the bedroom.

Meanwhile, I've turned up my HC150 to 2...and use up about half the tank each night.

The Dreamer.

I have the Bionaire W-6 also. It's for the whole house and that makes a difference. I can tell it's run out of water when my fingernails feel dry and I keep turning the heat up. Mine is old and I have to be careful not to overfill it, and you do have to buy replacement filters.

I just bought a room Bionaire from Costco. Haven't taken it out of the package yet.