Humidifiers

During colder or dryer weather, the air in your home can become dry and uncomfortable – a situation that is unpleasant at best and unhealthy at worst. Just like an air purifier or smart thermostats, a good humidifier can make a big difference in the comfort of your home. But, while an air humidifier can help with ailments like dry skin, allergies or respiratory irritation, it’s important to select a model that fits your needs and won’t lead to an excess of moisture that can cause other problems like mold and odor issues. If your home does have issues with too much moisture, you may actually need to consider dehumidifiers.

Understanding a little about how humidifiers add moisture to the air is helpful for deciding which is the best humidifier for you. There are two basic kinds of humidifiers.

A warm mist humidifier will use steam to moisten the air around them. Because of the heat of the steam, expect one of these types of humidifiers to also raise the temperature of any room they are in, but not as much as a space heater. Those with small children in their home should also use caution because warm-mist humidifiers can be hot to the touch.

As their name implies, cool mist humidifiers emit a cooler mist of air than warm mist humidifiers in order to add moisture to the air without an increase in temperature. Cool mist humidifiers use three different designs to create moisture. An evaporative cool mist humidifier relies on the evaporation of water from a wick as air blows over it. Ultrasonic models have a nebulizer that vibrates to release water into the air. Finally, impeller humidifiers have a disc that rotates and flings water against a diffuser that disperses it into the air.

Once you’ve considered the type of humidifier that makes sense for you and your home, you’ll want to think about how large of a humidifier you’ll need to achieve the air quality you’re aiming for. A small humidifier is good for a room smaller than 250 square feet while rooms as big as 500 square feet are better served by a medium-sized humidifier.