I live in Southern California on the coast and while most days are nice and the humidity is great because of the ocean, there are days like we had and are having this week when the Santa Anna winds blow and the humidity drops to the teens, if not single digits. If you have never experienced single digit humidity, it can be quite hard on your eyes and skin. Being in the 20's is great during the hot summer days but lower than that can really stink!
We are entering the season of Santa Annas and so I got both the Pure Enrichment Mistier XL and a combo thermometer/hygrometer. I've put both to the test over the last couple of days and it has been a lifesaver! I've attached a picture of the hygrometer showing what I was dealing with in my office. It went down to 23% humidity, which is pretty darn dry. Using the Mistaire XL for about 6 hours both yesterday day and today, got the humidity back up to a high of 66% and an 'ambient' humidity of 51% when I took the picture (which as you can see from the smiley face is considered a good humidity).
Using the single nozzle on full added about 10% humidity per hour to my office. Unfortunately, it is so dry that it loses that humidity far faster than it is gained. I ran out of distilled water (don't have to use distilled but I prefer it), so the humidity will be dropping again until I can get out an buy some more water.
So what do I like so much about the Pure Enrichment Mistaire XL? Let me count the ways:
1. It's Quiet: Other than a light burbling and fan noise this thing is absolutely quiet. I think it would actually make a nice 'white noise' for sleeping.
2. Easy to Use: It doesn't get much simpler than to fill the reservoir, place it on the machine, plug it in and turn it on. All that is left is to decide if you want a dual spray of mist (better for large rooms) or just a single, and how much mist you want. As I stated above, having a single nozzle on 100% did a really good job of raising the humidity rather quickly. The dual nozzle doesn't increase the output it just does a better job of dispersing the humidity around a larger room. Since I have this next to the wall, I wanted just a single jet facing the center of the room. If you have a large bedroom or other room where this might be, I would recommend you place it in the center of the room and use the dual nozzles.
3. It's Light: When not filled with water this thing is super light. My wife and I take weekend trips all over the state, many times to the low desert regions for hiking and such and it is almost always super dry there (hence the desert part). This is now going to be packed in the back of the car now for our hotel room.
Nightlight: This is neither good nor bad from my point of view but if you are going to have a night light feature, it would probably be best to have it just be a white light. I'll never use it so it's not a big deal but the red, green, and blue are kinda useless. I suppose the red light would be ok so it doesn't blow out your night vision.
There is very little not to like about the Mistaire XL but I do have two little quibbles with it:
1. Needs a Handle or Flat Top: When filling the reservoir from a jug of distilled water and not a faucet, it can be a little awkward to do it on your own. If the reservoir had a flat top so it could rest on a counter or a handle to keep a firm grip, it would be easier.
2. No Cleaning Brush: The box says there is a cleaning brush included but I went through the thing twice and there was no brush in there. I'm not super concerned about it because I have plenty of cleaning tools, but still.
Conclusion: If you need a humidifier for your bedroom or home office, you really can't go wrong with the Mistaire XL. It gives you a great 1 gallon reserve of water, quiet operation, and it does it's job very well. For the price, it is a great option.