It is essential that you have a reliable humidifier buyers guide before you head out to the market. One way or another, you’ll need to be accurate and practical when it comes to your humidification tool.
Every time external temperatures go down during the cold seasons, it is an automatic response for us to crank up our heaters. Well, that’s pretty normal, right?
But every time the heat rises, the humidity in your home or office will increase, too. Once this happens, your environment will feel parch and arid. Of course, there are repercussions for poorly humid air. It can cause irritations, allergies, and other illnesses.
Humidifiers can combat the problems caused by low humidity. Basically, these devices spray mist to the air until such time the desired humidity will be achieved.
Here, you’ll learn the fundamentals of buying a humidifier.
Humidifier Buyers Guide
Several factors may influence your choice for your first or next humidifier. As much as possible, you have to be cautious in selecting these humidifiers. You want to make sure that you don’t only humidify your space but also save money in the process.
Do I Need A Powerful Humidifier?
Power is not the only thing that you need for a humidifier. It is just a part of the qualifications that you should account for.
When I say the term “powerful humidifier,” this means that the device can release moisture in the air at a fast and extensive rate. Hence, the humidifier is quite perfect for areas with large floor sizes or multiple rooms.
Initially, such capabilities appear lofty and ideal. However, you have to reconsider if that’s the best option for you. You still have to probe if your humidity problem is severe or not. Who knows? You might only need to moisten your air a little only.
At this point, you need to know the ideal humidity of an indoor space. According to Energy Star, the appropriate humidity level should be around 30% to 50%. If you are living in cold seasons, the relative humidity should stay from 30% to 40%. Maintaining such levels would stop window condensation.
Of course, you can’t guess these percentages by yourself. That would be impossible. Hence, you need a hygrometer at this point. It’s a device that reads humidity in the air.
If the humidity levels in your home are quite low, then you need the service of a humidifier. If it is too dry, you might need to get a more robust option instead.
Now, let’s explore more about the technical specifications of these humidifiers.
Type Of Humidifier
One should know that there are several types of humidifiers out there. They could come in the form of warm mist, cool mist, or dual mist.
We also have whole-house humidifiers, which is ideal if your house has a forced-air heating system. If you want total humidification to your entire space, then this is the device that you need to get. Whole-house humidifiers function by connecting to the water supply of your house so that they can release constant moisture. Because of this kind of setup, they require a professional plumber for their installation.
- Cool mist humidifiers – Most of the humidifiers in the market today are cool mist. Just like their name suggests, these humidifiers provide cool moisture in the air, which helps in shrinking nasal passages.
Cool mist humidifiers can either be evaporative or ultrasonic. Evaporative models are using fans to blow air and push it in a wet wick. This enables the air to cool while the wick is giving it moisture. Meanwhile, ultrasonic models utilize nebulizers to generate mist. Since they don’t have fans, they are generally quieter than their counterparts.
- Warm mist humidifiers – Steam vaporizers, or commonly known as warm mist humidifiers, are known to be cheaper than cool mist humidifiers. They utilize heating elements to boil the water on the tank, allowing them to produce warm mist. But because of this mechanism, one could say that these warm mist humidifiers consume more electricity than their counterparts. If there are children in your house, you should place these humidifiers away from their reach. After all, the water they contain is hot and boiling.
Floor Size
Now that you have identified the type of humidifier that you need in your space, it is time that you measure the size of the area that you want to humidify. Specifically, you have to gauge its square footage, as it will serve as the basis for your selection.
Most of the humidifiers have been constructed to have a limit on their coverage. Not all humidifiers can do multi-room humidification. Keep that in mind. For personal and travel uses, humidifiers that can encompass 25 square feet to 100 square feet should be enough.
Meanwhile, larger rooms will require you to get units that can cover up to 1000 square feet or more.
Tabletop humidifiers should be acceptable options for small to medium rooms, especially if they are rated to fit your needs. But since they have a small construction, expect that you need to refill them constantly. If you deem that your area is big, you have to opt for console models since they are capable of producing high levels of moisture.
Essential Features
- Portability – Always think about the portability of the humidifier. Of course, when buying these units, you envision that they will give you comfort, not added work. Humidifiers are essentially lightweight. However, some of them are too bulky and lack the mechanisms that would allow you to move them conveniently. Furthermore, always take into account that the bigger the humidifier you get, the more it’s difficult for you to move them around. At this point, I only recommend getting the humidifier that matches your needs; don’t exceed it.
- Noise – When picking a humidifier, you have to be wary about their noise. It is an essential consideration, especially if you are going to put the humidifier in your bedroom or spaces where noise is not a welcomed guest. Check the label of the humidifier and try to look for its noise rating. It is commonly expressed as decibels. The lower the number, the quieter the device is. Humidifiers may have different speed settings. So if you are going to crank them at full power, they may generate more noises.
- Humidistat – A humidistat is a useful feature for a humidifier. This one acts similarly to hygrometers. It reads the moisture in the air and detects its current levels. Humidifiers with humidistats can adjust their operation automatically based on the readings. For instance, if the air is too dry, the humidistat will trigger the humidifier to activate. If the right humidity is achieved, it will prompt the humidifier to turn off. With such a mechanism, you can experience convenience and cost-efficiency.
- Ease of maintenance – Humidifiers have to be cleaned regularly, especially their water tanks. In fact, you should clean them every time they go empty. Molds can easily grow on them if no cleaning procedures are undertaken. Notably, many users complained that their humidifiers have tanks that are difficult to remove or detach. Well, that’s an issue that you shouldn’t shrug off. It could affect the way you refill and clean the humidifier.
Conclusion
Investing in a humidifier is essential to combat the effects of dry air. But at the same time, you should never be too careless in your selection. Otherwise, you will end up spending on a humidifier that doesn’t satisfy your requirements. With this humidifier buyers guide, I hope you’ll be able to get the right humidification device for you.
For other related questions, feel free to ask me in the comment section below.