Best Humidifiers

Which Humidifier is Best – Warm Mist or Cool Mist Humidifiers?

Editorial Notes: Updated 12/19/2011

Air O Swiss 7144 Humidifiers

Periodically, I receive a number of emails, asking me virtually the same thing. Which are better, warm or cool mist humidifiers? What is the difference between cool and warm mist, or whether our cool mist humidifiers disperse mineral dust? In addition, some people just wish to know which is the BEST humidifier and want to drill down deeper beyond the comparison charts and our detailed product write ups. Others are asking about combination humidifiers and air purifiers. So here goes…this is what I would say if I were on the phone personally to you.

What’s the difference between Warm and Cool Mist?
At the risk of being facetious, one humidifier gives out a warm mist, the other humidifier gives out a cool mist. One is cool, the other is warm. Need more explanation? Well, imagine being in a greenhouse that is how a warm mist feels. People who like warm mists generally live in colder parts of the USA or like to put a warm mist humidifier into a baby’s room. However, if you cannot make a choice, Air O Swiss humidifiers have several models which can be used in either a warm or cool mist mode offering the ultimate in convenience or the pureguardian humidifiers are a good value choice.

Conversely, people who like cool mist humidifiers live in warmer climates, because the last thing they want is to warm the place up a few degrees. If you live in a colder climate, the cool mist humidifier could feel a trifle clammy if you over-humidify the room. To avoid over-humidification we recommend a built-in humidistat or a standalone humidistat.

What Are The Most Important Humidifier Features?

Graco 4 Gallon Humidifier

Ease of Cleaning:
Here the Air O Swiss humidifier line wins hands down with their ionic stick and mineral cartridge patented system. No changing of filters ever, and only cleaning once a season. Definitely, the humidifier of choice for people on the run or who hate extra cleaning chores. The Graco humidifier line (formerly Hamilton Beach) is somewhere in between, as you can wash it in the dishwasher, and filters need changing every three months.

Built-in Humidistat
I think this is a great feature to have on a humidifier. Why? Because the tendency is to over-humidify a room and then cause mold and dust mite problems. I used the Graco humidifier (formerly Hamilton Beach) all last season, and was amazed when I set my humidity level at 35%-45%, well below mold or dust mite causing levels, how often the machine turned itself off, and the water tank lasted anywhere from 2 to 3 times as long as my previous machine. In fact, the water lasted about 6 days in our very dry condo. We tested the accuracy of the Hamilton Beach humidifier’s humidistat. Impressive, within two degrees of accuracy at all times. The newer models of the Air O Swiss now include a humidistat which before was one of the few grumbles I had about their machines.

Pure Guardian H1500 Humidifier

Noise level: This is a matter of personal choice, but everyone dislikes very noisy appliances. Be very clear about one thing, all appliances of this kind have SOME degree of noise attached to them. Some people are very noise sensitive. For those people I recommend a Air O Swiss ultrasonic humidifiers, even their cool mist humidifier is exceptionally quiet. The new Stadler Form ultrasonic humidifiers also are very quiet and provide exceptional humidification.

No Mineral Dust
None of our humidifiers, cool or warm disperse mineral dust.

Automatic Shut Off: When empty or humidity level reached. I think this is an important feature but some people who are noise sensitive do not like any sound of an appliance going on or off which is audible in most humidifier models. Those noise sensitive people who just want to set a continuous humidity level and never have the machine turn on and off might like the Air O Swiss 7135 humidifier models. However the other Air O Swiss models and many of the Stadler Form humidifiers are so quiet that you have to strain to hear them click off.

Bacteria Free?
Except for the pureguardian, Air-O-Swiss and Stadler Form models, you really do have to wash out humidifiers at a very minimum on a weekly basis, or every time you refill the water tank. This is why I use them when I have to, which is in winter when my sinuses are killing me. The Air-O-Swiss machines are the most maintenance free of all.

Combination Air Cleaner and Humidifiers: Generally speaking, the new combination air purifiers and humidifiers are nothing to write home about. Most are over priced, and poor quality. I could froth at the mouth about this trend. I have seen NO appliance of this type I want to rave about. However, if you twist my arm, the Air O Swiss 2055A Air Washer is the best product of its kind to reach the market. It is not a HEPA filter so it only filters out large dust and pet hair [which in my home is useful!] and it is bit messy to clean out dirty water but unlike the air washers, it has the Air O Swiss patented ionic stick system for making sure that the water is bacteria free. It also has a built in humidistat and covers a large space. The Stadler Form Tom Air Washer Humidifier is another combination unit we carry that covers a larger area than than the Air-O-Swiss.

Air O Swiss 7144 Humidifiers

So What is my Designated Humidifier Winner for this Season?

Personally, my top choice humidifier is the Air O Swiss 7144 humidifier.

Here is my reasoning. I am too busy to clean these darn things. It is not because I am lazy, I just work an incredible number of hours per week and I have very little time left for other things. In addition, I am firmly in favor of built-in digital adjustable humidistat and my husband hates noise. The new Air O Swiss humidifier line scores well on all these important features. The Stadler Form humidifiers would be my second choice, especially for those needing a machine with a more modern design.

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