We recommend these products based on an intensive research process that's designed to cut through the noise and find the top products in this space. Guided by experts, we spend hours looking into the factors that matter, to bring you these selections.
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Too much humidity can be a bad thing. Unfortunately, not enough might be even worse. Besides increased static electricity, chills, and damaged hair, drier air can create ideal breeding conditions that allow germs and viruses to thrive. To combat this undesirable condition, you need a home humidifier.
Although there are a number of different types of humidifiers on the market, the best and safest ones use ultrasonic or evaporative technology to add moisture to the air. You will need a humidifier that is large enough to handle the intended area, whether it's just the baby's room or your entire house. You will also want a humidifier that is quiet, contains a filter, is Energy-Star rated, and is easy to clean.
Our top choice is the LEVOIT LV600S Smart Warm and Cool Mist Humidifier, which is ideal for spaces up to 750 square feet and includes a sleep mode for quiet operation at night.
Editors’ Favorite
Type: Ultrasonic | Dimensions: 7.7" D x 11.6" W x 11.3" H | Tank Capacity: 6 L | Coverage Area: 753 sq ft | Run Time: 50 hr
Loaded with smart features to make operation convenient, the LEVOIT LV600S Smart Warm and Cool Mist Humidifier is one of the best units for getting rid of dry air in your home. It uses ultrasonic technology and has a one-step top-fill design for easy water refilling.
The 6-liter tank capacity allows you to cover an area as large as 753 square feet for up to 50 hours. You can choose between cool or warm mist, and sleep mode allows it to run so quietly you won’t even notice it. The VeSync app lets you monitor humidity levels from your phone, and you can control it with Alexa or Google Assistant.
It’s a no-brainer for those who want a humidifier that’s easy to refill and can be app-controlled. Plus, it offers aroma diffusion via the built-in aroma box where you can add essential oils to fill the air with pleasant scents.
Great Value
Type: Ultrasonic | Dimensions: 5.51" D x 11.02" W x 10.16" H | Tank Capacity: 4 L | Coverage Area: 300 sq ft | Run Time: 36 hr
Those who want something affordable to help them get by this winter will find plenty to love about the Dreo Bedroom Humidifier. It has a straightforward design, and offers next-gen humidification performance, making it an excellent option for small-to-medium-sized rooms in your home.
It has a coverage zone of 300 square feet and maximum run time of 36 hours, making it suitable for overnight humidification. The tiltable 30-degree nozzle lets you point where you want the mist to go, and the built-in aromatherapy box lets you add essential oils for a relaxing experience. It’s also super compact, which lets you set it up on top of small tables or on countertops.
The easy refill and cleaning process makes this humidifier an excellent starter humidifier for virtually any room in your home. The blue night life has a calming effect, and the uniform mist effect ensures surfaces don’t get wet.
Best Smart Humidifier
Type: Ultrasonic | Dimensions: 9.6” D x 7.5” W x 13.4” H | Tank Capacity: 6 L | Coverage Area: 505 sq ft | Run Time: 60 hr
If you want a smart humidifier that’s as efficient as it is practical to control, you’ll love the LEVOIT Classic 300S Smart Humidifier. It features built-in sensors that automatically adjust humidity output to keep levels safe and consistent.
It can run for up to 60 hours, covering up to 505 square feet, and features a one-step top-refill design for easy pours without leaks or messes. It offers humidification that’s up to four times faster than standard humidifiers, and you can monitor and adjust humidity settings through the VeSync app. Plus, you can effortlessly switch between Auto and Aroma modes.
If you have small infants or plants, this humidifier is one of the best available. It offers plenty of options for customizing humidity levels, schedules and temperature, and it includes a plant-identification and care guide.
Best for Large Rooms
Type: Evaporative | Dimensions: 9.4" D x 9.4" W x 14.6" H | Tank Capacity: 3.5 L | Coverage Area: 500 sq ft | Run Time: 48 hr
Compact, efficient and packed with premium features, the BLUEAIR Premium Smart Humidifier is a must-have for anyone looking to eliminate dryness in their home. It boasts advanced 360-degree InvisibleMist technology that delivers balanced moisture without residue or white dust.
The top-fill design allows for quick and convenient refilling, and the UV-integrated water pump auto-detects water refills, ensuring effortless operation and reducing the risk of bacterial growth. AutoHydrate adjusts the unit to its environment for consistent humidity, and the 3.5-liter tank allows it to run for up to 48 hours.
With an intuitive touch-screen interface and dishwasher-safe tank, this is one of the easiest humidifiers to keep clean and in optimal working condition. Plus, you can customize humidity levels, temperature and schedules through the BLUEAIR app.
Best for Small Spaces
Type: Ultrasonic | Dimensions: 6.38" D x 7.12" W x 10.14" H | Tank Capacity: 2.5 L | Coverage Area: 280 sq ft | Run Time: 25 hr
Have a bedroom or small space you need to keep humidified? The LEVOIT Classic 160 Humidifier is perfect for covering areas up to 280 square feet. It’s a compact unit that uses advanced ultrasonic technology to emit cool mist that doesn’t wet your furniture or floor.
It can run for up to 25 hours in its lowest setting, and it has a top-fill design so you can simply pour water without messes or leaks when the 2.5-liter tank begins to run low. The large opening and detachable components make cleaning easy, and the noise level drops to as low as 26 decibels in sleep mode, allowing quiet nighttime operation.
Although larger units can cover more area, this compact humidifier can get the job done for small-to-medium-sized rooms, such as bedrooms, nurseries, studies and family rooms. Plus, hassle-free maintenance makes it superior to older models without top-fill designs or large openings.
A home humidifier is an appliance that keeps a room at the optimum humidity level by adding moisture to the air.
Modern humidifiers use one of four methods to deliver moisture to a room: ultrasonic vibration, evaporation, steam or impelling mist.
This article focuses on ultrasonic and evaporative humidifiers only. Impeller-styled humidifiers don't perform as well as their ultrasonic and evaporative counterparts, and steam humidifiers are best suited for purposes other than room humidification. Here's a breakdown of how each works:
Ultrasonic humidifiers use powerful sound waves to generate a layer of fine mist that helps moisten the air. However, the output of an ultrasonic humidifier can be limited.
Evaporative humidifiers use wicking action to evaporate water into the air. A fan helps disperse the resulting vapor.
Steam vaporizers create a cloud of hot steam that disperses moisture into the air. However, they do pose a burn hazard and can be dangerous to use around children.
An impeller smashes water into mist-sized droplets that take flight in the air, saturating it. Notably, this type of unit sometimes creates an excess of moisture and residue.
The humidifier size and capacity you require depends on how much space you want to humidify.
Small, portable humidifiers, such as the LEVOIT Classic 160 Humidifier, are great for small to medium rooms. For instance, you could use one in your bedroom at night.
If you want to humidify a larger space — your whole apartment, for example — you'll need a humidifier that packs more of a punch, such as the LEVOIT LV600S Smart Warm and Cool Mist Humidifier, which covers 753 square feet.
The physical size of a home humidifier and the capacity of its water tank are good indicators of how powerful it is, but they're not the only factors you should consider.
Some home humidifiers are commercial-grade workhorses capable of delivering enough vapor to rehydrate hundreds of square feet of dry air. Others are designed to humidify much smaller spaces, such as a child's room or office cubicle.
If you want to discover how much space your chosen home humidifier can tackle, look at the coverage area. Most manufacturers give you an approximate coverage area in square feet, which is the amount of space the unit can effectively humidify.
If you know the size of the room or rooms you want to humidify, the coverage area will tell you whether or not the model you're considering is up to the job.
Premium humidifiers offer a handful of smart features that make maintenance and control more convenient. Not all humidifiers have these features, but the ones that do make it easier to maintain consistent humidity levels, among other things.
Here are the most common innovative features to look out for:
Some home humidifiers are quite loud when running, whereas others are nearly silent. Ultrasonic humidifiers emit high-frequency noises that, for the most part, cannot be heard by human ears. Therefore, they're ideal for use in areas where noise is of concern, such as the bedroom. Some humidifiers feature a sleep mode that lowers the noise for bedtime.
Home humidifiers have water tanks from which they emit moisture into the room. These fine water droplets are in the air you breathe, so you want to make sure they don't contain germs and bacteria.
If you use your humidifier only occasionally, this is a particular concern, as a tankful of standing water will breed and multiply germs over time. You certainly don’t want to be inhaling those germs.
One solution is to use distilled water only. But this can become costly, not to mention inconvenient. Another solution is to buy a humidifier with a built-in water filter that removes bacteria from the water. Some home humidifiers even have UV filters that help remove additional bacteria, viruses, and mold spores.
Humidifiers have a few natural enemies, including mold, bacteria, and fungus. Standing water in the tank can become very hazardous, and excessive humidity in a room can promote mold and fungal growth.
Many manufacturers address these issues by including antimicrobial filters and chemical water treatments. Even so, it's up to the user to keep the humidifier clean and dry between uses. This involves daily rinsing of the water tank and a thorough weekly cleaning and disinfecting session. Consult the manufacturer's instructions for details.
You can find home humidifiers at a range of price points to suit budgets large and small.
Basic home humidifiers start at $15 to $30. These models are usually best-suited for smaller areas.
These cost roughly $40 to $80. They may be suitable for larger rooms, but they’re not usually effective for whole apartments.
These should cost in the vicinity of $90 to $150. They're usually suitable for multi-room use; some can even humidify an entire apartment or level of a house, depending on size.
A. Some people find dry air causes a range of issues for them, including irritated skin, nose bleeds, an itchy or sore throat, breathing difficulties, and flare-ups of asthma or allergies. A home humidifier can help alleviate these problems.
A. The ideal humidity is often cited as 45%, but some people may prefer a slightly more or less humid environment. It can take a bit of trial and error to find the perfect setting for your humidifier.
At the BestReviews testing facility, a cube made out of industrial plastic was made to simulate the conditions of an average room. Lab techs used a heavy-duty dehumidifier to lower the cube's relative humidity. The products then were tested on how well they restored the humidity to a comfortable range, along with other factors such as noise and water-vapor quality.
