There are myriad benefits to using a humidifier, from helping to ease congestion to combatting the dry winter air throughout the night. But you don't want to treat your humidifier as a cure-all and overdo it. According to a 2012 study, too much humidity can actually disrupt your sleep cycle.

If you have bought a humidifier for a baby’s room or nursery, then ensure that the humidifier and power cords are kept out of the baby’s reach to avoid accidents. Using an external humidity sensor, I found that the reading in the test room was a couple of per cent out from the SH8820’s own internal reading. Certainly, you can trust that that this humidifier’s automatic setting will get you close enough to the comfort level you’ve set. The Elechomes SH8820 is an excellent value ultrasonic humidifier that comes with a full gamut of features. At 26.5cm x 18cm x 30.5cm, this humidifier is a perfect size for both floor or desktop use. We especially like its simple Apple-esque styling, the clearly etched lettering on the touch sensitive control panel, the ingeniously simple uni-directional vapour spout with integral aroma diffuser, and the way you can fill its ample 5.5-litre water tank without having to lift it out. Small wonder it’s one of the most popular humidifiers in the USA.One of the best things about this Dyson Humidifier is that before the water gets vaporized it purifies the water - getting rid of bacteria and minerals with its ultraviolet light. This is one of its best qualities, especially for those who are worried about the air quality in their house. It’s easy to refill the water and our tester found that it ran continuously for 12 hours before it needed to be refilled. This model is better for smaller rooms up to 172 square feet. Whole-house humidifiers cost thousands of dollars and require complex installs, so small units are a better investment to improve the moisture in an individual room when you actually need it. We found humidifier models covering 300–1,000 square feet to be a good balance for bedrooms to larger living rooms. While water tank size is important to determine runtime, we found humidifiers that at least offered 8 hours of runtime to be the least disruptive. With its glossy plastic body, the Elechomes 5.5L Large Room Humidifier SH8820 sports a simple design. Measuring 264 x 182 x 305mm, this mid-sized box won’t take up too much floor space, and you could easily fit the humidifier onto a counter if need be. A humidifier requires regular cleaning to keep bacteria and mildew at bay, especially if the unit is in storage with water still in the tank. Some ultrasonic models, like the Dyson, delay the need for cleaning by using ultraviolet light to kill bacteria. But even these humidifiers need cleaning on occasion, while all evaporative models require a regular deep clean of the paper filter and possibly a replacement if it looks too soiled. If you’re going to buy a humidifier, it makes sense to opt for a model that can kill bacteria in the tank, and can automatically turn off when the desired humidity level is reached. The best in the business is the Dyson Pure Humidify+Cool, which effectively kills all bacteria without having to use heating, lowering running costs. The Dyson Pure Humidify+Coo is also a brilliant purifier, and it’s smart too, working with Alexa and the Dyson Link app.

The highest mist setting can raise the humidity levels in a medium sized room up to 69% in just under an hour, while the humidity target can be adjusted so you never feel uncomfortable with the humidity levels in the room. However, be careful that the water doesn’t leak on the highest setting - our reviewer had a pool of water escape when it was tested. The aroma pad is also a nice extra, enabling you to add essential oils to the pad that the humidifier then emits with the mist, giving an extra scent to the air.Clean and dry the humidifier thoroughly when storing the product or when it is being used infrequently. The front of the humidifier is home to all the controls, which are duplicated on the thin remote control that comes with the appliance. Although the controls all have an icon, they’re neatly labelled in English, too, leaving no doubt over the function of each button. The tank is small enough to easily fit under a shallow bathroom sink. Our tester tried the Elechomes HTJ-2119 Ultrasonic Humidifier in her bedroom and was able to fill the tank in the bathroom closest to her room instead of carrying it to and from the kitchen. In our testing, the most important feature of a humidifier was a humidistat — basically a thermostat but for humidity — that monitored the active humidity. When left untouched, cheaper humidifier models with simple on-and-off control often raised the humidity far above the 60% maximum recommendation, leading to condensation on interior windows and surfaces in the room.

There are lots of factors you'll want to consider when buying a humidifier, most importantly: how often will you be using it and for what purpose? Whether you're looking for a machine to humidify a large room or a smaller version for your desk at work, the capacity, runtime and square footage will tell you everything you need to know. Most humidifiers on this list hold around a gallon of water in their water tank and runtimes range from 6 to 70 hours. If you're looking for a machine that you can leave on all day every day with minimal refills, then you'll want the one with a higher runtime and capacity most likely. But if you're just looking for a humidifier to get you through the night, a smaller capacity and runtime may be okay, especially if it means a lower price point. The square footage a certain model is able to cover will also tell you if it will work in the space you have in mind because, like air purifiers, humidifiers work best in small, enclosed spaces. When choosing a humidifier, it’s important to pay attention to the range of room sizes it can humidify. The Elechomes HTJ-2119 cool mist humidifier has a range of 322 to 528 square feet, which makes it great for a master bedroom or small apartment. The Elechomes HTJ-2119 Ultrasonic Humidifier requires virtually no setup. After opening the box, you simply need to fill the tank, plug in the base, and place the water tank and the nozzle on top. Finally, humidifiers are also great for keeping expensive floorboards and delicate wooden instruments like acoustic guitars and violins in tip top shape. Different types of humidifiers

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Here’s the full list of humidifiers we tested, feel free to jump straight to them or keep scrolling:

As a smaller model, it’s ultra-quiet but is capable of holding a large amount of water, which means that it can run for up to 36 hours. The TruSens Humidifer has a water softening filter for tap water that works to reduce both build-up and white dust. Each filter lasts for an average of four months. The humidifier also has a UV-C light, which is designed to kill any bacteria in the mist. The large water tank, which holds 2.1 gallons of water, allows the humidifier to work for up to 80 hours before it needs to be refilled. The tank’s LED will glow a bright red color when the tank is out of water or when the water softening filter needs to be replaced. As a tester, I was happy to discover that the humidifier’s lid is removable for ease of cleaning and refilling the device, and the portable humidifier has a carry handle as well. The timer can be set for 2, 4, 8, or 12 hours, and it can be used as a cool mist humidifier or the user can take advantage of the warm mist options. The device works quietly the remote control SensorPod can be used to gauge the room’s humidity level, and then adjust the humidifier’s settings and control the power. Humidifiers work by releasing moisture into the air to increase the humidity levels. “If air is too dry, this dries out mucous membranes and exacerbates coughing and wheezing,” explains Dr Deborah Lee, MD and representative for Dr Fox Online Pharmacy.“If air is too humid, this can precipitate house dust mites and mold, triggering asthma symptoms. Overly humid air directly triggers the airways to constrict, resulting in allergens being trapped inside, and worsening asthma symptoms,” she says. Turn it on in Heat mode and power use increases dramatically to between 102W and 282W, depending on the humidity and temperature option chosen. That’s quite a significant power draw, so be mindful if you need to run this product for long periods. The ability to set a humidity target and set a timer so the humidifier will turn off after a certain amount of time are nice features that let you keep the humidity of your room at a comfortable level without wasting extra water. The timer, for instance, would let you run the humidifier in a bedroom for a few hours before bedtime and through the night, making it automatically turn off during the day when no one uses the room.Despite its diminutive size, the Elechomes is designed for large rooms up to 70 square metres. In our tests it spewed out a huge metre-long plume of clearly visible mist from its two adjustable ports which can be aimed in any direction. Also, its built-in humidistat displayed the same percentage of humidity as our nearby hygrometer so its accuracy is clearly spot on. This means that if your room has a humidity reading of about 35% and you set the Elechomes’ target value to 45%, you can safely bet it’ll continue emitting vapour until the room reaches that value. It also features three volume levels of vapour and three heat settings for winter use. The addition of a remote control can be considered a bonus.. Second, you can turn on the Heat mode, choosing from three levels. Heating the water brings two benefits: it kills bacteria and it pushes warm water into the air, making it more comfortable during the winter months. The best humidifiers are great at ensuring the air quality and humidity levels in your home are kept at the best possible levels. There are some best practice guidelines you should follow to ensure they are running at their best, and we spoke to an expert, Tim Carroll, a representative from the Environmental Protection Agency, to get his breakdown of how to care for your humidifier: A medium sized sleek model, the clear water tank sits on the top, giving you a clear indication of how much water is left.