Managing the humidity level in your home is a simple way to help safeguard your family's health while protecting your home's structure from the damaging effects of too-dry air. Humidifiers introduce moisture into dry air as an invisible mist, increasing the indoor humidity levels for a more comfortable environment. Adding a humidifier for winter helps ease physical discomforts caused by winter heating, and they also alleviate respiratory problems and protect household furnishings year-round.
For quick access to the topic of interest, please use the following list:
- Why Do You Need a Humidifier?
- What Size Humidifier Do You Need?
- Choosing the Right Humidifier
- How Much Does a Humidifier Cost?
- Maintenance and Care
Why do you need a humidifier?
Whether you live in a perpetually dry climate or your home tends to be much drier during winter due to the use of heat, dry indoor air can be the cause of these annoying and potentially harmful conditions:
- Dry Sinus Passages
- Bloody Noses
- Cracked Lips
- Sore, Scratchy Throat
- Dry, Scaly Skin
Humidifiers help alleviate these dry air symptoms with added benefits:
- Soothing Moisture: The moisturizing mist that a humidifier adds to the air soothes breathing passages, making it easier for air to pass through.
- Respiratory Medication: Some humidifiers feature special medicine cups that release respiratory medications into the air along with the mist.
- Home Interior: Dry air can cause peeling in wallpaper and paint and contracting or warping in wood flooring and furniture. Regularly running a humidifier will eliminate these problems.
- Static Electricity: Eliminate unexpected shocks and prevent damage to electrical equipment.
- Valuables: Humidifiers can protect musical instruments and fine art from damage.
Read our article Understanding Relative Humidity to learn more about humidity and the importance of monitoring it indoors.
What size humidifier do you need?
Deciding whether you need focused humidification for a single room or the whole house is one of the most essential steps in choosing a humidifier.
There are essentially two styles of humidifiers:
Standalone Humidifiers: These humidifiers plug into standard residential electrical outlets and can be tabletop humidifiers for adding moisture to single rooms. Larger console humidifiers that humidify multiple rooms or whole homes are also available.
- Small-to-Medium-Sized Spaces: A tabletop or room humidifier is an excellent choice for bedrooms, nurseries, and home offices. These are often compact, portable, and long-running models.
- Large Areas and Multiple Rooms: Add moisture to larger common areas or open-plan, multiple rooms with a console or standalone unit, which are well suited to the task.
HVAC/Ducted Humidifiers: Installing directly onto your home's heating and cooling system, HVAC/ducted humidifiers use your home's existing ductwork to disperse moisture. Learn more about whole-house humidifiers in our Furnace Humidifier Buying Guide.
- Whole-House Humidification: A whole-home humidifier is an ideal option for homes or offices with a significant need for moisture. These humidifiers are installed directly onto a central HVAC or furnace system and connected to the water line.
Choosing the Right Humidifier
Humidifiers add moisture to the air in different ways and are available in multiple types with varying benefits and drawbacks, so figuring out what kind of humidifier you need depends on a few factors.
- Cool mist humidifiers disperse a room-temperature mist that generally covers larger areas and uses less electricity than other types. They do contain more moving parts and can be slightly noisier. These can be ultrasonic or evaporative humidifiers.
- Warm mist humidifiers contain a heating element that warms the water and releases it into your room as warm, comfortable moisture. Because they use heat, they may use slightly more electricity than other humidifiers and are generally not child- or pet-safe. Some warm mist humidifiers are also known as steam humidifiers. This type is a great winter humidifier option, as the warm mist helps keep you cozy and comfortable.
- Evaporative humidifiers are some of the most popular types, as they use a wick filter to absorb water from a reservoir to release moisture into your space.
- Ultrasonic humidifiers use high-frequency sound waves to vibrate a ceramic disc to turn water into mist. They are available in both cool and warm mist types and are known as the quietest humidifiers on the market.
If you're looking for more air purification features along with your humidifier, an air washer may be a better choice. Check out our All About Air Washers article for more information.
How Much Does a Humidifier Cost?
Humidifiers can vary significantly in price depending on the type you need, whether a whole-home model that connects to your HVAC system or a simple tabletop unit. Here are some specific price ranges for the various styles of humidifiers available:
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Whole-House Humidifiers: An actual whole-house humidifier connects to your HVAC or furnace system and is sized for small, medium, and large homes. Some large console humidifiers that can humidify small homes are freestanding and designed to look more like furniture.
- Steam: Homes 3,000-4,000 square feet from $400-$720; homes 6,200 sq. ft. from $800-$1600.
- Bypass: About $140 for small homes to $370 for large homes.
- Freestanding Console: From about $125 for small homes to $220 for large homes.
- Fan-Powered: From $200 for small homes to $750 for large homes.
- Freestanding Multi-Room Humidifiers: These larger models are placed on the floor and can humidify larger areas or multiple rooms. Prices range from about $70 up to $220. Some include air purification, which can run about $600.
- Single Room Humidifiers: These are ideal for any single room and are available in various sizes in freestanding and tabletop styles. Prices can range from $40 to $350.
Note: These average costs are only for the humidifiers and do not include installation or labor fees or estimated monthly costs.
Maintenance and Care
Clean your humidifiers every few days or at least once a week – consult your owner's manual for more information about the cleaning schedule. Regular maintenance routines usually include the following:
- Cleaning the water tank ensures mold, mildew, and bacteria aren't growing inside.
- Check the misting outlets to ensure that moisture can flow easily.
- Evaporative humidifiers utilize an internal wick filter that absorbs the water, creating a cool mist. These wick filters will require replacing from time to time.
- If using a humidifier for winter, ensure it is completely clean and dry before storing it in Spring.
Read our Tips for Maintaining Your Humidifier article for more information on humidifier maintenance.
In Summary
Before buying a humidifier, determine how much space you need to moisturize, and choose one that can cover the space. If it will be a seasonal winter humidifier, a smaller model may be easier to move around, maintain, and store in the warmer months. Consider which type best fits your lifestyle — cool mist, warm mist, or steam – and which will be easy to maintain.
Still Have Questions?
For more information on humidifiers, read our detailed Humidifier Buying Guide. For additional help choosing the best humidifier for your environment, contact one of our product experts toll-free at 1-800-934-9194.
