Pros and Cons of Different Types of Portable (or Room) Humidifiers?
If you are feeling dried out at home and experiencing cracked lips, dry skin, or frequent bloody noses — then it might be time to get a humidifier. Humidifiers add moisture to the air in your room and home which can help prevent all kinds of irritation on your body. Not only do they help with dryness, they can sometimes help with symptoms from colds, flus, and allergies.
However, there are many different kinds of humidifiers, so it can be hard to know which one is right for you. To help you make the right choice, here are the pros and cons of the 5 main types of humidifiers: cool mist, warm mist, ultrasonic, evaporative, vaporizer.
Cool Mist Humidifier
These are the most popular kind of humidifier because, as the name suggests, they release a cool mist into the air which many people find soothing. If you feel that your room is generally warm, the cooling aspect may be even more appealing.
There are 2 kinds of cool mist humidifiers which only differ in the way they create cool mist. Evaporative cool mist humidifiers create its mist through rapid evaporation while ultrasonic cool mist humidifiers use high-frequency vibrations. Their operating pros & cons are still very similar.
| Pros | Cons |
| Cool mist can be pleasant and safer for kids and pets. | Bacterial contamination can occur without proper cleaning |
| Easy to clean and low maintenance | Some models make noticeable noise |
| Cost effective | Mineral dust may accumulate from filtering water |
Warm Mist Humidifier
Warm mist humidifiers are the opposite of cool mist in that they add a warm mist by boiling or heating the water before releasing it as vapor. This can be amazing in a colder room or when experiencing symptoms from a cold or flu. A key difference between warm mist and cool mist humidifiers, other than temperature, is that warm mist requires a smaller space, like a bedroom, to be most effective.
| Pros | Cons |
| Reduced risk of bacterial contamination | Heavy energy consumption |
| Reduced mineral dust accumulation | Burn risk and shouldn’t be used near kids |
| Low operating noise | Harder to clean |
Ultrasonic Humidifier
By having a metal diaphragm vibrating at high frequencies, an ultrasonic humidifier creates water droplets that are then added to the air. Because they are very energy efficient and do not produce noise, they can be used overnight and in areas where you do not want to increase noise levels.
| Pros | Cons |
| Extremely energy efficient | Bacterial contamination may occur |
| No operating noise | Mineral dust accumulates |
| Easy to clean, little maintenance required | Can be more expensive |
Evaporative Humidifier
An evaporative humidifier is similar to a cool mist system since it doesn’t heat the water to add moisture to the air. Rather, it is a wick humidifier with a fan to blow the evaporated mist.
| Pros | Cons |
| Affordable | Operating noise from system fan |
| Easy cleaning, low maintenance | Bacterial contamination |
| Self-regulating | Mineral dust accumulation |
Vaporizers
Vaporizers can emit either warm or cool mist. The ability to add inhalants makes them a popular choice for treating colds and influenza. Most of the time, they are quite affordable as well.
| Pros | Cons |
| Low operating noise | Heavy energy consumption |
| Bacterial contamination is less likely | Burn risk and shouldn’t be used near kids |
| Less mineral dust accumulation | Harder to clean |
