I began writing this humidifier review roundup for WIRED in New York City during the second longest drought on record. In November my radiators clanked along, blasting my 100-plus-year-old Brooklyn apartment with heat. And according to my indoor air quality monitors, my humidity was hovering at 32 percent. The inside of my nose was dry as was my skin. My houseplants needed to be watered more than usual. Brooklyn’s Prospect Park had a wildfire that required more than 200 firefighters. This is all to say it was arid.
And parched interiors are not just about chapped lips or dry noses. According to the recommendation of Harvard’s School of Public Health, indoor humidity can slow the spread of Covid-19. Ideal indoor humidity should be between 40 percent and 60 percent. And studies suggest that a higher ambient humidity along with warmer temperatures also inhibit the spread of influenza. There’s a lot those little humidifiers can do.
And still, the number one abandoned appliance I see on my neighborhood’s stoops is the humble humidifier. Often, they are left with a Paddington Bear–style label with the words, “Still works!” I also see them discarded in the trash. And I, too, am guilty of throwing out more than one humidifier. I give up when I can’t seem to clean the gross brown film at the bottom of their tanks. I start out with good intentions, filling them with the recommended distilled water, but I’ll eventually switch to tap. I’ve gotten better and cleaned my last humidifier properly with water and citric acid, purchased at a spice store. Still, the minerals in water are an issue. If you have hard water, your humidifier might produce a film of white dust; that is why so many models recommend distilled water or come with filters. And I’ve gone through entire dry heat winters because I didn’t feel like dealing with a humidifier.
All the humidifiers in this review were tested in my 100-plus-year-old apartment with the heat on. I was looking for user-friendly humidifiers that could fill a medium-size room with the ideal moisture. I didn’t want to lug jugs of distilled water up my stairs; I also wanted one that was easy to maintain. I was looking for a more committed and sustainable relationship with my humidifier. Maybe you want that too.
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