AIRCARE - H12-400HB

We run two, pretty much 24/7. I have an Aircare 6 gallon evaporative that uses the 1043 wick, white, upright. I think it's in its 3rd season. I also have an old large Bemis H-12, the similar new model console type are now Aircare, brown ugly, large. I just looked up my order. It was purchased 2004! Neither of these are quiet but do the job, one on each of two floors with woodstoves. Low speed is tolerable but speeds 2 and 3 are intrusive (to me). They both have a humidistat so I don't think it's necessary to hook up to smart controls. The newer 6 gallon is easier to fill (top fill direct dump in water) and more compact, so easier to clean - I roll them to a shower. The old one has a 2 gallon plastic insert that has to be brought to a sink where a hose type thing is pressed under a faucet and run to the insert, then the 2 gal insert is lugged back to the giant 'hamper'. I use Bestair water additives so they don't need much cleaning. However, the wicks need either careful soaking to clean or replacing monthly to 6 weeks with our hard well water. The 1043 wick gets replaced in a frame where the older model's wick comes framed. The frameless is delicate to clean (soak in XL dishpan vinegar/water 50:50). New wicks are about $23. Like most plastic things with fans the designs suck as far as nooks and crannies around the fan. Impossible to be dust free and you need small hands to occasionally wipe the fan blades. Same problem cleaning the grill-like coverings. edit: to remove product link

There are a few high end brands that might be superior, but most are very similar, within their categories. No BIFL humidifiers, and better ones will be costly. For longevity, evaporative seems to be the best type. I suggest you narrow it down to what will work for you and check reviews online. I wanted to add one lower priced gallon size evaporative model for my kitchen area and concluded they all suck and don't last too long. I'm guessing you're looking for a room size, vs whole house. First consider the type: warm mist, ultrasonic, evaporative. Warm mist will cost the most to operate. Ultrasonic often leaves a white dust on surfaces. Evaporative can be noisy due to the fan. Ease of use is key - filling and cleaning, lugging to sink, capacity. Every stinking plastic contraption that deals with air has a ridiculous amount of nooks, crannies, and fins that can be impossible to clean. Check consumables for cost of replacement wicks, filters. I use two whole house evaporative humidifiers along with water additives to inhibit bacteria. One is twenty years old, a Bemis hamper style, now AirCare. In winter they run 24/7 along with woodstoves. Wicks need cleaning or replacing monthly, $25 each. Some can hold up to a vinegar soak to give it another month.

Aircare or Vornado EVAPORATIVE models. Uses a pad (that you need to replace or heavily clean with a vinegar soak every 1-2 months) but uses regular tap water and creates no dust. I have 2 Aircare console (aka large) units keeping 2800 sq ft at 35% humidity.

I have a whole house evaporative humidifier that I use year round that has been going strong for 4 years so far. The warm mist humidifiers I've used last only a year before my very hard water breaks them. And ultrasonic humidifiers coat everything in a sticky dust that's hard to clean. The humidifier I use (older version of this one: https://share.google/fFdK2WzaIkj0Lc09W) has a wick that needs replacing about once every other month, so long as I keep it saturated. I buy a cheaper generic wick from Walmart to save money. Other than that, I just need to clean it occasionally to remove dust and prevent bacterial growth.

I would likely recommend an evaporative humidifier, not a warm mist one. The mist ones have a lot of problems, such as being more prone to bacteria growth and harder to clean. They also try to add more moisture than the air can actually hold, resulting in mineral condensation (white dust) appearing everywhere over time, especially if you have hard water. Aircare makes a decent console-style evap humidifier with a decent tank size and is pretty easy to clean. I used one for years until we moved to a house with a humidifier on the furnace. Now I use a smaller Honeywell evaporative humidifier upstairs only. It gets filled each evening, runs constantly all winter, and cleaned each weekend. I went through about half a dozen of those warm mist ones before converting. It didn't matter the brand, how much I treated the water of cleaned them, they were all pieces of junk that lasted only 1-2 years. Crane ones were probably the worst.

Evaporative is the solution. Once you try one you will never go back willingly. I had one for several years that used a single wick replacement each season. The only maintenance I had to do was add the anti microbial solution to the tap water i dumped into the container every other day, it was spotless inside after months of continuous use. I had a fairly large aircare console that had a humidistat as a controller, it ran through 5 gallons in about two days all winter long.m Before I got an evaporative I went through several cool mist, ultrasonic, style humidifiers. Without fail they all became a petri dish of slime and mold within a week on average. I cleaned these things with vinegar, dish soap, antibacterial solutions, and finally bleach which only extended the average by a couple of days. These require DI water since any dissolved salts will get misted as well, precipitating as dust and being an irritant for many people. I've also read some comments about the slime and bacteria getting turned into mist and either spreading spores or endotoxin to cause problems. Tldr: evaporative is cheaper and easier to use

I run an Aircare Evaporative whole house humidifier, uses a giant wick, works well but is loud and pretty cheap (the plastic sides can be bent). No need for a smart switch because it auto-cycles-off when your target humidity is reached.