DreamWell Humidifier 2 Gallon

I have 4 small (one 2-gallon, 3 1-gallon) BlueAir evaporative humidifiers running 24/7. They are set to a desired humidity level (I have to lie to them a bit, but there’s a reason). I don’t screw with fan speed controls (the fan speed adjust automatically to maintain the desired humidity) nor timers. They only consume about 5 W each. I’m not worried about saving the electricity and it’s better just to have them going all the time. Unfortunately, I cannot particularly recommend BlueAir. It’s a very clever design, and the newer Dream Well models are better designed than the older H 35I, but it seems they still have mechanical bugs to work out. In current weather – hovering around 0F – I need to fill the 1 gallon ones every single day. So that is what you are getting yourself into if you were going to properly humidify. I have mine distributed around the house, one in each room, except for the kitchen and the bathroom. I don’t have much of a choice in the matter because I do not have a forced-air system. I have steam heat. And so FWIW, the reason I have to lie to the humidifiers is because I have placed them near radiators which increases the heat locally, and thus increases the humidity in the vicinity of the radiator, but that doesn’t represent the humidity in the room as a whole. Now, do you see why I am trying to talk you out of this if you do have the option of adding a humidifier to your forced-air system? I would suggest asking the same question in a sub about HVAC. Your problem is not specific to century homes. Be specific, and post pictures. Copy/paste what HVAC techs wrote (if they did) as to why this is “impossible”. A lot of of them just don’t like to work on old houses - you need to find the gems who will, and who are in fact expert at it. My neighbors who have newer (but still old just not as old as the steam age lol) homes seem to be happy with their humidifiers incorporated into their forced natural gas furnace systems. And all of them have it because it is necessary in the winter here. What a joy it would be not to have to carry humidifiers back-and-forth to the sink every single day! And yes, you could choose just to top them up – you might want to use a watering can to help prevent spilling on the floor. But if you don’t empty the remainder out of the humidifier, and at least wipe the inner surface of the reservoir, even evaporative humidifiers will get yucky eventually. One of the actually good things about the blue airs is that they say that the reservoirs are dishwasher safe. I haven’t felt the need to put them in the dishwasher though because simply wiping them down each time they are filled seems sufficient.

It's been working well for me but I think it's meant for smaller rooms. Also it's not that powerful - works fine for me in Cali but not sure how bad it gets in NE

I got the Blueair smart humidifer recently - can recommend that one. Avoid Levoit as their customer support is non-existent - I had to return the 6000S as it stopped working after 2 days

I did some research and bought Blueair Dreamwell. But it is not problem free either, just sounded better than the others. We wanted an evaporative device with filters.

We returned ours after ~1.5 months because it got really smelly despite regular (~weekly), thorough cleaning. I would clean the tank with dish soap and a brush, and I would hand wash the filter before putting it in the laundry (protected by a mesh bag in a small/delicate load). Every time I hand washed the filter, the rinse water would come out brown. The parts would all smell ok after cleaning, but as soon as I started running the humidifier the air would smell really bad. Eventually I noticed some brown spots and unscrewed the bottom of the pump area—the inside was horrifying and had a lot of pink slime and gray/brown spots (not sure if it was mold or bacterial buildup). The manual never mentioned needing to unscrew anything for cleaning, but there was no other way to get inside that area (I had previously soaked it in a citric acid solution). Also, the app was a little buggy with connection issues and always reported a humidity level that was ~10% more than my thermometer/hygrometer in the room. Currently on week 2 of using the Honeywell HCM350 and am cautiously optimistic! I prefer the top-fill design of the Dreamwell, but I think the simple/no frills design of the Honeywell will be much better in the long run. All the parts that need to be cleaned are readily accessible. There is no app and no automatic sensor, but my hygrometer’s readings feel more realistic. For reference, I’m also in the Northeast where it currently hurts to breathe with how dry the air is!

Blueair evaporative humidifier. You just have to wash the tank with soap and water once a week. Very easy, easy to fill, no mold.

Blueair evaporative humidifier is more expensive, but upkeep is SO EASY. You use regular tap water (doesn’t even have to be filtered), and the only cleaning is washing out the tub once a week with soapy water—like washing a big bowl. No tubes or corners to grow mold. And, to add water you pour it through the vents in the top, so you can’t have to carry a big reservoir around. I use mine just at night, and the filter is going to last two years for me. I don’t have a chronic illness, but I am someone who struggles to keep up with maintaining regular life things, and this humidifier has been a game-changer for me.