Vornado - EV3 Evaporative Whole Room Humidifier (HU1-0098-06, HU1-0107-06)

I live in New England, relative humidity falls a lot in the winter and fret sprout and cracking can happen if guitars aren’t kept in a more humid environment. My guitars are on stands in my office, in the winter I keep the room doors closed and use a Vornado evaporative humidifier, it has a built in humidity sensor and keeps the RH consistent pretty reliably (I’ve got a separate RH sensor to double check and they both tend to show similar readings).

I have a Vornado evap 3, in New England USA, it works great. I do have a separate RH sensor and when the humidifier is set to 50 the sensor hovers around 48-50. If I forget to fill it the sensor drops - so I think it’s reasonably accurate. The drawback of an evap is that the wicks run about $12 per pack (replace every 6 weeks or so) and you have to watch out for mold and/or mildew growing in them. I usually add a few tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide to the water on each fill and that seems to help alleviate it becoming a Petri dish.

My EV3 just arrived yesterday, I’m pretty impressed!

I have a couple of Bonecos and would buy them again if they hadn’t stopped selling them in the US. I also bought a Vornado EV3 which is easy to clean and would recommend.

I love my Vornado evaporative humidifier. It works well and is easy to clean.  

I love my Vornado Evaporative humidifier 

There is no such thing as a maintenance-free humidifier, whether it’s evaporative, ultrasonic, or even steam, they all require regular cleaning or regular changing of filters (or sometimes both). Steam is less prone to mold, but also super hot, and is prone to scale buildup which still requires cleaning. I would suggest giving your current unit a thorough clean first to see if that solves the issue. We have a 6L LEVOIT (ultrasonic/cool mist) humidifier, and I check ours every couple of weeks. If I see the mold, wipe the affected areas down with vinegar and rinse. Hydrogen peroxide 3% works well if I really want to feel thorough. We also make sure to change out the filter as recommended or more often (you can buy them in bulk). We also run two Vornado evaporative humidifiers on the first floor of the house. Let me tell you, the wicks in those develop considerable mold, and we change them out once a month or sometimes more often. Regardless of humidifier the concept is the same. You have to take care of them no matter what you buy.

Evaporative humidifiers are the only choice unless you're going to actually use distilled water. You do need to replace the wick as it gets filled with minerals and stuff grows on it, but easier than dealing with airborne mineral dust or baked on minerals. Use a humidifier treatment solution and the wicks last significantly longer. I currently use a combo of a vornado and best air golden solution.

Evaporative humidifiers. Pros: don't need distilled water(although probably makes the wicks last longer), no hard water dandruff like ultrasonic. Cons: need to replace wicks relatively often, should use a bacteriostatic water treatment I'm using a vornado one I bought from costco, but there are probably better ones out there.

vornando brand evaporative humidifier is the best i've used - i've had probably 15 different humidifiers over the years. this one is easiest to use, easiest to maintain, and maintains the lowest possibility of putting mold into your air. It also is the easiest to fill without spilling water anywhere. I do not trust the "steam" type, i had one nearly burn down my house a number of years ago - anything with a heating element should not be running 24/7, especially if you are not home.. never trust the built in humidistat. use a separate hydrogometer placed close-ish to the bass. adjust the unit to turn on/off based on what it's reading near the instrument. a laminate bass would likely be fine, but maintaining 45% or so humidity is nice regardless of basses.

I have a Vornado. Its an evaporative humidifier. I have had ultrasonic misting (warm and cool). I like my evaporative one the best and it is significantly easier to clean and maintain.

I had an evaporative vornado and liked it. However, the wick needs to be changed SEVERAL times a season and a couple of years ago it was impossible to find replacement wicks online, in store, etc. You’re supposed to be able to use generic versions but those were trash. I had to buy something else and won’t go back.

We use a Vornado ultrasonic in the bedroom, and two Vornado evaporative humidifiers in the rest of the house. One on each floor. I run them all on low. As others have noted, the evaporative ones need regular cleaning and wick replacement. I clean our wicks a few times a season by submerging them in water with bleach to kill the bacteria. I also use a bacteriostatic liquid in the water when I refill it. **You can find replacement wicks on eBay for much cheaper than the Vornado branded ones. The quality is the same.