Vornado - Evap40 Evaporative Humidifier

As others have said, evaporative humidifiers are more effective and last longer. And the wicks can be reused indefinitely if you soak them once a week in a vinegar/water solution. I have two sets of wicks, so the one not in use is always soaking, and I swap them once a week. Look for an evaporative model that has simple controls. They’re basically just a fan and a container. Avoid models that have a lot of complicated sensors and electronics. I have this one from Vornado and it’s been great: https://www.vornado.com/shop/made-in-usa/humidifiers-assembled-in-usa/evap40-evaporative-humidifier

I’ve had this Vornado model going on third year. It will shut off when you reach a desired humidity level and come back on when it drops. I use tap water, put it away come spring, and replace the wicks yearly. It works well for me in an open living room/dining room/kitchen area and I’d buy it again. [https://a.co/d/0j470Pmy](https://a.co/d/0j470Pmy)

also recommending the Evap40. its not pretty, its not quiet, but it works. in terms of expectations, i have a humidifier on the furnace as well as the in-bedroom humidifier and maintain around 31% humidity. its just hard to maintain high humidity here in the winter

I use the Evap 40 which is super reliable and has been running for almost 5 years. My brothers had his for 10. You'll see it recommended a lot. Basic design with no screens or touch buttons and it just works. I've heard good things about the Levoit 6000s as well. A friend of mine uses one. Can be rolled around and has a hose that can be attached to a faucet to refill. Like the other comment said, go with a evaporative unit whatever you choose.

What's the square footage of your music room? I use a Vornado Evap40 for mine, previous humidifier was a Vick's steam humidifier, but it was pretty pricey to run.

I have a Vornado evaporative humidifier. Knowing myself, I wouldn't keep up with the distilled water for an ultrasonic one. Eidtt: to be slightly more helpful: it's a Vornado Evap40. I use tap water, which is fairly hard here. It does have a setting for relative humidity, but it's just a knob with no useful markings. I have a separate humidity monitor so I can tell if the room is at approximately the right RH.

You'll find every humidifier recommend you NOT use tap water. They'll all say use distilled/filtered. Your actual usage case and environment will impact it also. If it only runs sometimes (a few times a week/month or whatever) that just means you have standing water the rest of the time. If it runs constantly, then you can get build-up and over-humidify. Recommended is to run as needed, then rinse/dry when done. If sitting for periods of time, a full clean may be needed. I'm guessing very few people properly follow the guidelines. I know I'm not going to go run to buy distilled water for my humidifier. And I'm reluctant to put chemicals in the water. And yes, it's a hassle to clean (easy to wipe the main part, but every model I've had has some sort of nooks/corners that require more than a simple hand wipe). I've got a Varnado Evap humidifier that is about as simple as it comes. https://www.thewarmingstore.com/vornado-evap40-evaporative-humidifier.html - but there's still wick/filter and general cleaning (can't even get inside the water tank to clean, by design) I don't like my dry winter house, but humidifiers are a pain.

I had a couple vornado evap40s in my old house in Vegas. Was the biggest model I could find with easy to fill tanks. They worked just fine until I moved and gave them away.  A whole house aprilaire 600 will be much better if you own a house. An ultrasonic model works well if you have very low TDS water, or RO water to fill it with. 

I'd suggest you read the Amazon reviews on the EV3 before pulling the trigger. I tried an EVAP40 and found it to be poorly made and not very well designed. I'm on my 3rd season with a Levoit 6000s next to my wood stove and couldn't be happier. I know it's pricier than the Vornado but you save on filters since, if cared for properly, they'll last the entire season. The Vornado wicks need to be replaced monthly.

i have a honeywell quietcare cool mist that they sell at canadian tire. It works well, the filter lasts me a few months (replacement filter is 20$ at cantire but you can get knock offs for way less). Its easy to clean, well built, and would work fine in a room. But i put it in the living room which is a larger space, and that works fine for -10, -15...but on the days where we hit -25 (which has been pretty often this year), and the baseboard heaters are running a lot, it struggles to raise the humidity. But for a medium/large room, the honeywell is good. I just bought a vornado evap40 today to be able to handle the larger area i need to cover. Also there are a ton of used/open box humidifiers on fb marketplace. You can probably score one for 30$. Preferably one that still has filters, from a non smokers home.

vornado evap40. Easy to clean, super simple design without the fancy electronics that can crap out, cheap filters, big water tanks.