Vornado - Evap40 Evaporative Humidifier

I have this Vornado one. https://a.co/d/4VhiHtu I’ve been happy with it for my 900 sqft apartment. I like that it has simple knobs and switches; no fancy electronics to fail. It replaced an older Vornado model that lasted 7 years before the motor failed.

I considered both brands before settling on the Vornado because I had great experiences with their customer service with my previous humidifier. But functionally, the Aircare seems just as dead-simple in design as the Vornado. And yes, the Vornado is ugly as hell. It also makes sort of loud glug-glug noises as water drains from the tanks into the lower tray, but that’s sort of a universal issue with this style of 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 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.

Vornado Evap 40 - no white dust everywhere. One upstairs and one downstairs, easily gets me up to 40 - 45 %. Wicks need changing about every 4-5 weeks with the hard water. Would prob last longer with distilled though.

If you want a warm mist humidifier than I really like the new DREO 2-gallon (8L) humidifier. I can change the setting on my phone with the app, it really is a warm mist and holds 2 gallons of water, so I don't worry about running out when I am in the office. I have it on the auto setting and haven't had any issues. This does need to be cleaned regularly with vinegar due to scaling from minerals in the water. If you don't want or need the warm mist that I like the vornado Evaporative Humidifier evap 40. It works, holds 2 gallons of water. Just change the wick filter every few weeks and I am good to go.

Vornado EVAP40 cleans pretty easy

Well, they're all going to be plastic because they have unique shapes and it's not really worth making it out of metal. What's more important is the water you're using. High mineral content water will clog up humidifiers. Ultrasonics will spray any dissolved minerals in the mist (they work by using an ultrasonic thing to force up air droplets which then evaporate in the air) which can leave a white powdery residue nearby as the minerals have nowhere to go. Wick humidifiers evaporate on the wick, which needs replacement periodically just like an air filter. Any minerals in them will stay on the wick, which starts to degrade how well it performs. Both will require treatment to avoid bacteria growth unless using distilled water. Usually you can find a humidifier bacteriostat that you put in a few drops of with every tank. If you can use filtered water (like through a resin bed deionizer) plus a bacteriostat even a cheapo humidifier will last forever. I'm a fan of the Vornado EVAP40. It's big and fairly easy to refill, plus the wicks are cheap.

I have a Vortex Evap40 and am using Essick bacteriostatic solution about every 2-3 fill-ups. So far, so good.

I’ve been using that same Vornado for about 25 years and have no complaints.

I've used old Vornado Evap40 humidifier for few years, I NEVER had to clean anything with citric acid (it has no pumps of any kind), never had any mold issues either, only thing (other than filling its 2 tanks with water) I had to do is change its evaporative wicks which get clogged with minerals from water - you just throw these away after a couple of weeks or so (really depends on how "hard" or "soft" your water is, they may last longer if you use distilled water) and insert new ones. Vornado makes newer EV3 model right now, I haven't used it yet, but it seems to work on the same principle (wick sponge sitting in water) and now has more quiet and more efficient DC fan (Evap40 has AC fan which can get pretty loud).

Vornado evaporative are great. Tons of models so you can get one to fit your room: https://www.amazon.ca/Vornado-HU1-0045-65-4-Gallon-Evaporative-Humidifier/dp/B00O0WOO74/ref=mp_s_a_1_3

I've had the evap40 for 3 winters now. It's enough to humidify the first floor of our house, around 1200sf although we do have another smaller one in our bedroom

I have a vornado evap40 in my living room, which meets none of your requirements besides being evaporative. It holds 4 gallons of water, I'll fill it every day if it's really cold out, but it barely budges the humidity. It's just not enough water in too big of a space. That brings me to my point-- you are being unrealistic. A 1 gallon humidifier can generally humidify a small or medium bedroom with the door shut and daily fills (probably twice a day if you want it to run all the time and never run out). It takes a lot of water to bring humidity up when it's cold outside. A whole house humidifier will use 1-3 gallons every hour that the furnace is on. It'll boost the humidity 10-20% above what it would be otherwise, it still won't be a sauna in the house. So even just to boost a room, you're looking at something that holds a gallon or more and refilling daily. 

Hi, I'm looking to get a humidifier (or multiple if that'd be best) for my apartment. First winter here and realized it's the low humidity (\~20-25% in most rooms currently) making me feel bleh lately lol. Central heating, but no central air unfortunately. It's a 1,024sqft apartment ([floor plan](https://imgur.com/a/65RsaMQ)), with the living room and kitchen connected. Master bedroom door usually stays open except at night, other bedroom is an office and usually stays closed. I run homeassistant and already have thermo/hygrometers in each room, and would ideally like a "dumb" humidifier I can hook up to a smart switch and have turn off/on when needed. Looking for something "cheap" (ideally under $200), and super easy to clean and maintain. I've looked through a few past threads and the consensus *seems* to be that evaporative humidifiers are best (compared to ultrasonic), but I've seen a wide range of products recommended. What unit(s) would you all recommend for my setup? I figure one medium-bigger one set up in the living room, with smaller ones in the master bedroom and office might be most cost effective, but I'm open to suggestions! EDIT: Ended up getting this Vornado one u/Acronym3476 suggested: https://a.co/d/4VhiHtu Hooked it up to a smart plug, made a generic hygrostat entity in homeassistant (mostly so I can more easily manage it), and it's working great. I no longer wake up feeling like a skeleton lol

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 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).

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’ll be interested in responses because it’s an ongoing search for me. Current one is a cool evaporative one from Vornado. I use a bacteriostat fish from Amazon and feel like the filters have to be swapped every three or four weeks. I clean it once a week. And it’s noisy as hell when I kick it up a notch. All that being said - previous warm mist ones that were highly recommended and expensive were mold factories that were virtually impossible to clean. But it’s so necessary. Unbelievably dry in my condo without one Good luck.

Not the levoit 1000s for sure. Might as well take the day off lol. Just returned it and have a vornado coming but seems easy enough to clean

Vornado is awesome and always an easy recommend. I *really* wish they would hire someone to work on making some of their products less fuck ugly, though.