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

Vornado, their shit is next level and built to last.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

This is my biggest issue with any sort of humidifier that is barely smart enough to turn it itself off when it runs out of water. They always leave a “mold pool” in the bottom to remind you to clean them out. We have a super cheep vornado that could care less if it has any water. You gotta check it every few days. But it has never grown any mold.