Humidifier Recommendations - Trumbull,CT

I love my humidifiers from Holmes you program high med low Constant verses only when you need it for example you set it for 55% humidity and it only goes on med strength when the humidity gowes below 55% 1-800-546-5637

Also cool mist is the best for you. Warm and moist is were bacteria likes to be so you want cool.

Good luck.

Hi B.-
My humidifier is great. I think it is called "germ Guardian". It is super quiet, has cool & warm settings, a soft blue light, it shuts off when the tank is full, and is really easy to clean- no filters! It was a little expensive but well worth it. It is effortless! My pediatrician says cool is best, especially when baby is sick , the warm mist makes them feel like they can't breathe.

I recommend the Germ Guardian Ultrasonic Humidifier. It has a switch for cool mist or warm mist, so you can choose. It's silent and has a night light. It's a bit pricey but well worth it. You can find it at buybuybaby.com. Maybe amazon.com too, not sure.

I personally use a warm one for my son, because my mom had said that cool ones can be linked to croup? Then I read something similar in the Dr. Sears Baby Book. Dr. Sears also said that doctors only recommend the cool ones because they are afraid of burns. My son is still in his crib, so that isn't an issue. If your child is up and moving around at night, I would probably do cool; otherwise, hot.

Here is a brief discussion/Q&A about them, with Dr. Sears...

http://www.parenting.com/article/Mom/Health/Ask-Dr.-Sears...

I highly recommend the "Germguardian" humidifier. It is pricey, but you never need filters or special additives to put in the water. It has the warm and cool options, I always use warm. It has a nightlight, turns off if you forget that it is empty, you can adjust the spray, tell it what humidity you want the room to be ...etc. It is available on buybuybaby.com or I'm sure elsewhere. It has been excellent and I've had it up and running for 10+ months. The all electronic one is a little nicer than the one with the dial. By far, the best one!

You might want to go to this site:
http://www.allergybuyersclubshopping.com/warm-cool-mist-h...

They have tons of options, rankings, and articles about which humidifier is best. For me (and the site) the best is the air-o-swiss model 7135. You have the option of both warm and cool mist. (BTW my pediatrician says it doesn't matter the temp of the mist bc it will take on the temperature of the room instantly-- I found this to be true.)

It comes with a silver ionic stick which kills bacteria, mold and viruses, so you don't have to clean it everyday-- just once or once every other week. It also has a demineralization cartridge that prevents white dust that so many humidifiers can produce, which harms the airways and lungs. Another bonus is that it has a digital readout so it self-regulates the level of humidity in the room, so you'll never worry if it's too humid or not humid enough in your child's room.

It is super quiet and I've been really happy with it this past winter. I feel like my son is much more comfortable while he sleeps. (Yes there are models that are noisier than others.)

Depending on the size of your room, some models are better fit than others. The 7135 is good for 600 sq ft. I think the newer model covers more sq footage.

Good luck!

I'm looking forward to reading the responses to this question! I've been wondering the same thing!
Lynsey

Go for cool mist. Simply put - anything that is in your child's room that heats water to a boiling point (the mist may be warm, but the water inside is hot) is a bad idea. Especially if you have a toddler or children who like to pull on cords, etc.

- Make sure whatever you get is easy to clean. You have to clean any humidifier at least once a week. Cleaning with a little white vinegar is the easiest and lest toxic way.
- Ultrasonic = cool mist.
- Get something simple, the more filters and UV lights and silver sticks you have to replace, the more likely you won't find the part you need when you need it.
- Make sure the tank is easy to refill.
- I have 3 different humidifiers in my home now and my favorite is the Venta airwasher. Super simple design, easy to clean, no filters or bulbs or anything. Pricey, but humidifies and cleans the air well.

- Make sure whatever humidifier you choose you place it away from your child, in a place where it will not get knocked over. Almost all units leak or drip when you refill them, so put something underneath so you don't wreck your furniture.

Hi B.,
We're dried out here too :o) My doctor said that warm humidifiers are better than cool, but he wouldn't recommend them for children because of the chance of being burned. We have one in our room and I have always had a warm humidifier in my sons room (he's now 3). I have it on top of a high dresser where he can't reach it and I've always told him from the beginning not to touch it. But I know how kids can be, they'll touch anyway. I only use it at night while he's sleeping (when the heat is on the most). I agree with Ginger, NO FILTERS!!!!! What a pain to have to change them. Ours do get some sediment on them as we have hard water, but it scrapes off easily. I'd say if you clean it out once a week or so you should be fine. Sometimes I forget and it's 2 weeks or 3 and I've never had mold. Ours is the Vicks warm mist humidifier. What I really like about it is that it has an automatic turn off. So if you run out of water the little light turns from green to orange, but it stops running! That was a big plus in my book. There are two settings and it does make a small whooshing noise, but it's like a soft white noise. It's easy to fill, easy to clean, and no extra cost for filters. I've had several friends who have used the Crane brand animal cool mist humidifiers. I've had no personal experience with them, but my friends said they're great. Both are sold at Target and they're the same price. Good luck!

We recently bought some humidifiers and went to Target. We had to take back the Holmes. SO LOUD!! We bought a cool mist Crane Frog for the girls room. Very nice and quiet. We now have a Vicks Humidifier in ours. It's okay.

I have read that cool mist is the best way to go. I have bought Venta humidifiers for our rooms and you have a twofold bonus - added humidity to your room and cleaner air. The system pumps room's air through the water so it is cleaned while it is humidified (if that is a word). It is pricey but wonderfully designed and I can really tell the difference in our rooms.

Hope this helps.

I have a Venta. I highly recommend it. It is a humidifier/air purifier & has NO wicks - you just wipe it out after every 5th & fillings. What is also great about it is that it is very quiet & you can put Eucaliptus (SP) oil in it when you have a cold. You can get them at Bed, Beyond, that's where I got mine. They are WELL worth it!

I have tried many - cool mist os best and make sure to get one WITHOUT a filter. The filter can cause more problems than it can prevent. Mold can grow very easily in the filter and they are expensive to replace. I have one I bought at walmart - it was one of the cheaper models and it it isn't very noisy at all. You can control the mist output and it has a nice large opening for easy filling and cleaning. You should clean the "tray" every time you need to take the tank off to fill it.

I have a cheap, no name, 1 gallon, cool mist humidifier.It works great and keeps the kids from having cracked, bleeding lips at night. I am actually hoping to find another small, cheap one for my room. I have heard that the warm ones can have trouble with bacteria growth and the cold ones not so much. I make sure to dump any remaining water and refill before each use. Since that is recommended I figured a small one also wastes less water. A.

I use a Crane humidifier (a little pig) from Target. Warm humidifiers are unnecessary, I think, and can burn kids. The crane ones are nice because you can control the output. In a bedroom, you don't need to turn it up very high if you keep the door closed. We've never had problems with mold or excess moisture.

Good luck!

I love and need humidifiers. I have owned many. My favorite have been the vick's cool mist humidifier. We have 3 small room sized ones and a larger room size unit. They all require the same filter which does last long and is easy to change.

The lowest setting is so quiet you cannot tell it is on. You also cannot see any moisture coming out which is great. I have had some where you could see a big wet cloud come out and just soak the romm unnecessarily.

I have been told by our pediatrican & read that cool mist is best for homes with children. I guess the warm ones can cause burns. As far as mold is concerned, you can run the unit probably about a month - if constantly on or 2-3 months if only on at night, before changing the filter.

I also had to contact customer service about something and they were quite helpful. HTH!

B.,

Hi. When our 15 month old daughter was born, I did research on the web about the most appropriate humidifier. I ended up buying a cool mist. I bought a "frog" shaped one from Bed, Bath, and Behond. It is great and our daughter loves playing with the nobs.

Have fun shopping.

M.

I got the Crane humidifier that retails for $40 and comes in animal shapes. I only got it because at around 6 months my baby went to sleep in his nursery and I wanted to prevents colds. He has n ot had anything worse than a stuff up nose and dry skin because the air is dry during winter.

Hi,
I've used a lot of humidifiers over the years.
The best one tends to be the cheaper ones - they eventually get hard sediment on it that I can't scrape off or clean and I throw it out. Then again, I have never bought an expensive one, so I can't relate...

Right now, I have the Vicks Cool Mist one and it has like a cloth/paper-like filter...
The warm mist ones tend to be more difficult to clean.

I have plants all over the house, which is a good thing - plants are natural air cleaners and release humidity in the air. Sometimes I'll just let my tea kettle boil on the stove...supervised, of course.

The humidifiers are a pain to clean - however, I'm thinking about the whole house one that installs onto the furnace. A friend of mine RAVES about his...just change the filter once a year...and no maintenance...

I asked my daughter's pediatrician just the other day about humidifiers, since we have hot air heating. She recommended a cool mist. The warm mist ones leave a lot of residue on your furniture - you'll be dusting a lot more, which defeats the purpose of keeping the air clean for our kids!

I wouldn't recommend getting a hot one. They tend to help bateria grow (bacteria grows faster in heat). Then all that extra bacteria is pushed out into the air you breath. Even with the filters unless they have .22um filters bateria gets through. I don't know any filter that works that way. So I'd avoid the warm ones.