It’s The Dry Season

Hello fellow snow dwellers. It’s that time of year again when our forced-air heaters run all day and night slurping up what little humidity is in the air leaving us humans with a scratchy respiratory system. In conclusion: Air’s dry my dude!

What I’ve Tried - Brief History

Leaving a bowl of water out
- GOOD
  - “Free” using existing dishes. Easy to clean if you’re using a dishwasher
- BAD
  - This was slow (unless I used many bowls) and prone to cat/dog shenanigans. I didn’t use try it for very long but I imagine it wouldn’t keep up in the Winter months.
Ultrasonic humidifiers
- GOOD
  - This worked exceptionally well for humidity. Like a rain forest.
- BAD
  - it introduced new problems like extra allergens in the air and white dust everywhere.
  - It was a bit too humid and I wondered if it was bad for mould.
  - The unit was cumbersome to clean as the water chambers had quite a bit of angles that require q-tip precision.
Evaporative humidifiers with wicking filter
- GOOD
  - This worked for humidity. The units I’ve tried weren’t as fast as the Ultrasonic types.
- BAD
  - The wick/filter would get pretty dirty (and quickly), even if I cleaned them weekly
  - These wicks were costly to replace, even from online stores for off-brand wicks.
  - Difficult to clean much like the other humidifiers that required a bit of precision to get all the corners free of the film of slime.

What’s next? Rotating Discs?

I’ll admit it, I want something that’s low maintenance without consumable filters. It’s a tall order so I can also settle for medium maintenance.

I came across these Evaporating Rotating Disc type of humidifiers that don’t require filters.

I saw the brand Venta thrown out there a lot of got sticker shock when I saw it was over $300 CAD. Even the alternatives were quite high in cost so this Black Friday I took a look and there was actually one on sale, a SmartMi Evaporative Humidifier 2.

Initial Impressions

While I’ve only had it for a week, it’s been pretty nice not having a nasty filter/wick to worry about. The full 4L would not last 24 hours where I am but I only run it during bedtime.

Humidity

While I don’t trust the sensor on these devices, I normally just look at my window in the morning to see if there’s any accumulation on the glass. Happy to report that yes, there’s a bit of moisture on the window. The sensor does say it’s hover around “52”

Refilling

It’s dead simple to refill. To top half doesn’t get wet so I can put that aside anywhere while I take the base to refill (or clean). You can also refill it by pouring water into the top of it but I’d rather just bring the base to the sink.

Sound

It’s quiet compared to my other humidifiers. No drip-drop noises, much quieter fan. So much so that I kind of miss the humming sound of the previous machine.

I do run the machine at max (not auto) and it isn’t beside my bed, but about 2 feet away from the foot of the bed.

Cleaning

After a full week of use, it’s cleaning time. Yes, taking it apart and cleaning each disc one-by-one seems like a time sink (because it is) but taking a wide brush to each disc is much better than trying to get into crevices and corners that I’d struggle with on my previous humidifiers.

Overall

So far so good. If you don’t mind cleaning the discs once a week (or two), it seems like this one will stay for now.

Last modified on 2024-12-09