The 10 Best Whole House Humidifiers for Family and Baby
A good family relationship and great humidity control turn your house into a comfortable home. If humidity is uncontrolled, the less-than-ideal living condition could cause you to become uncomfortable, edgy, and have respiratory and skin conditions. Take control of your home with our roundup of the best whole house humidifiers that has immediate health benefits for your family and baby.
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The Dangers of Uncontrolled Humidity
Humidifiers could be for a single room, or as featured on this post, whole house. Essentially, it functions as a device that emits water vapor to space around to raise the humidity level. As the climate gets cooler (and towards winter), the air gets drier.
Keeping humidity around 40% is ideal (Use an AcuRite Humidity Monitor to help you keep an eye on the humidity level around your house). If humidity is too low, certain conditions such as dry skin, irritation in the nasal passages and throat, and itchy eyes, may occur.
On the other hand, if humidity is too high, your home may feel stuffy and could cause condensation on the walls, floors and other surfaces that trigger the growth of dust mites and molds. These allergens cause allergy and asthma flare-ups, and other respiratory problems.
Anyhow, maintaining an ideal humidity level is especially important if you have babies at home, as their young body is not strong enough to constantly combat illnesses like mentioned earlier.
Besides your family and baby’s health, maintaining proper humidity level helps you prolong the service life of your wood furniture and flooring, and wallpapers too.
Types of Whole House Humidifiers
Whole house humidifiers, also called central humidifiers, are the ones that can maintain the proper humidity of multiple rooms and spaces in the house.
There are manufacturers that have console type (tabletop) standalone units and claim that these works for the whole house. Although it works, the most efficient ones are the ones that are installed directly on your home heating and cooling system.
The best whole house humidifiers need to do one thing and do it well – that is to maintain optimal humidity to protect your family and baby.
- Bypass Humidifier. This device takes hot air directly from the furnace. The hot air will absorb water to create and emit warm mist after passing through a filter.
- Fan-powered Humidifier. This device sends mist into the air using a fan to blow water to go through a filter.
- Steam Humidifier. This device boils the water to form steam that is dispersed into the air.
Best Whole House Humidifiers (The Central Humidifiers)
Quick Reference Table
Product | Type | Coverage space (sq ft) | Evaporative rate (gallon per day) | Voltage | Editor Ratings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fan-Powered | 4200 sq ft | 18 | 24V | ||
Bypass | 4000 sq ft | 17 | 24v | ||
Bypass | 3000 sq ft | 12 | 24V | ||
Bypass | 4000 sq ft | 17 | 24v | ||
Evaporative | 2500 sq ft | 8 | 120V | ||
Evaporative | 3000 sq ft | 12 | 120v | ||
Fan-Powered | 3000 sq ft | 18 | 24v | ||
Evaporative | 2800 sq ft | 9 | 120V | ||
Steam | 6200 sq ft | 36.4 | 120V, 208V, 240V | ||
Evaporative | 2000 sq ft | 9 | 120V |
AprilAire 700 Power Humidifier with Automatic Digital Humidistat
Install the
There is no need to fill water multiple times a day because this unit is hooked up to a water line.
Using a built-in fan, the unit pulls warm air directly from the furnace to increase its effectiveness. The automatic control that comes with Model 700 accurately reads and delivers the appropriate amount of humidity throughout your home.
There is also no need to manually calculate the humidity level based on indoor and outdoor temperature. Spend less time maintaining the unit and more time for your family and baby.
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Aprilaire 600 Bypass Flow-Thru Humidifier
The Aprilaire 600 bypass whole house solution efficiently humidifies an area of up to 4,000 square feet by dispersing 17 gallons per day of water.
It is mounted directly to the duct of your heating and cooling system and is also easily reversible for right or left-hand installation. Connect the unit to a water line for hassle free constant supply of water.
The automatic control unit that comes with Model 600 accurately detects and delivers the proper amount of humidity in your home. It takes a measurement of outdoor temperature and humidity.
Then it uses a formula that factors in the indoor temperature and humidity to determine the optimal levels making it an ideal whole house humidifier for the family.
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AprilAire 500 Bypass Flow-Thru Whole House Humidifier with Automatic Digital Humidistat
For small to mid-sized homes, the
It efficiently humidifies up to 3,000 square feet and disperses up to 12 gallons of humidity per day.
This
Also, the unit is connected to your water line, there is no need to worry about filling it with water.
The automatic humidistat control determines the proper humidity level your home needs by sensing the humidity level, indoor and outdoor temperatures.
The
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AprilAire 400 Bypass Flow-Thru Water Conserving Humidifier with Automatic Digital Humidistat
The
Model 400 incorporates a recirculation of water by using a special water panel within the system. Gravity pulls the water down to the bottom of the unit while the water panel uses a wicking action to draw the water back up to the top, recirculating it until all of the water deposited into the unit is used.
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Essick Air AIRCARE MA0800 Mini-Console Evaporative Humidifier
Based on Amazon’s net customer satisfaction ratings, the AIRCARE MA0800 is the best console evaporative humidifier in the market. This unit can humidify up to 2,500 square feet with 8 gallons per day of humidity.
The advantage of console type humidifiers is that it can be moved around if necessary. Instead of placing different humidifiers in multiple rooms, this standalone unit can be used to humidify the whole house.
Water refill and check filter indicators help you monitor the unit and add water or change filter as needed.
The easy-fill tank can hold 2.5 gallons of water. Use the MAF2 wick to enjoy the benefits of the antimicrobial protection.
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Essick Air AIRCARE MA1201 Console Evaporative Humidifier
Essick Air's movable console type evaporative humidifier eliminates the use of several smaller humidifiers in your house.
The MA1201 is designed to humidify more than 3,000 square feet of space with 12 gallons per day of humidity using a 3.5-gallon easy-fill tank.
Controlling the humidity level is easy with the adjustable humidistat. Auto shutoff ensures the unit will not run when water is empty. Move the unit from one location to another with four castors.
Using the MAF1 antimicrobial wick should have significant health benefits, making the MA1201 one of the best whole house humidifier s for the family.
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Honeywell TrueEASE HE300A1005 Advanced Fan Powered Humidifier with Automatic Digital Control
Honeywell claims that the TrueEASE HE300A1005 uses up to 50% less water and save energy by eliminating the constant cycling of air, making it an eco-friendly unit.
This fan powered evaporative whole house humidification solution covers up to 3,000 square feet by dispersing up to 18 gallons per day.
It is mounted directly to the duct of your heating and cooling system. You can hook this model to your water line, so there is no need for constant filling.
The automatic HumidPRO humidistat control unit that comes with the HE300A1005 is installed directly on the heating and cooling system, preferably the return duct, to ensure comfortable humidity levels throughout your home.
The only maintenance needed is a seasonal change of the humidifier pad.
Honeywell TrueEASE HE300A1005 is one of the few fan-powered humidifiers to make it to this list of the best whole house humidifiers.
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Essick Air AIRCARE EP9 800 Whole House Pedestal Evaporative Espresso Humidifier
Essick Air’s portable solution to using an evaporative cool mist type humidifier in multiple rooms in your home is the AIRCARE EP9 800.
The EP9 800 model also comes with an adjustable humidistat that allows you to control the humidity level in your home and cover spaces up to 2,800 square feet.
Filling the tank with water is made easy with a front-fill reservoir that can hold 3.5 gallons of water. An auto shutoff feature ensures the EP9 800 will not run when water runs out causing dryness in the air.
This is a standalone unit that can be moved from one spot to another with four casters. Essick Air recommends using its 1043 wick with the humidifier to ensure your family, especially young children and babies, are protected by one of the highest capacity antimicrobial filters in the market.
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AprilAire 800 Residential Steam Humidifier with Automatic Digital Control
The
This steam humidifier uses the latest absorption and dispersion steam technology to disperse up to 34.6 gallons of humidity per day into your heating and cooling ducts through a dispersion tube without causing condensation problems.
The unit also comes with an automatic humidistat that is mounted directly on the heating and cooling system to detect and deliver the proper amount of humidity in your home.
There is no need to manually adjust the level based on outdoor temperature as it does this automatically for you.
Under normal conditions, maintaining the
For large families and big houses, Model 800 is the best whole house humidifier for baby and the rest of family.
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Essick Air AIRCARE EP9 500 Whole House Pedestal Evaporative Nutmeg Humidifier
AIRCARE EP9 500 is a standalone humidifier with a digital humidistat that automatically maintains the humidity level you set.
This evaporative cool mist multi-room humidifier has a 3.5-gallon easy-fill first reservoir that outputs 9 gallons of humidity every 24 hours covering a space of up to 2,000 square feet.
For portability, four casters allow you to move the unit from one part of the house to another.
Maintenance is easy with the AIRCARE EP9 500. You replace the wick, which traps minerals and impurities in water, twice a season. Replacing the wick ensures the delivery of clean and healthy humidified air in your home.
Optionally, you could add Essick Air’s two-stage air filter that ensures your family breathes the cleanest air possible.
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Choosing the Best Whole House Humidifiers
There are many great brands and products in the market. While companies would always show the benefits and quality of their products, the opinion and experience of customers are the most reliable source of information.
The first thing you need to do is to determine which type of humidifier you need. Do you have a heating and cooling system in your home? If so, pick the bypass or steam humidifier from AprilAire, or the fan-powered unit from Honeywell. If you prefer to use a console type whole house humidifier, Essick Air is an excellent choice. Keep in mind that console type humidifiers are can be too noisy for your comfort level.
After determining the type of humidifier, it is a no brainer to pick a model that covers the area of your home. After purchasing and installing, expect to realize the health benefits of the best whole house humidifiers for family and baby featured here.
If you are not sure about how to install a humidifier to your home heating and cooling system, always seek professional help from your local company that provides air conditioning installation services.
