Best humidifier for office cubicle?

[jenny2008]

Can anyone recommend the best type of humidifier for an office cubicle? Is a warm mist or cool mist better? Thanks so much to everyone who replies!

[bernmee]

I don't know if my experience is different than others but when I had a cold humidifier it just wet the ground around it. I got rid of it. maybe it was a bad brand, I'm not sure.

I use a warm on now.

Bernadette

[jenny2008]

Thanks-so you use a warm one at work? I have never tried a warm one and am going to look at them.. Thanks for the advice..

[rubyslippers]

I have a cool mist ones at work and 2 at home. I like the Holmes brand because it has an indicator that shows when the filter needs to be changed and because you can directly control the percent of moisture you want in the air and it adjusts itself to hold that level. Once I figured out the level I need it stays just perfect for me. We got ours at Shopko.

[bernmee]

Jenny,

I work with children so I am out most of the time. I use a warm on at home due to the "spitting" of my cool one. Could have been a bad brand though.

B.

[Silverlady]

Best for me..

I use a Hunter humidifier in my bedroom, one in my kitchen and another one in my living room. They all have settings that allow you to set the amount of moisture you want. I bought a humidistat at Walmart(not expensive) and I check the air in each room and set the humidifier accordingly. We've run two of these humidifiers for two years now and only this year bought the third one (new house). They have filters that don't have to be replaced. I clean them in vinegar once every three months or so. If you can use distilled water, they can be run longer. For travel I use a Medisana personal humidifier. It's smaller than a quart of milk. We've thrown away, given away lots of humidifiers in the 6 years I've had Sjogren's but these are all keepers.

Billye

[Lucy]

Like Rubyslippers, I have a Holmes brand and it has served me well over the past few years. Would buy another and probably will soon. Lucy

[GinaJ]

I have homes brand too but I thought by your ? you wanted a mini one and I saw one on the web. I am sorry I don't know how to copy but if you google humidifer for office cubicle small cool mist only ones come up but I think some are even travel where you can put it in the car.

[portrgirl]

I purchased this one from BB&B for my work cubicle: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...1&SKU=15076968

It's small, quiet, doesn't leave a dust or water droplets on surfaces and is super easy to fill and clean. However, I didn't find that it did anything to help me (maybe not strong enough for a cubicle open to a large office) and once the temperature dropped here for winter the cool mist of it chilled me too much.

It's now in my bedroom at home.

[NYer]

Cool-mist humidifiers tend to produce "white dust", which is a problem for asthma sufferers. I always stick to warm-mist. Make sure, whichever one you get, that you clean it regularly (every 2 weeks).

Here's some info from CompactAppliance.com that should help:

Humidifier Basics

Why use a humidifier?

Why do we want to add humidity to our homes and what is humidity? Humidity is the amount of moisture or water vapor in the air. People tend to feel more comfortable when the relative humidity is within a certain range (between 35-55 percent). If the humidity is too low, people may be left with physical discomforts such as a dry nose, throat, lips, and skin. In addition, low humidity may also wreak havoc on your home causing static electricity, cracks in furniture, flooring, cabinetry, paint, and peeling wallpaper. High levels of humidity cause a room to feel stuffy and create an environment in which biological contaminants can thrive. Moisture is often added or removed from indoor air to make a room feel more comfortable.

Types of Humidifiers

Cool Mist and Warm Mist Humidifiers
One gives out a warm mist, the other gives out a cool mist. People who like warm mists generally live in colder parts of the USA or like to put a warm mist humidifier into a baby's room. Conversely, people who like cool mists live in warmer climates, where the last thing they want is to warm the place up a few degrees.

Steam
Often referred to as a "vaporizer," a steam humidifier boils water and releases the warm steam into the room. This is the simplest, and therefore the least expensive, technology for adding moisture to the air.

Impeller
In this humidifier, a rotating disc flings water at a comb-like diffuser. The diffuser breaks the water into fine droplets that float into the air. You normally see these droplets as a cool fog exiting the humidifier.

Ultrasonic
An ultrasonic humidifier uses a metal diaphragm vibrating at an ultrasonic frequency to create water droplets. An ultrasonic humidifier is usually silent, and also produces a cool fog.

Features To Consider

Automatic Shut-Off
Some models have an auto shut-off feature that will shut the unit off when the water is empty or humidity level has been reached.

Built In Humidistat
This allows you to set the actual percentage at which you want your humidity level.

Room vs. Whole House Humidifier
Most smaller models are only meant to humidify a single room. If you have a larger area, or need to take care of an entire house, you will want to go with a whole house humidifier.

Germ Free Protection
Some humidifiers offer ultraviolet light and radiation protection to remove harmful bacteria that can be distributed in the air during use.

Information You Need To Know

Steam vaporizers can be dangerous around children because they can cause burns. They also have the highest energy costs. However, there are no bacterial or mineral concerns with this technology.

The quality of water used in the humidifier will have a large impact on the pollutants spouted into the air. Distilled water is ideal, but whatever you use, remember that any pollutants in the water softener (dissolved minerals and metals) will end up in the air. This is why it is important to clean the tank regularly and refill it with clean water when you haven't been running it. Many high-end ultrasonic units therefore have antibacterial features built in. Some units use ultraviolet light to kill bacteria. Cool mist and ultrasonic units have the capability of releasing most of the pollutants found in the water into the air. Many ultrasonic models feature a demineralization cartridge that filters minerals out of the water to prevent the dust. Steam and warm mist units release far less of the biological pollutants, dissolved minerals and metals but they are still capable of releasing chemical contaminants such as chlorine or volatile chemicals produced by biological contaminants living in the humidifier water.