Humidifiers have come a long way. They’re not your mama’s humidifier, you might say.
These days they come with some pretty elaborate features
1. Hygrometer
A hygrometer is like a thermometer but instead of measuring the temperature, it measures the relative humidity.
Why is this important?
Because how do you know if your humidity has dipped under the 40% mark that is the lowest you want your relative humidity to drop. 40 to 60% humidity is optimal.
2. Hydrostat
This is similar to a thermostat on the furnace, except for it controls the humidifier according to the hygrometer settings.
A hydrostat feature ensures that humidity stays at the optimal point.
3. Auto shut off
There was a time that if you had a humidifier running in the house, it would keep running regardless of whether it ran out of water or not.
Not so with humidifiers these days.
Auto shut off turns the power off on your humidifier when it runs out of water.
4. Easy to clean
A humidifier that is dishwasher safe and easy to clean is an important feature because of the amount of maintenance humidifiers require to keep them from accumulating bacteria and mold.
5. Cool mist / warm mist optional
Warm mist may not be preferable for dogs but there are times when you want to have the option of using steam instead of cool mist.
Gone are the days where you had to have a humidifier for cool mist and a vaporizer for warm mist. Levoit has this feature and performed well in either capacity.
6. Aromatherapy /essential oil ready
Again not a feature you want to use when your dog is in the house. Most essential oils that are geared towards breathing better contain menthol which is not good for dogs.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have the option of using a humidifier as an aromatherapy diffuser when you want or need to.
7. Wifi
Humidifiers have joined the Wi-Fi craze.
Wi-Fi gives you the capacity to check the relative humidity right from your phone,
Turn the humidifier on or off remotely or schedule a time you wanted to go on or off.
It also has bells and whistles like alerting you when your water is too low or when it is time to maintain your humidifier again.
8. Remote
A remote goes without saying these days. Every device in your bedroom needs a remote. Who wants to get up out of bed and turn down a humidifier or turn it on?
9. Large tank
A large tank is one of the biggest necessities in my opinion when it comes to finding the right humidifier.
A humidifier that has to be filled too often is a humidifier that is probably not going to get the use it needs.
A Humidifier with a large tank cuts down on the amount of refilling and can make your life much easier.