This is our buying guide on the 3 best humidifiers for breathing problems in 2023. Below is a quick summary of our top recommendations. Scroll further down to read our in depth, hands on reviews, for each humidifier.
Pure Enrichment MistAire Humidifier
- Quiet enough to use in the bedroom
- Up to 25 hours of continuous operation
- Easy-to-fill water tank
- High and low speeds
- Powerful mist output
- 360-degree mist nozzle
- Humidifies the atmosphere in ten minutes or less
- 1.5-liter capacity
- Can handle spaces up to 250 square feet
- Nightlight
TaoTronics 6L Warm and Cool Mist Humidifier
- Automatic humidity monitoring
- Warm or cool mist
- Essential Oil diffuser tray
- Remote control
- Huge water reservoir
- 60-hour runtime
- Easy to clean
- Good build quality
- Auto on/off
- Auto humidity settings
- Super-easy to use
Levoit LV600HH Hybrid Ultrasonic Humidifier
- Warm and cold mist
- Perfect for dry climates
- Excellent for breathing problems
- Works with Alexa and Google Assistant
- Exceptionally long run time
- Up to four times faster than other humidifiers in the price range
- Top-fill design makes refills easy
- 6-liter tank reduces necessary refills
- Remote control
- Super easy to clean
- Ultra-low noise levels
- Prevents mold and residue
- Exceptional humidistat
- Auto-off function
In this article, we’ll share the results of our tests to find the 3 best humidifiers for breathing problems in 2022.
When the air becomes excessively dry, skin and nasal passages dry out, and this dryness can extend deep into your lungs. Dry mouth and excessive coughing are also often the result of dry air too.
The Environmental Protection Agency recommends ideal humidity levels in homes be kept somewhere between 30% and 50%.
With this in mind, we set out to list the 3 best humidifiers for breathing problems in 2022.
We found the TaoTronics 6L Warm and Cool Mist Humidifier For Home to be the best out of all the units we tested. We also listed the best budget option and a premium unit.
Read on.
TaoTronics 6L Warm and Cool Mist Humidifier For Home
OVERALL BEST
At a glance
The TaoTronics Warm and Cool Mist Humidifier comes with a whole bunch of nifty features. The remote control is one. It’s easy to operate, and it addresses a pet peeve of mine – remotes with buttons that aren’t big enough for big hands.
The unit has outstanding efficiency, an intelligent control panel, auto shut-off, and easy drain access.
This TaoTronics has everything needed to make it to the top of our ‘best humidifiers for breathing problems in 2022’ list.
Design
TaoTronics recommends cleaning the humidifier at least once a week, and they made it easy. With this unit, simply allow it to cool down and unplug. The water reservoir slips out easily. Then descale it with a vinegar and water solution, and use the included cleaning brush to reach the difficult spots. As an extra precaution, use a bleach mixture to completely disinfect the humidifier.
During our test, we did all of the above, and the whole process took less than 20 minutes.
Apart from being designed for an easy clean, the TaoTronics humidifier also has an essential oil diffuser. The unit comes with one preinstalled essential oil cloth and two spares. Should you run out, we found a simple piece of felt, cut to size, will do the job just fine.
Water Tank Capacity
At 6 liters, this TaoTronics humidifier has a more-than-generous water reservoir. It’s large enough for an extended runtime but it is rather cumbersome to fill. The reservoir is too big for a kitchen sink, and spilling water is easy – almost a given.
Runtime
The humidifier will run continuously for 10 to 60 hours, depending on your mist settings and the room’s size. On average, you’ll be able to run the humidifier for 24 to 30 hours between refills.
Coverage
The unit is specced for areas up to 430 square feet, although we ran it in one of our 700 square foot testing areas, and it didn’t seem to notice.
Mist Volume
The mist volume this humidifier produces clocks in at between 100ml/h and 300ml/h, which is superior to almost every other model within the TaoTronics price bracket.
Cool mist is the perfect answer for summer colds and breathing problems. But we really liked that this humidifier had both a warm and cool setting for year-round use.
Noise levels
The TaoTronics humidifier is not the quietest unit we’ve ever tested, but it is by no means noisy. The low hum and the occasional gurgle are easy to get used to.
Special Features
This unit automatically monitors humidity levels and starts and stops all by itself. This is ideal if you struggle with breathing problems because the humidity is kept at optimum levels all the time.
Ironically, the start and stop feature is more annoying than the low hum the humidifier makes when it is running – especially at night.
The essential oil tray in the back of the unit is a great addition. Simply pull the tray out, add a couple of drops of your favorite essential oil, and your home smells delightful for hours to come.
The 6-liter water reservoir capacity is this unit’s most outstanding feature. The humongous water tank makes it one of the longest continually running humidifiers in its class.
This unit comfortably makes it to the top spot of the best humidifiers for breathing problems in 2022.
Pros
- Automatic humidity monitoring
- Warm or cool mist
- Essential Oil diffuser tray
- Remote control
- Huge water reservoir
- 60-hour runtime
- Easy to clean
- Good build quality
- Auto on/off
- Auto humidity settings
- Super-easy to use
Cons
- Not attractive to look at
Pure Enrichment MistAire Humidifier
BEST BUDGET
At a glance
The high and low-speed settings on the unit keep the humidity levels perfectly balanced. The warm and cool mist makes this an ideal humidifier for both summer and winter, and the 360-degree adjustable mist nozzle makes it easier to direct mist to a particular spot.
The Pure Enrichment unit ran almost nightly for just over thirty days during our test, and it quickly became a firm favorite. That’s why it deserves its Best Budget spot on our list of the 3 best humidifiers for breathing problems in 2022!
The results of our tests were surprising!
Design
You’ll manage to set this unit up with absolute ease, even if you are a technophobe.
Placement, as per the recommendation of the manufacturer, is around six inches from any wall.
Using unfiltered water for this unit is just fine. And it was designed to make refilling easy and splash-free.
To add to the already-great aesthetics, the water reservoir also lights up with a blue glow. The unit will easily double as a nightlight.
The unit has only one control button that sits close to the unit’s base. You turn it on with the first click. If you click it again, the speed increases, and if you click it a third time, the unit switches off again.
Water Tank Capacity
The water reservoir has a 1,5-liter capacity, which isn’t huge, but it is enough to give you a decent runtime between refills.
Runtime
The Pure Enrichment MistAire Humidifier will run without a hitch for up to 25 hours, depending on the mist volume setting and the size of the area you’re humidifying.
Coverage
This MistAire humidifier is perfect for areas up to 250 square feet. During our test we ran the unit in virtually every room in the house, focusing on bedrooms, the study, and the living area. It delivered great, consistent results wherever we placed it.
It did, however, struggle with areas larger than 250 square feet. That said, MistAire specifies this humidifier for areas of 250 square feet or less, especially if you live in a low-humidity region.
Mist Volume
When you use the MistAire in areas of 250 square feet or below, it will take less than 10 minutes to start noticing a marked difference in the humidity levels. We should add that it does take a while to figure out the mist settings, but once you’ve managed to get it right, it is a cinch from there on.
Being able to change the direction of the nozzle is another plus. It gives you a myriad of placement options you wouldn’t have otherwise had.
Noise levels
This MistAire is blissfully quiet. In the living room, it didn’t interfere with the TV or sound system. In the bedroom, it didn’t disturb a good night’s rest either. And when the time comes to store it, it slips easily into a corner.
Special Features
The unit is small and it is easy to clean both the water reservoir and the base. As part of the package, a cleaning brush, tailor-made for this MistAire unit, makes your job even easier. There are no removable parts to make cleaning complicated and interfere with keeping the humidifier hygienic.
Storage is easy, and it seems this is a design feature instead of an accident. It does equally well under a bed or in a corner somewhere.
The automatic off-switch prevents overheating when the water level in the reservoir starts running too low. During the test, I fell asleep without refilling the reservoir, which helped me understand the true value of this feature …
This is easily the best budget unit on our list of best humidifiers for breathing problems in 2022. And we happily recommend it to anyone shopping for a unit in this price range.
Pros
- Quiet enough to use in the bedroom
- Up to 25 hours of continuous operation
- Easy-to-fill water tank
- High and low speeds
- Powerful mist output
- 360-degree mist nozzle
- Humidifies the atmosphere in ten minutes or less
- 1.5-liter capacity
- Can handle spaces up to 250 square feet
- Nightlight
Cons
- Settings are uncomfortable to manage
Levoit LV600HH Hybrid Ultrasonic Humidifier
BEST PREMIUM
At a glance
In the box, you’ll get the humidifier, a cleaning brush, the owner’s manual, and three aroma absorption pads (one is preinstalled in the unit.)
It humidifies up to four times faster than the competition, covers areas over 750 square feet, and will run for up to 50 hours without needing a refill.
You can set the desired humidity levels, and the unit has a built-in essential oil diffuser.
Read on to see why this is the premium unit on our list of best humidifiers for breathing problems in 2022.
Design
This Levoit humidifier was designed to be fully adjustable. This feature often lacks in other units. You can manually set the unit to maintain the exact humidity you prefer. And the humidistat is accurate to 2%, so you don’t have to deal with the over-reading that is prevalent in many other units.
The accuracy of the Levoit’s humidistat is important if you have breathing problems. Ideally, you want to find the optimum humidity levels of the room you’re spending time in, and trust the humidifier to maintain those.
As a safety feature, the humidifier will also switch off automatically when the reservoir runs dry.
The Levoit LV600HH Hybrid Ultrasonic Humidifier is not ideal for hard water conditions. Tap water is often rich in minerals, and these cause residue build-ups. Thus, a regular cleaning routine is a must if you opt not to use distilled water in this unit.
The ergonomic design of this Levoit humidifier makes it easy to clean. The unit uses an agitator which deals effectively with mold and residue, and the reservoir has an opening wide enough to fit even a large hand when cleaning.
Water Tank Capacity
The 1.6-gallon water reservoir in the unit makes it good for a runtime of around 36 hours on a low mist setting. This reduces the need for constant refills.
The design of the water reservoir makes it easy to refill at a small kitchen sink.
Runtime
This unit will run for around 36 hours in a 750 square feet space without a refill. This runtime is dependent on your preferred mist setting, and the humidity in the atmosphere, though.
Coverage
The Levoit LV600HH Hybrid Ultrasonic Humidifier has an unbelievably accurate humidistat and doesn’t break a sweat when humidifying large spaces. It is ideally suited for large, open-plan living areas.
Mist Volume
The mist output on this humidifier is up to 500mL per hour. This misting-ability and the accuracy of the humidistat is the reason this Levoit can maintain the moisture level perfectly, wherever you place it.
If you set the unit to produce warm mist, it will humidify the atmosphere up to 25% faster than on the cool mist setting.
Noise levels
Once switched on, the Levoit humidifier is hardly audible, and it has an LED display that can be independently switched off – making it ideal for a bedroom or children’s room.
Special Features
A once-a-week deep clean, and the occasional vinegar rinse are more than ample to keep the unit hygienic and functional.
Another great feature (one we used all the time during the test) is the diffuser function. Simply add essential oil to give your entire living area or bedroom a clean, fresh smell.
In the final analysis, the Levoit LV600HH Hybrid Ultrasonic Humidifier is a serious competitor in this price range with its warm and cool misting feature, intuitive controls, and ability to provide stable humidity for large spaces.
This makes the Levoit LV600HH Hybrid Ultrasonic Humidifier the top premium unit in our list of the 3 best humidifiers for breathing problems in 2022.
Pros
- Warm and cold mist
- Perfect for dry climates
- Excellent for breathing problems
- Works with Alexa and Google Assistant
- Exceptionally long run time
- Up to four times faster than other humidifiers in the price range
- Top-fill design makes refills easy
- 6-liter tank reduces necessary refills
- Remote control
- Super easy to clean
- Ultra-low noise levels
- Prevents mold and residue
- Exceptional humidistat
- Auto-off function
Cons
- Pricey
