Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My grandparents had a cabin in Canada, and their "humidifier" was a shovel full of snow in a big pot on the wood stove. Ah...those were the days. Fast forward to the present, in my home without a wood stove, to a complaining wife and stuffy newborn. What I thought was a seemingly easy task turned into a nightmare, thanks to the internet and Amazon reviews. The type was easy. Cool mist is too moldy (unless they are kept clean, and let's be realistic, who actually cleans humidifiers?) and filters are pricey, ultrasonic has the added benefit of the "white powder" in the air and settling on everything, and the whole-home kind that are attached to the furnace ducts aren't really made for small heat pump HVAC like I have in my house. So, warm mist it was, and I started on my journey to find the perfect one. And it was a journey. I found fancy ones with all sorts of features, and cheap ones that made steam. All had one thing in common, those that hated them and gave them one star, and those that loved them and gave them more stars. Meanwhile, my wife borrowed her mother's humidifier, which happened to be a many year old version of this particular one. It's the same humidifier we've borrowed every year since my wife and I got married five years ago. After playing with the idea of a UV lighted, mineral pad soaking, multi-gallon capacity, built-in hygrometer monster, I decided to get two of these units instead--at a cheaper price. Why? For one, my mother-in-law's unit still runs like a champ after all this use. We really only use it at night for sleeping. The trick is to fill it up and run it on high while getting ready for bed, and then turn it on low when going to sleep. The water lasts all night and it increases the humidity nicely. For two, many of the features offered on more expensive models are all but useless. So many people complain about filling the things--is it really that hard to walk to the sink once a day? In order to kill airborne germs, a lot more is needed than the tiny UV light offered in other humidifiers. If the built-in hydrometer is out of whack, too bad! Mineral filtration pads? Unless a person is unlucky enough to live in a "liquid rock" area, a good wiping with paper towel soaked in vinegar once a week is all that's needed to clean the heating element. Sometimes, less is more, and I believe this is definitely the case with humidifiers.