Having a good humidifier is an essential item if you have a baby or kids at home, and that much more necessary during winter months when colds and coughs are rampant, and you likely have the heat turned up on a regular basis drying out your indoor air. With so many humidifiers on the market, I decided to look at two that I am constantly getting targeted for to see if they live up to the hype: the Canopy and the Levoit Ultrasonic Humidifer. While I overall found both to be good options, there are pros and cons to each which I will get into.

For starters, if you have kids at home you want to be using a cool mist humidifier. Cool mist humidifiers are safer (no heat), more energy efficient, and are more effective at helping with congestion and coughs as the cool mist can be soothing rather than inflammatory which is a concern with warm mist. The drawback of cool mist humidifiers is they can accumulate bacteria growth more easily. To prevent bacteria and mold growth, water in humidifiers should be changed out daily, and the parts of the humidifier should be deep cleaned after each use. Additionally, you should be using distilled water to minimize the bacteria and contaminants that are then diffused into the air.

This is what is so great about the Canopy humidifier. It uses UV light and a replaceable paper filter made from wood pulp to sanitize and eliminate contaminants including bacteria, metals, and other particles from the water before it is evaporated into the air. A key difference and advantage to the Canopy is you can safely use tap water versus distilled. Having said that, I would still recommend using filtered water given the number of pollutants in our water (ie: chlorine, chloramine, etc.) Canopy’s water tank holds up to 2.5L which lasts about 36 hours and claims to cover rooms as large as 500 square feet. Canopy is an evaporative cool mist humidifier meaning it uses a fan to draw moisture and then release vapor versus mist into the air. This further decreases the chances of mold or mildew growth in the room because there is no risk of moisture attaching or pooling. The fan is pretty loud, creating a white noise, which may or may not be something you like. It also claims to use every single drop of water thus eliminating the risk of mold growing inside the unit. The humidifier offers an auto mode for optimal performance and to prevent potential mold growth. Assuming you keep the humidifier on all day, it will adjust the evaporation rate to increase hydration at night when you are presumably nearby and in need of increased hydration, and shift to a low setting to preserve water and power during the day. There are sensors to ensure all the water is used (and therefore does not sit, over time resulting in mold growth) and to let you know when you need to refill the water tank and/or replace the filter. When it comes to cleaning, Canopy claims its components are dishwasher safe, however the parts are still plastic so I would recommend washing by hand.

Canopy recommends replacing the filter every 6 weeks which there is no chance I would remember to do except they offer an auto-ship replacement subscription that sends a new filter out every 45 days. Canopy also features a nursery humidifier, which as far as I can tell is the same as the standard humidifier, and a humidifier-plus which accommodates spaces up to 1000 square feet. They offer various priced packages for products and monthly filter and/or aromatherapy refills and a one-year warranty for all products.

Most of the reviews promote Canopy for its chic design aesthetic, user-friendly model, and wonders it does for people’s skin. I really like it for a day-to-day humidifier that can be used year-round. Its programming feature to self-regulate and prevent over-humidification, and filtration system are really impressive. But when you or your child is sick or is suffering from something respiratory, I still think an ultrasonic humidifier is the way to go.

The Levoit Ultrasonic Humidifier is probably the best option in this case. In fact, I only use it when my kids are congested. It is much larger than the Canopy with a 6 liter tank that can last up to 50 hours and covers just over 750 square feet. It offers both warm and cool mist, however I have only used it on the cool mist setting as that is safer for kids and pets to prevent any risk of someone burning themselves on the unit, or sinuses swelling from the warmth. The ultrasonic humidifier produces the mist you are likely more familiar with when you think of a humidifier. The Levoit has three levels of mist settings, which can be adjusted based on the built-in humidity sensor and how much moisture you are looking to add or maintain in your space. Ideally, a room’s humidity is between 40%-60%. The Levoit has a built-in sensor with the ability to set a humidity level or a timer. This humidifier also comes with a remote control, which while not totally necessary, is a nice convenience when you’ve already gotten into bed. Unlike Canopy, this humidifier is noise-less. As an ultrasonic humidifier, you want to be using distilled water with this and cleaning parts with undiluted white vinegar after every use to prevent mold growth. The boxy shape of the Levoit makes cleaning the water tank easy. Levoit offers a 2 year warranty.

Both Canopy and Levoit also have an aromatherapy feature. The Canopy Humidifier comes with an aroma puck that can be placed on the top grate of the humidifier. Canopy offers different essential and fragrance oils and aroma kit subscriptions. From what I can tell the essential oils are clean in their ingredients and the aroma it gives off is very subtle. Levoit also comes with cartridges to add essential or fragrance oils which I have not tried. But even though these humidifiers offer essential oils, I would not recommend using them at all for children under two, and for children over two, I highly dilute with water.

At a lower price point, two other popular cool-mist ultrasonic humidifiers I would recommend are the Frida Baby Humidifier with Diffuser and Nightlight and the Pure Enrichment MistAire.

FridaBaby products are popular among new moms for a reason; there is the understanding that their products are made with babies and children in mind. The humidifier is pretty basic, with a smaller tank (half gallon) that covers a smaller space, around 300 square feet and can run for up to 12 hours. It also offers the option of using essential oils functioning like a diffuser or using their vapor drops which is their own branded eucalyptus oil to help ease congestion. You will want to use distilled water with this humidifier and clean out after each use using undiluted white vinegar. They offer cleaning instructions both with the product and on the amazon product page. FridaBaby also offers a lifetime warranty. And if it isn’t obvious, anyone can use this product; marketing aside, it isn’t just for babies.

Similarly, the BPA-free Pure Enrichment MistAire is a straightforward cool-mist ultrasonic humidifier. Its tank is 1.5 liters, runs up to 25 hours, and claims to cover rooms up to 250 square feet. It features a 360 degree mist nozzle so you can direct where the mist goes. You cannot use essential oils in this device and although they claim you can use tap water, unless you have an in-home water filter system, I would recommend using distilled water (you need to use distilled water for any cool-mist humidifier). Like the FridaBaby, it has a nightlight feature and is completely quiet. It has an automatic shut off feature when it is running low on water, or the tank is removed. Cleaning this humidifier is not the easiest given its shape, but like the others should be deep cleaned after each use. Pure Enrichment offers a 5-year warranty.

On the higher end of the market, Vitruvi has just released a cool-mist humidifier that I will be trying and providing a review on. And at a slightly higher price point, CarePod offers a stainless steel cool-mist humidifier that I am excited about as it is not made of plastic, however I have read mixed reviews on so am curious to research further.

Besides Canopy, which uses an evaporative fan and filter system, most cool-mist humidifiers are varying degrees of the same. It mostly comes down to what features are most important to you, including size of the water tank which will impact how long the humidifier will run and the size of the room it will cover; and what additional features it has to offer, such as a dual function as a diffuser, nightlight, a humidity sensor, or including a remote control. Most importantly, no matter what cool-mist humidifier you ultimately choose to use, be certain you are cleaning your humidifier after every use to prevent any bacteria or mold growth. And for all of these humidifiers, despite those that claim to be dishwasher safe, because they are made with plastic, it is important to hand wash. The American Academy of Pediatrics continues to recommend avoiding placing plastics in the dishwasher.

As always, I will always be updating this blog and making changes so please come back and review.

Humidifiers