Best Quiet Large Room Humidifier: Everlasting Comfort Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier

Let’s talk about humidifiers for larger rooms. When we say “larger” rooms, we mean living rooms, rec rooms and other spaces bigger than a bedroom. 

The best humidifiers for larger spaces have bigger capacity water tanks—at least 6 liters (1.6 gallons), in our testing. That’s because smaller capacity humidifiers (4 liters or less) work best only for small rooms that are 100 to 200 square feet. 

Good news: just because you are looking for a humidifier with a bigger tank doesn’t mean it has to be loud. After testing a dozen models and surveying our parent reader their favorites, we picked Everlasting Comfort’s Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier.

We were impressed with this 6-liter humidifier that is designed for rooms up to 500 square feet—it was effective at adding moisture quietly, all at a price that is easy on the wallet. 

Here’s more:

What We Liked

• Easy to use.

• Quiet.

• Large tank = doesn’t need to be refilled as often.

• Essential oils tray.

• Runs about 12-15 hours before refilling based on real-world testing. This varies depending on whether it is on the high or low setting . . . and how dry the air is in the room. (Note: the manufacturer claims 50 hours running time. That seems a tad overly optimistic, in our opinion).

• No filters required.

• Night light function.

• Auto-shut off.

• Affordable (at least when compared to other similar capacity models).

What Needs Work

• Mist sinks too quickly. That means it can saturate the area around the humidifier, perhaps damaging wood floors or furniture. It’s best to use this with a towel underneath the unit.

• No carry handle makes it awkward to move the tank around when refilling.

• Could be easier to clean. This humidifier has a narrow central tube that is hard to reach while cleaning.

• No humidistat. That makes it less ideal for bedrooms, where you’d want a humidistat to turn off the unit once the room reaches a certain level of humidity. However, in larger rooms, that is less of an issue.

Best Cool & Warm Mist Humidifier: LEVOIT Humidifiers for Large Room

Most ultrasonic humidifiers are cool mist—and that’s fine for most folks. But what if the room you are trying to humidify is drafty? 

In that case, a humidifier that can also pump out warm mist is a good solution. Now, the warm mist won’t heat the entire room—you’ll still need a heat source. But a warm mist humidifier can take a bit of chill off a drafty room. 

We looked at several models and did some real world testing before deciding LEVOIT’s Humidifier For Large Room is the best of the bunch in this category.

Why?

First, it has a generous 6 liter tank capacity. And the brand has a good quality and reliability reputation, in our opinion.

Then you add a convenient remote that lets you change the settings from a distance—perfect for living rooms when you’d rather not leave that comfy couch.

Here’s more:

What We Liked

• Quiet! Perfect for a home office, living room or kitchen. We measured this humidifier at just 39 decibels—the regular background noise of the room was 35 decibels. Bottom line: it is VERY quiet.

• Display can be turned off at night. That’s great if you decide to use this humidifier in a bedroom.

• Essential oils tray.

• Auto shut-off.

• Humidity sensor to set comfort level.

• Works up to 735 square feet.

• 3 mist levels.

• Real world testing shows it works for about 12 hours before refilling. This can vary depending on the room size and dryness, however. The maker claims it can work up to 36 hours (on low) before a refill.

What Needs Work

• Humidistat could be more accurate. That’s true for most humidifiers we tested, however. It’s always good to have a separate humidity gauge to double check.

• Filters must be replaced periodically.

• Large footprint.

• White dust. This is true for many ultrasonic humidifiers, unfortunately—if you use tap water, the minerals in the water can precipitate out as white dust. The solution: use distilled water instead of tap.

• Warm mist humidifiers don’t last as long as cool mist models, in our opinion. Based on our research and testing, we believe this is caused by wear and tear on the heating element.  

Best Whole House Humidifier: AIRCARE 831000 Space-Saver, White Whole House Evaporative Humidifier

Humidifiers that work for individual rooms are nice . . . but what if you want a whole house solution? Or you live in a desert climate?

Here’s a robust solution for the entire home: AIRECARE’s model 831000.

This evaporative style humidifier holds a whopping six gallons of water. That enables it to humidify up to 2700 square feet of space. Yes, that is four to five times the size of the humidifiers we recommended earlier in this article.

We liked the digital controls (and humidity sensor) of this model. And it worked as advertised, pumping out copious amount of moisture when we set it up in a Colorado home. For desert climates, this would be a good solution.

We also use this style humidifier when the temperature plunges under 20 degrees outside. Why? When a furnace is pumping out lots of warm air on a very cold day, the humidity in a house can drop to 20% or less. A large capacity humidifier like this model helps supplement smaller ultrasonic models, based on our experience.

Here’s more: 

What We Liked

• Easy to use.

• Easy to fill.

• Three speeds.

• No white dust residue.

• Humidistat turns the unit on or off depending on the moisture level.

• 6 gallon capacity = 70 hour run time.

What Needs Work

• Noisy. Yes, this model has three speeds—but only the lowest speed is tolerable, in our opinion. The higher speeds make the unit quite noisy. This humidifier is designed for living rooms, kitchens or other large spaces. It isn’t ideal for a bedroom.

• Could be easier on the eyes. Yes, we recommend this humidifier . . . but it basically is a large white bucket with a fan on top. It’s not very attractive.

• Filters must be periodically replaced.

Why Trust Us

We’ve been rating and reviewing products for the home and families since 1994. We do hands-on testing—we buy the products with our own money and evaluate with an eye toward quality, ease of use and affordability.

Here’s another key point: we don’t take money from the brands we review. No free samples, no sponsors, no “partnerships.” Our work is 100% reader-supported!