Best Humidifier For Dry Skin – 4 Top Options for 2019
Who would want the appearance of cracked lips, dry patches or flaking of their skin? Absolutely no-one! These are all indicators of a dry skin problem that could worsen if not resolved. It could lead to soreness, itching and further drying of the skin that would cause a lot more health problems, which we don’t want to happen. Although there are many solutions to this problem, we’ve searched the market to find the best humidifier for dry skin that might just be all you need.
The Condition
Dry skin is a very common condition during the cold winter months and in drier climates, where the temperature is low causing humidity levels to drop. And because of too much cold, we often get the assistance of a heating system, which unfortunately aggravates the air condition to become drier. Just think of the drier we use for our wet clothes and the blow dryer for our wet hair. They both take out moisture causing our clothes and hairs to dry. And that’s also the same effect dry air causes to our skin. Drier surroundings have a profound effect on the amount of water retained within our skin that causes our skin to get dry.
Fortunately this can be resolved easily, right in our own homes, especially if the case of dry skin is brought about by the effects of weather and change of climate. All we need is a simple home appliance that can counteract the drying of the air: the Humidifier!
Our Solution
A humidifier causes moisture in the air that increases humidity levels. It brings about the right balance of humidity in our homes and improves the quality of air we breathe. Thus, getting a humidifier can help solve a lot of our health problems, especially our concern with dry skin. There are a lot of humidifier brands and types in the market today that can resolve your concern, but just remember that not all of them are created equal. This is where Optimum Humidity can help you by identifying the better ones that you can opt to buy for your home.
With this in mind we’ve come-up with this article to give you some leads on the best humidifier to tackle your dry skin woes. We’ve found the best quality humidifiers to give you maximum control over the dry air issue that’s been ailing you.
Whole House Humidifier or Single Room Humidifier?
Picking the right humidifier from the vast options to choose from will largely depend on your needs. The size and condition of the area to humidify are factors that could help you determine the best one for you. Our Humidifier Buying Guide discusses the various types of humidifier in detail, but in our search for the best humidifier for dry skin we've focused on whole house and single room humidifiers. So if you’re not sure what type you need check out our guide first then head back here.
Whole House Humidifiers
Whole house humidifiers, as their name suggests, cover an entire house or a larger area.
They are often built within a household ducted HVAC system and connected through a water line that will provide the moisture needed. You can also get stand-alone console type whole house humidifiers that cover up to nearly 4,000sq ft.
Common types are:
Single Room Humidifiers
By contrast, single room humidifiers tackle a solo room or a smaller area to humidify.
These are much smaller and more portable with built-in water containers to fill that can be carried and used room-to-room.
Evaporative, vaporizers, and ultrasonic humidifiers are the various types of room humidifiers to choose from.
Its worth getting familiar with these different types of humidifiers and the considerations to take into account for instance when choosing between a humidifier or vaporizer.
Considerations
Whether to use a whole house or a single room humidifier boils down to your requirements.
A whole house humidifier is your single solution to humidify your entire house without the hassle of getting multiple humidifiers for each room. This can work out cheaper than purchasing separate humidifiers for individual rooms in your home. However, a whole house humidifier will naturally be more expensive than a smaller unit.
However there are many situations when a single room humidifier is often all that is needed to fix a dry skin problem based on the space you have or if you are working to a budget.
Perhaps you feel your bedroom is the only space that needs humidifying, due to the considerable time you spend there and it is often a good place to start. In this case you only need a portable humidifier, which you can run through the night while you sleep. This alone might be sufficient to fix your dry skin issues.
Portable humidifiers are also often the only choice if you don’t have an option to connect a ducted whole house humidifier, because you are just renting a space or ducting and water pipes aren’t available for connection.
So, the answer to this question lies on your home setting and circumstances. The best selection will be dependent on which can serve its purpose better.
Features to look for in the best humidifier for dry skin
To give you further references, here are the basic features you need to look for in a humidifier that will be helpful for dry skin problems.
Area coverage
Whether it be a whole house or a single room humidifier, it would be best to determine the humidifier’s area capacity and coverage.
Humidifier brands and types are indicated on the packaging and the specification and operating manual will confirm the amount of area it can best cover for maximum effect. So, you need to get the square meter/ foot of the area where you will use the humidifier and also consider the floor-to-ceiling height.
Remember this key aspect: if the humidifier is suitable for the size of the space, then you can expect a good result in humidifying and relieving your dry skin issue.
Ease of use
No one wants a complicated home appliance, and so the more basic handling and operation is for a humidifier, this is often the better choice. This means easy to locate control buttons; light, portable, easy to move; and the right amount of functional features.
Look for features like the humidistat, easy-to-read display and indicators, and intuitive controls.
Maintenance requirement
Cleaning and maintaining the appliance comes with owning one of course. And if you want your humidifier to stay proficient and reliable, you will need to maintain it regularly.
Single room humidifiers require constant maintenance, of filling the water and checking if the water is still clean. You need to clean it regularly to avoid germs and bacteria that could cause further health trouble.
Given the considerations for a whole house or a single room humidifier and the basic features to watch out for, here below are our top picks and runners-up for each category:
Best Whole House Humidifier for Dry Skin
Top Choice: Aprilaire 700 Automatic Humidifier
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Quick Details:
Type: Flow-through
Area coverage: 4,200 sq. ft.
Ease of use: Easy to use, however requires installation by a qualified engineer.
Maintenance requirement: Low maintenance
The crown goes to the [easyazon_link identifier="B00K8FPSSG" locale="US" tag="nichwebs0e-20" popups="n"]Aprilaire 700 Automatic Humidifier[/easyazon_link] to cater for whole-house humidifying needs. This flow-through humidifier can deliver up to 50 percent more moisture than competitive units and has one of the highest evaporation rate of .75 gallons per hour, quick figures for you as proof of its effectiveness. With Aprilaire 700, you need not worry about dry air anymore and suffer from its consequences of dry skin, cracked lips, and other allergies.
Since it’s a flow-through humidifier, you do not need to clean it or fill the tanks, it will take care of its own and will only require a yearly maintenance. That’s hassle free for you, right? It also has an automatic digital control that is easy to read and buttons that are ergonomic, giving you simplicity and power at the same time.
You will need a professional HVAC engineer to install this humidifier since this needs to be installed to your existing heating and cooling system and also connected to your mains water supply.
Video Review
The short video below gives a summary of the Aprilaire 700 features. This whole-house humidifier will deliver humidity to all rooms of your home to conveniently help relieve your dry skin problem.
Runner-up: Honeywell HE 360A Whole House Powered Humidifier
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Quick Details:
Type: Flow-through
Area coverage: 4,200 sq. ft.
Ease of use: Easy to use, however requires installation by a qualified engineer.
Maintenance requirement: Low maintenance
Our close runner-up is another flow-through humidifier, the [easyazon_link identifier="B000DZHFDW" locale="US" tag="nichwebs0e-20" popups="n"]Honeywell HE360A [/easyazon_link], which is easy to use and has low maintenance requirements. You will only need to do maintenance and change the filter once a year. However, installation and maintenance would require a HVAC engineer’s expertise, so this would require additional costs aside from the purchase.
The whole house humidifier is very compact to allow easy mounting on either the warm air supply or return air duct of any forced air furnace. It has a low water usage and includes the PerfectFlo water distribution tray, both signifying ease of use and power for you.
It could have made our top choice, if only the installation kit was included with the purchase of the humidifier unit. Unfortunately, not, you need to buy it separately and that means additional costs. Plus, you need to be certain if you picked the right kit for your unit. But the added cost is immediately compensated with a great performing humidifier and result for your dry skin.
Video Review
The video below provides a short overview of of the features and benefits of this unit including reduction of dry skin issues.
Best Single Room Humidifier for Dry Skin
Top Choice: Honeywell HCM350W Germ Free Cool Mist Humidifier
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Quick Bits:
Type: Cool Mist
Area coverage: 600 sq. ft.
Ease of use: Easy to use
Maintenance requirement: High maintenance
Honeywell this time made our top pick for the single room humidifier unit with [easyazon_link identifier="B002QAYJPO" locale="US" tag="nichwebs0e-20" popups="n"]HCM350W[/easyazon_link]. A cool mist humidifier that produce 99.9% germ free mist, kills bacteria, mold and spores in water with its patented chamber technology and antimicrobial treated filter. It doesn’t just put moisture into the dry air, but also gives a healthy air to breathe. That’s healthier skin and better overall health for your family.
It is suitable for medium-sized rooms that comes with a humidistat that automatically adjust itself based on the readings and so, you don’t need to turn them on/off just to adjust the setting and achieve optimum humidity. Honeywell HCM350W allows a 45 degrees dispersant of mist that will finely distribute humidity all over the room.
Just to add a little trick on its sleeve, HCM350W has a color-changing light that is surely visually appealing especially at night.
Video Review
The video below shows the features of this dry skin humidifier and comments on its performance after 6 months of use. The only complaint raised is that the filter that comes with the Honeywell HCM350W doesn't last very long. Filters are recommended to be changed every 2-3 months as well as cleaning out the water tray. Following the recommended guidance will ensure the unit is working effectively to improve the humidity in your home and relieve your skin as a result.
Runner-up: Boneco Warm or Cool Mist Ultrasonic Humidifier 7135
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Quick Bits:
Type: Cool Mist, Warm Mist Ultrasonic
Area coverage: 650 sq. ft.
Ease of use: Easy to use
Maintenance requirement: High maintenance
Boneco takes home our second-best laurel for the best single room humidifier for dry skin with its 7135 Warm or Cool Mist Ultrasonic Humidifier, mainly because of its versatility. This digital ultrasonic humidifier can produce both cool and warm mist to your liking that creates a pleasant room temperature and humidity level.
It comes with a replaceable demineralization cartridge to ensure clean mist to interact with the dry air and a Hydro Cell that keeps water in the tank fresher for longer time. The digital feature includes, LED and multifunctional display of reminders to refill and clean the water tank, Sleep Mode for night time, and timer function.
Boneco Warm or Cool Mist Ultrasonic Humidifier also boast a beautifully crafted design that’s a good table top to any rooms. It has minimal controls for ease of use. But since this is a single room humidifier, it will require regular cleaning, filling, and change of filters.
Video Reviews
The Boneco model 7135 is also the same humidifier as the Air-O-Swiss model 7135 humidifier. We've included 2 videos below reviewing the Air-O-Swiss dry skin humidifer. The first video gives a positive review showing off all its features and operation. However, in the second video it is noted that this model may not be suitable if you have extra hard water in your area as you will need to replace the de-mineralisation cartridge very regularly (costs around $18).
If you have hard water and are still considering purchasing this then you could either use distilled water or a water softener which will help reduce the frequency of changing the cartridge. Alternatively we would recommend the Honeywell HCM350W reviewed above instead.
Final Verdict
When it comes to humidifiers to aid your dry skin and other dry air related health concerns, any humidifier will do, because all of them can provide the proper humidity level you require for your home. However, our lists of considerations and features discussed in this article can better help you find the more suited humidifier for your homes. And our top picks met those requirements and so they are highly recommended.
For a more detailed guide in choosing the best humidifiers for your needs, please check out our article on how to choose the best home humidifier.