This Honeywell humidifier is trending for the wrong reason—here's what to buy instead
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Humidifiers are a must-have item in the winter—they can help you avoid all the suffering inherent with winter air, such as dry skin and hair or even a dry throat. Here at Reviewed, we’ve tested many humidifiers, including warm misters, ultrasonic humidifiers, and evaporators, so we know a thing or two about the best ones on the market. We've gone a step further and ranked them based on their ability to increase humidity, the ease with which they could be cleaned, and their general capability over time.
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However, other roundups have favored a particular ultrasonic humidifier that isn’t quite living up to the hype—and it's been getting trashed on the internet. The Honeywell HCM-350 Cool Mist Humidifier has been experiencing a slew of bad reviews, despite its high ranking on review sites. Below, we break down exactly why people hate this humidifier so much and what you should get instead.
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Why do people hate the Honeywell humidifier?
We've actually tested out the model ourselves, and found the experience to be a bit lacking, to say the least. While the Honeywell HCM-350 does a reasonable job of adding moisture to a room, its high price, noisiness, and lower output compared to the other humidifiers we tested landed it a lower on our list.
We also noted that online reviews had been unkind to the HCM-350, particularly with regard to how difficult the product is to clean, despite other review sites claiming how easy it is to do so. Amazon reviewers go on to say that over time the Honeywell humidifier stops preventing mold. Some even noted that the manufacturer no longer provides the UV-C sanitizing bulbs necessary to prevent the product from molding. Yikes.
But the main issue people seemed to have with this model was cleaning it since there's a vent that is nearly impossible to remove, making challenging to scrub any dust and mold that may have accumulated. They also harped on the fact that the filter needed to be changed every two weeks, as opposed to the two months that the manufacturer suggests.
At just over $60, many people seemed to be displeased with the Honeywell, considering its high price compared to other humidifiers that typical retail between $30 and $40.
What's the best humidifier you can buy?
If you're unsatisfied with the horror story that is the Honeywell, don't worry. There are some reliable humidifiers out there. A better cool mist option is the Taotronics Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier, which we named the best cool mist model in our testing. The Taotronics model excelled at increasing humidity in a room quickly and we found that it was actually easy to clean as well.
It also performed better than every cool mister we tried and offered an intuitive user experience. Plus, because it's a cool mister, it won't overheat your space. The Taotronics humidifier currently retails for $50, slightly below the Honeywell’s listed price, and reigned supreme in our lineup for its ability to achieve precise humidity levels, so we believe it's well worth the price.
Get the Taotronics Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier at Amazon for $49.99
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