AIRCARE - MA0800 Mini-Console

+1 for Airfare. I have the AIRCARE MA0800CN, it's loud on max fan setting but works great!   I usually run it to the max while I'm at work then on low when I'm home. There's au auto features to, it's gets my 700ft appartement from around 20 to above 35% humidity without issues. 

Same here. I was struggling to find an evaporative humidifier. I currently have LEVOIT LV600HH, which claims to be one of the best ultrasonic humidifier. But: 1. it does not work with tap water. I used tap water with ultrasonic humidifier before and there is white powder buildup and I feel sick because of it. While using distilled water can be expensive and burdensome to buy on daily basis--It uses almost 2Gal water per day. 2. Most of parts are machine-washable, except one built-in vent on the base, which has the most dark-dirt buildup--I don't know where the dirt/germs are from, but it shows up the next morning after I clean it, and it's difficult to clean thoroughly because of the structure. So what I am looking for: 1. evaporative humidifier which can use tap water directly. 2. easy to clean, ideally the whole body is machine washable. 3. Low noise. The most satisfying part of LV600HH is its extremely low noise.

Look forward to your update. I turned out to buy a new AIRCARE 2.5 Gal. Evaporative Humidifier. 1. The noise is louder than the old ultrasonic one, but at the lowest fan level it is acceptable. 2. With a larger water tank it supports a higher room humidity level which is a plus. 3. I used tap water and didn't pay attention to the filter until 3 weeks later I noticed it's molded...I tried different methods to clean up and reuse the filter but failed. 4. I bought new filter and ProTec humidifier cleaner. So far it looks OK. We will see. Lessons learned: never clean the filter with bleach, it does sanitize and remove mold stain, but it takes much more effort to remove the residue from the filter, and it softens the filter that it can no longer stand within the humidifier :(

My apartment, which was around 1000 sq ft, was so dry that none of my plants were happy. I bought a portable 'whole home' one. It wasn't cool mist or warm. It was a wicking one with a little fan in the middle. It was cleaner and easier to use. Used less power, that's for sure because it was just a fan. It has a large capacity, I think 9 liters. To keep our apartment at 35%humidity, we'd fill morning and night. It also stops when it gets to the set humidity. Unlike all the others that just run full time. Not usefully in a space with open windows and doors. It was a game changer with my plants. I saw you're in the states so, this won't be helpful from a buy this one perspective, but it's what I own. Maybe it can be helpful to find something similar there. https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/aircare-ma0800cn-digital-whole-house-portable-console-style-evaporative-air-humidifier-white-9-46-l-0436199p.html

I have the smaller version, the Aircare MA0800. I've often gone through 3+ gallons per day. That's a *lot* of water it's dumping into the air. I only replace the wicking filter once a season. The Essick Air 1970 bacteriostatic treatment (recommended amount, every fill) seems to keep growth down. OP, you're going to need to do some level of maintenance with any humidifier. That said, I've found the maintenance requirement to be pretty minimal so far.

Look into an evaporative humidifier. The Aircare Mini Console works great for me in the winter.

Aircare Mini evaporative humidifier. It is perfect and easy to use.

Evaporative is the solution. Once you try one you will never go back willingly. I had one for several years that used a single wick replacement each season. The only maintenance I had to do was add the anti microbial solution to the tap water i dumped into the container every other day, it was spotless inside after months of continuous use. I had a fairly large aircare console that had a humidistat as a controller, it ran through 5 gallons in about two days all winter long.m Before I got an evaporative I went through several cool mist, ultrasonic, style humidifiers. Without fail they all became a petri dish of slime and mold within a week on average. I cleaned these things with vinegar, dish soap, antibacterial solutions, and finally bleach which only extended the average by a couple of days. These require DI water since any dissolved salts will get misted as well, precipitating as dust and being an irritant for many people. I've also read some comments about the slime and bacteria getting turned into mist and either spreading spores or endotoxin to cause problems. Tldr: evaporative is cheaper and easier to use

I would likely recommend an evaporative humidifier, not a warm mist one. The mist ones have a lot of problems, such as being more prone to bacteria growth and harder to clean. They also try to add more moisture than the air can actually hold, resulting in mineral condensation (white dust) appearing everywhere over time, especially if you have hard water. Aircare makes a decent console-style evap humidifier with a decent tank size and is pretty easy to clean. I used one for years until we moved to a house with a humidifier on the furnace. Now I use a smaller Honeywell evaporative humidifier upstairs only. It gets filled each evening, runs constantly all winter, and cleaned each weekend. I went through about half a dozen of those warm mist ones before converting. It didn't matter the brand, how much I treated the water of cleaned them, they were all pieces of junk that lasted only 1-2 years. Crane ones were probably the worst.

There are a few high end brands that might be superior, but most are very similar, within their categories. No BIFL humidifiers, and better ones will be costly. For longevity, evaporative seems to be the best type. I suggest you narrow it down to what will work for you and check reviews online. I wanted to add one lower priced gallon size evaporative model for my kitchen area and concluded they all suck and don't last too long. I'm guessing you're looking for a room size, vs whole house. First consider the type: warm mist, ultrasonic, evaporative. Warm mist will cost the most to operate. Ultrasonic often leaves a white dust on surfaces. Evaporative can be noisy due to the fan. Ease of use is key - filling and cleaning, lugging to sink, capacity. Every stinking plastic contraption that deals with air has a ridiculous amount of nooks, crannies, and fins that can be impossible to clean. Check consumables for cost of replacement wicks, filters. I use two whole house evaporative humidifiers along with water additives to inhibit bacteria. One is twenty years old, a Bemis hamper style, now AirCare. In winter they run 24/7 along with woodstoves. Wicks need cleaning or replacing monthly, $25 each. Some can hold up to a vinegar soak to give it another month.

They are, but I have had two running for multiple years between them. I had a large Air Care - i’m not sure why - but the fan mechanism leaked all of its lubricant and corroded badly. I assume user error haha. But even it lasted 3 years! Now I have my ~5yo Air Care running in our upstairs, and we got a new Vissani 6 gal this past year.