Honeywell - Cool Moisture Humidifier, HCM350

Thanks for all the suggestions! I ended up going with a Honeywell HCM350B, hooked up to an Aeotec smart switch (probably overkill, but reliable). https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FJTVHKO It's hard to compare the last 48 hours with the previous few days as the temperatures are wildly different (like 30 degrees F warmer), but it does make a huge difference in my 20 foot by 20 foot room. In the last week, the humidity range was between ~17% and ~27%. Since the humidifier it's been ~26% - 43%.

I’ve been using one for years. They work great. I have a small room sized Honeywell. I think it was around $40 a few years ago. It’s only one gallon, so I have to refill once a day. I only need it during the winter, so it’s nice that it’s small and can be easily stored.

I also live in WI. Do not buy any ultrasonic humidifier. What you need is a wicking humidifier like the honeywell HCM350. Easy to clean. Don't need distilled water. 

No. they all suck and it is frustrating. An ideal situation is to have a whole home humidifier and just have to keep ontop of one filter and cleaning but of course not everyone can do that (and those have their issue too). I'm also a busy working parent and just decided to try going without a humidifier this year and see how it goes. Try to see how they do. In the past, i've utilized the Honeywell HCM350 and run what parts i can through the dishwasher and clean the rest as best as i can as often as i can (prob every 2-3 weeks realistically). I keep eying the Levoit 6000s but i don't have a spacious place and don't have excess funds at the moment or the capacity to try something and deal with returning it, etc. all this to say, as a parent, you are not alone, it is super frustrating and i wish there was an easy to use humidifer for our little kiddos. I grew up with sinus issues and at this point in my life, i feel like i've tried so many humidifiers and am just tired of it.

Been happy with our Honeywell evaporative humidifier. I’m not sure the model exactly as it’s older but the HCM350 seems to be at least very similar if not the same

Mine are all in small bedrooms; you’d probably need slightly larger models for a living room. I did use the HCM350 for a few years, but after a while, the threads on the tank lid stopped sealing properly which made it really annoying to refill. The model smaller than that didn’t have this issue as soon, but they stopped making them, which is when I bought the Walgreens version of the same size. These have seemed to last me about 6 years of daily use in winter only. Last year I bought an EV100 whose tank lid seems to be better designed (1/8 turn twist to lock, instead of threaded) but I’m not sure the airflow to/through the flat wick is as effective as the round ones. For a larger space, maybe Vornado’s larger models are worth checking out? The Venta ones look interesting, a different design altogether with no wick. I’d be interested to hear opinions on those!

I just replaced an HCM350 with an EV100 in my bedroom last year (this is my second winter with it) I had the Honeywell for 7-8 years, running it nighty from October through March. In Chicago for half those years and now in PA. The Honeywell worked great! The reason I replaced it was the threads on the cap of the tank stopped aligning correctly, so after filling the tank and doing my best to screw the lid back on (which ended up being a pain after a few years) it always dribbled a little when I inverted it back onto the base. Once it was there, it didn’t leak or anything, and the humidifier still performed well, so I lived with it for a year or two before I became fed up with it. The Vornado doesn’t have that issue, it doesn’t have the same type of screw-on lid. The lid of this tank kind of just twists ~1/8 turn to lock. It does run louder, so if that matters to you, the Honeywell is much quieter. Because of this, I almost never run the Vornado on high. Even the low speed is louder than the HCM’s medium. HCM’s low is almost inaudible. About the filter in the Vornado- it’s flat, and the incoming air hits it right in the center. So, even if you flip it periodically, the same middle band area gets dusty and crusty (minerals from hard water). Regardless, I seem to have been getting about 6 weeks out of the filter, same as the Honeywell. YMMV depending on usage/water hardness. TLDR: Vornado louder. Honeywell had tank lid issues after 5-6 years of use. Both are effective in a bedroom.

Smart switch and humidifier. I like my Honeywell HCM-350 a lot. Gets the whole room humid very quickly

Fwiw I hated the Honeywell HCM 350 after 6 months. The plastic tray still ends up pockmarked and eroded with regular use. Went through 2 units and gave up on humidifiers altogether.

Get a tank you can fit your hand into first, because if you can actually reach the bottom you can give it a real scrub and not just pretend. Most humidifiers eventually give out because scale builds up in hidden corners and the motor gets overworked... it all sneaks up on you. If you want something a bit more reliabel, a chunky ABS tank usually copes better than the thin clear plastic that can crack with barely any stress. Evaporative wick units usually stay cleaner than ultrasonics since ultrasonics can leave that white mineral dust everywhere and it looks awful. Simple dials usually survive longer. Touch panels can be fussy and once they go there's not much you can do about it. If the fan assembly comes apart it's easier to keep the inside from turning into a little mould patch though some people forget to do this and then wonder why it smells weird and why it's not moving air properly Smart features are fine as long as the electronics sit somewhere dry enough that steam drift won't bother them. If you want straightforward models that perform decently, the Vornado EV100 or EV200 and the older Honeywell HCM-350 are common choices. Skip the silent ultrasonic toys. They run quietly right up until they stop.

Biology always wins, no matter what the box claims. UV lights inside a humidifier tank barely hit anything once the water gets cloudy or a biofilm forms. Chlorine cartridges run out fast, microbes do not. The only reliable approach is picking a design that is hard to contaminate in the first place. A sealed evaporative wick chamber with no internal splash zones helps more than any gadget. A tank and base you can toss in a dishwasher lets you cook off the slime instead of scrubbing forever. A decent wick material slows things down, but it is still not magic. A simple water path with no hidden channels keeps mold from setting up shop. The Vornado Evap40 and the Honeywell HCM 350 fit that pattern, mostly because they rely on plain evaporation instead of pretending to be sterilizers. Any self cleaning UV badge is marketing. Those LEDs barely light the water, much less sanitize it. Simple geometry and heat tolerant parts outlive every gimmick humidifier.

Does your house have an HVAC system? If so, I purchased a whole home evaporative unit and it has been a blessing. I could not, for the life of me, get the humidity to even passable levels with multiple portable evaportive units (which makes sense as the whole home unit is putting upwards of 10 gallons a day into the air on the driest days of winter.) If not, we had portable Honeywell systems, which were well designed (but inherently limited on what they could do if you are in a super dry area.) If your water is hard, you will have to change the filter more often (as is the case with any evaporative unit).