crane teardrop humidifier

Winter is a time when things can get really dry inside. I have read that dryness can sometimes make it easier to get a cold, although I don't really know that to be true. Based on experience, it does lead to dryer skin, and can even lead to nose bleeds. We have a wood stove and that seems to make it even dryer. I have mixed feelings about humidifiers, but wanted to have one to use when we needed. I have looked around for the best humidifiers that are also affordable. We first purchased the Honeywell Cool Mist Humidifier which I thought was a good option. This does seem to work very well, but I didn't love the filter aspect. It seemed to get grimy kind of quick and regardless I don't like something staying moist for at least a month and any possible bacteria getting pushed into the air. So we found the Crane Teardrop Humidifier. I had read about ultrasonic humidifiers and the possibility of a fine dust if there are many minerals in the water (if you have hard water for example), but I haven't experience that personally. So far, I have only used distilled water which is the best water to use for this reason.

The teardrop is a sweet and simple shape, has a little design aspect to it which helps it fit into a room (or nursery where we have it now). They have many colors too, but I like the simplicity of this one. The on/off button is large and easy to find, which is helpful in the dark, and it is adjustable from low to high. Mainly I put it on high, and have it on for short amounts of time, which seems to be efficient.
 

The very top part comes off and you can rotate it to change the direction of the moist air. It also keeps any residual moisture contained inside there...you can see some of the drops of water. The humidifier is pretty quiet. Our nursery is fairly small, so sometimes I feel like our daughter doesn't want it on. I don't keep it on all night though either way. I like to put it on during naps or at the beginning of her sleeping at night, then turn it off.

Above is the bottom of the top teardrop shape that holds the water. The protruding cap screws on and off and this is where you fill it with water. I like that the basin is easy to get to and everything is fairly light and accessible. I wish that the inside of the teardrop could be easier to scrub if one wanted. Because there is only a smallish hole, I am unable to scrub the inside of the container. I don't know if this is necessary, but I would like that option. For example if the whole bottom section was able to detach.

This is the base. When re-filling, the base needs to be on the surface first and then the teardrop shape gets put on top once filled with water. As you can see above there is clear text instructing one to empty the basin daily and disinfect weekly. This is important. All it means is taking the base with you to the sink when re-filling. The most important thing about using any humidifier is cleaning/disinfecting and using fresh water. Disinfecting the base with white vinegar is simple. It gets a little grime that you wouldn't notice was there. When the humidifier is assembled and turned on, there is a light bulb that is green when filled with enough water and shines red when empty. This can be helpful, but I wish there was a way to have the light off at all times. I like that this humidifier is cool-mist as opposed to warm-mist. I am not comfortable with heating water in plastic and then having that blow into the air like some of the products I came across when looking into this! I am happy with this humidifier overall, unless there happens to be a glass, ceramic, or stainless steel humidifier in the future! 

*thank you to Crane for providing me with this humidifier to try out