Rather than picking any ordinary humidifier, it is essential to know various kinds of humidifiers available on the market and how each can benefit your family members in the best possible way.
A filter-less humidifier is a unique piece of innovative technology that is becoming more popular among various types.
Not only does it manage to provide a great many health benefits, but it also helps in getting rid of all the hassles of cleaning and changing the dirty humidifier filters now and then.
Before reviewing the best filter-free humidifier models, let us check out what is unique about these types of humidifiers and whether you should go with them.
Just in case you are short on time or already aware of what the filter-free humidifiers are, you can proceed and buy your best model filter-free humidifiers here.
Benefits of A Filter-Free Humidifier?
One of the significant reasons why a filter-less or filter-free humidifier is used is it alleviates sinus, upper respiratory problems, skin allergies like eczema, and ear problems due to colds without the need for much maintenance.
Not using a filterless humidifier means you are exposed to all those bacteria and viruses that are slowly building up in the cartridges and are eventually released in the air that you breathe in.
And just in case you forget, cleaning/changing these unhygienic filters can severely impact your family’s health.
Overall, we can say that filterless humidifiers come with the following few advantages:
- Easy to use and clean
- Do not need to replace the filters
- It is much more affordable than other models
- They are noiseless and are thus best for nursery
7 Best Filterless Humidifier Reviews
Like other ordinary humidifiers, Filter-free humidifiers come in two varieties, i.e., cool mist and warm mist.
Both of these use a grid to remove the dust instead of filters and are therefore easy to use and clean.
As these humidifiers do not include filters, you only need to clean the outer body of your humidifier device at least once a week to avoid an unhygienic environment.
After determining your family requirements, you can choose between a cool mist or warm mist filter-free humidifiers.
Just to make your comparison and buying decision more accessible, we have provided you with the best reviews below. Check them out and pick the right one.
Best COOL Mist Filter-free Humidifier
1- Crane Filter-free Humidifier
CRANE ultrasonic cool mist humidifier is a top favorite device that fits wonderfully into all the categories of the best humidifier (including the best filterless design).
This comes with a 1-gallon tank that fits most of the bathroom sinks for easy refilling.
Also, it features an auto shut-off feature that shuts off the device safely when the water tank empties.
Above all, the filterless design makes the maintenance of the unit a breeze.
So if you are planning to buy an excellent filter-free humidifier for your home or office, getting Crane USA Ultrasonic Humidifier can be wise.
2- Vicks Filter-free Cool Mist Humidifier
Humidifiers such as Vicks filter-free humidifiers are the right choice for a pleasant environment at home without any fuss.
The unit is quiet in operation and is good enough for medium-sized rooms or office areas.
Being integrated with a scent pad heater, it allows using its soothing scent from the installed Vicks VapoPads.
Instead of feeling trouble with regular replacing filters of outdated humidifiers, it is advisable to choose Vicks cool mist humidifier for baby.
Believe me; this can save you lots of cash every year, which you may need to spend on the upkeep of your baby’s health.
3- Honeywell Filter-free Cool Mist Humidifier
Honeywell HUL535B Filter Free Cool Mist Humidifier is another great filterless humidifier unit that comes at the most competitive price.
If you are concerned about the looks and design of the humidifier in your room, this is the one to go for.
With the best ultrasonic technology and contemporary control knob, the unit disperses fine visible cool mist from which you can easily get soothing moisture all year.
As this unit runs quietly for about 24 hours, it is best to place it in small or medium-sized rooms, offices, gyms, or yoga rooms.
4- Rosewill Ultrasonic Humidifier Filter-free
Rosewill Filterless Ultrasonic Humidifier is one of the best filter-free humidifiers you can consider while buying.
This Rosewill filter-free humidifier comes with a see-through level indicator and a built-in soft glow LED nightlight that makes the operation more accessible in the dark.
Hardware functions in a quiet mode, and with just one filling of the 5L water tank, it lasts for more than 24 hours.
This unit provides an attractive design with a 360-degree rotation nozzle to regulate the mist’s direction.
The adjustable dual outlets to give all-round humidification to the surrounding areas is an added feature of the RHHD-14002 model.
This helps provide you the personalized comfort to your body as per your desire.
Furthermore, the easy-carry tank is provided with a built-in handle, which makes refilling convenient.
5- PureGuardian Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier
PureGuardian comes in a very sleek and space-saving design and can be fitted anywhere in a corner.
With its .5 gallon tank capacity, this PureGuardian filter fee humidifier can continuously run for about 30 hours to produce a cool mist in a small room or area.
Furthermore, the device uses Silver Clean technology to purify the water (kills all the bacteria and germs in water) in the tank and to circulate fresh and clean air in the house.
Best WARM Mist Filter-free Humidifier
6- Vicks Warm Mist Filter-free Humidifier
Vicks warm mist filterless humidifier V745A is specially designed to keep your room warm when it is freezing outside and a bit cool when it is too hot outside.
This whisper-quiet best Vicks humidifier with warm mist operation comes with 2 output settings to get an ideal comforting environment in the room.
Also, it features a medicine cup that can be used to add inhalants (like Vicks VapoSteam) for faster relief of a baby with a cold.
7- Honeywell Warm Mist Filter-free Humidifier
Honeywell warm mist filterless humidifier HWM705 is known for its ultra-quiet operation to produce a warm, comforting mist in the room.
Adding the most needed moisture into the air helps in combating the effects of dry, harsh winter air.
This also comes with a medicine cup to use the inhalants when required. The reset indicator light is also present in the unit to let you know when to refill the tank.
Filter Vs. No-Filter Humidifier
The basic difference between a no-filter humidifier and a commonly filtered humidifier is the absence of replaceable filters that makes the unit easy to clean and maintain.
✅ Filtered humidifier units generally come with a removable and replaceable filter to remove dust, contamination, minerals, bacteria, and viruses present in the water before the moisturized air is expelled out into the atmosphere.
While using these filtered humidifiers (with wick filters or permanent filters), it is important that you clean and change the filter as soon as it gets saturated. Failing can have a serious impact on your health.
✅ Non-Filtered humidifier (with no-filters), on the other hand, comes with an electrostatic charge dish, cartridge, or an antibacterial stick.
This acts as a built-in filter to demineralize the water and help remove the impurities (minerals, bacteria, and viruses) present in the water partially.
As there are no add-on costs of filters (or evaporated pads) to clean or replace, these units are often less expensive to buy and use.
However, it is essential to note that as these filterless units do not include filters, they are not much powerful in filtering out the debris, mineral particles, and harmful bacteria from the water.
Can You Run Humidifier without Filter?
If you are trying to ask that “do you need a filter to run a humidifier?”
The simple answer is no; having a filter in your humidifier unit is unnecessary to run. This means you can surely run a humidifier without a filter.
Filters are usually required in evaporative cool mist models. These self-cleaning humidifiers help filter out the moisturized air from the machine, making them clean and healthy to breathe.
Ultrasonic cool mist humidifiers that work with tap water also require you to have a proper filtration system to deliver a cool mist of clean air.
Models that do not come with filters should be used with purified distilled water to avoid possible risks and damages.
When NOT To Use Filterless Humidifier?
Though using a humidifier, which does not contain a filter, is a trending idea, based on certain situations and weather conditions, it is often not recommended to use them at home.
Some of these situations may include:
✗ When you live in an area with high pollution
Dust, pollen, pet dander, and many other allergens can be a severe problem for many.
If you reside in an area with a high amount of dust or allergens around you, it is best to consider using a high-quality premium-grade filtered humidifier rather than a filter-free unit.
✗ When your tap water contains much salt or minerals
Using a filterless humidifier is generally not recommended when there are too many impurities present in your tap water or if you want to use hard water in your humidifier.
This is due to the fact that non-filtered humidifiers are not much efficient in removing these visible impurities or bacteria from the water.
These can hence cause further complex conditions, especially for those suffering from respiratory disorders, breathing problems, or allergies.
✗ When you have a sick infant or an asthmatic at home
Your sick baby or an asthmatic family member can be a matter of high concern for you.
The germs, smoke, and allergens present in the environment can worsen their condition, so if not filtered out properly, you should choose to have a filtered humidifier unit for them and not a filter-less device.
✗ When you want to use inhalants or aroma oils in a humidifier
Adding inhalants – like Vicks liquid in a humidifier – is a great way to relieve baby cold and other seasonal allergies.
But as filter-free humidifiers are less efficient in filtering, they may interfere with the inhalant and can increase the chances of getting the air contaminated.
If you want to use some specific inhalant or liquid in your unit regularly, it is best to get a warm mist humidifier or vaporizer with filters.
These are highly efficient in filtering the air before misting, thereby ensuring that you are benefited most from these inhalants.
Features to Consider when Buying A Filterless Humidifier
Modern filter-less humidifiers are available in various forms, like they can be warm, cool, or ultrasonic. Additionally, they may have many smart features.
Although all the features are not helpful, there are a few that are important for your use. Some of the most common ones you should look at are as follows:
1- Usage
First of all, before purchasing the humidifier, it is important to think about where and for whom the humidifier will be used.
If you want to use it in a child’s room, then select a humidifier with a cool-mist variety (as they are completely safe and don’t have any risk of accidents with hot water).
You should choose a cool-mist filter-free humidifier that is easy to fill from the top if you are placing it in an elderly room.
2- Noise
Warm mist and ultrasonic humidifiers have no fan to blow the vapor into the atmosphere, so they are the quietest humidifiers.
The noise in humidifiers is mainly because of the fan. And this noise varies in humidifiers depending on the speed you choose.
The fan will whisper at a slow speed, but at high speed, it will be loud and disturb you while you are sleeping.
You should test the humidifier before buying to check its noise level. Warm mist humidifiers may make some noise, but they do not make so much that they will disturb or distract you from your work or sleep.
If you have no problem with running fan noise, purchase a humidifier with an operating noise of less than 30dB.
3- Humidistat
All humidifiers don’t have this feature. This feature of humidifiers maintains a healthy moisture level in your home automatically.
Hence it is good to purchase a humidifier in which the humidistat turns off the machine when the desired humidity level gets reached.
4- Auto shut-off
The auto shut-off feature avoids the risk of the humidifier breaking down. Usually, the water reservoir needs to be refilled every 2 to 3 days.
So, if you don’t keep on checking the water levels, you may face problems. Therefore, the auto shut-off feature preserves your humidifier from burning out.
5- Night Light
Some humidifier brands have interchangeable night light settings, while some humidifiers have power light indicators that act as a bright beacon in a dark room.
If you are a light sleeper, then place the humidifier where you won’t be disturbed by the light, or you can also choose a humidifier that has a feature that lets you turn it off.
6- Coverage area
When purchasing the humidifier, check the maximum coverage capacity. Generally, the medium-priced humidifiers have a coverage area of roughly 200 to 500 square feet.
More expensive humidifiers have a double or triple range than that of the medium-priced.
The mist output will tell you the capability of each unit. The higher the output, the faster your spaces reach the correct humidity.
So, if you are looking for a high-capacity humidifier, then you should opt for a whole-house humidifier that can easily meet the need of everyone and it also works as a money saver, as you no longer have to spend on buying another one.
7- Water Tank Size
The water tank size has the same concept as that of the coverage area and capacity. The size of the water tank will tell you at what time you have to fill it.
Most humidifiers can run for 2 to 3 days if operated at their lowest setting, while some humidifiers can last only for a few hours, which is frustrating, especially if you have to run them for a whole night.
Some of the units also come with a water tank indicator. This indicator of the humidifier tells you to refill the reservoir when the tank drains off.
8- Ease of Filling and Cleaning
Many humidifiers are difficult to refill, and spills are common when fitting the water reservoir.
So, it’s essential that you check that the tank used in a humidifier is easy to remove and refill, especially when you are buying a humidifier for the elderly.
To avoid harmful bacteria entering your home environment, maintaining your humidifier is also very important.
Some filterless humidifiers have quirky shapes, and it is very hard to reach places for their maintenance.
Therefore, when buying, you can read the reviews to check the ease of cleaning and working and their complaints – the cleaning of the unit should be effortless.
9- Aromatherapy Options
Many people like the soothing qualities of aromatherapy oils. From these types of humidifiers, they can humidify and scent their rooms with medicinal additives like lemon oil, tea tree, and many others.
You can take two benefits from this. First, the vapor can relieve sinuses, and second, the essential oils open the airways making it easier to breathe.
Aromatherapy oils also lower stress levels, ease the level of depression, and acts as an aid to mental wellbeing.
10- Budget
A filter-free humidifier can be purchased for between $30 to $300 price range.
If you have the money in hand, you can buy a humidifier at any price, but if you don’t have enough money to spend, then purchase a humidifier within your purchasing capacity.
If you have only a small coverage area, then purchase a small unit humidifier and save some money in the long run. You can purchase such humidifiers at lower prices.
If you want to purchase a whole-house humidifier, you can buy a larger one.
But remember, they aren’t cheap. You should also consider the impact of a furnace humidifier on your indoor air before installing it.
So, check out the price of different humidifiers and go for the one which suits your budget, requirement, and preference well.
Overall, filterless humidifiers are absolute things to have in your home, especially if you have elders or kids at home.
Filter-free humidifiers are offered at an affordable range. Hence you can choose one that suits your home and family requirements without thinking of overboard spending.
Regardless of which humidifier you choose (filtered or non-filtered), care that you take proper steps in cleaning and maintaining them to avoid any risk they can pose.
Do not forget to read and follow the advice as suggested in the instructions manual to get the risk-free humidification without any hassle.
Meen Smith is a nurse by profession who loves writing online, spending time with her family and caring for the elderly. She has already worked as an associate editor on various moms, babies, home appliances, kitchen, and healthy living blogs. In her spare time, she also enjoys drawing, reading/writing kindle eBooks and improving her skills a bit.