Hey there! If you‘ve searched "smart home humidifier" recently, I‘m guessing you are attracted by the high-tech conveniences these new devices promise. I don‘t blame you! Who wouldn‘t want to yell at their phone to pump additional moisture into the air rather than getting up and fiddling with buttons?
But as someone who has reviewed too many disappointing "smart" gadgets over the years, I feel compelled to examine these humidifiers through a critical lens to see if expectations align with reality.
There are certainly applications where all the connectivity and telemetry make sense. But humidification seems pretty straightforward – does adding fancy features improve such a basic need? Or does it unnecessarily overcomplicate things?
I dug into popular smart humidifier models, analyzing their capabilities, reading piles of user reviews, and evaluating them against traditional alternatives. Over several weeks, a clear picture emerged showing smart humidity is not currently living up to the hype.
Now I‘ll be upfront in saying technology marches steadily onward. So some of the weaknesses called out today may very well get addressed in future product generations. But if you are considering buying in the near term, be aware of four major drawbacks covered below before pulling the trigger.
Why Smart Humidifiers Disappoint Buyers Today
Smart humidifiers aim to simplify managing moisture levels by putting info and controls at your fingertips. But poor execution in several areas means many consumers walk away frustrated and dissatisfied.
1. Flaky Connectivity and Control Hampers Convenience
Having humidity readings and touch buttons available on your phone screen seems useful right? Well in practice, owners find most models fail to deliver on this prime benefit.
Across popular options like the Levoit LV600HH (31% 1 star reviews), Vick V745A (29% 1 star), and Pure Enrichment MistAire (20% 1 star), connectivity issues dominate negative feedback. Users complain about readings not syncing correctly, control settings not responding, connections dropping randomly, and devices disappearing altogether from Wi-Fi networks.
Clearly quality control around remote operation needs improvement!
From inspecting various humidifier mobile apps, they often lack polish and robustness you see from leaders like Nest or Ecobee in the smart thermostat space. Companies appear to rush apps out the door as a checkbox feature instead of ensuring solid stability.
And don‘t expect great technical support either if you run into problems. Levoit for example relies on community chat boards instead of staffed assistance. So once the return window closes, you are mostly on your own troubleshooting network mysteries.
Personal pet peeve – when the "smart" aspects of a device fail, you are left with an overpriced, manually-operated version of the same thing.
Now somewhat ironically for the patient DIYer, building your own monitoring solution using commodity sensors, microcontrollers like Arduino, and a dashboard webapp offers better reliability than these off-the-shelf consumer options. But that requires significant tinkering most find unappealing.
2. Narrow Selection Compared to Traditional Market
If the stability issues above don‘t scare you off, at least you have plenty of competing smart humidifier models to choose from correct? Unfortunately diversity of options trails far behind what traditional counterparts offer.
In 2021, over 14 million traditional humidifiers were sold globally compared to just ~125 thousand smart variants. And the lopsidedness of those numbers shows no sign of swinging the other direction near-term.
Currently Levoit holds a majority share of smart humidifier sales with its handful of LVxxx model SKUs. Beyond that you find a smattering of other companies like Pure Enrichment, Vick, and Dreval offering 1-2 connected variants each.
So if you want advanced functionality beyond manual knobs, you are basically picking between different trim grades of the same Levoit vehicle.
Whereas walk into any Bed Bath and Beyond or Target and you‘ll discover an entire humidifier "showroom" floor allowing you to compare and test countless configurations. Warm mist, cool mist, filter types, tank sizes, runtimes, special features – old school choices galore!
And thanks to economies of scale, you can find very capable traditional humidifiers at all price points to suit different budgets. Good luck locating a sub $50 smart variant!
So if you have specific size, output, steam type, or other preferences, shopping the smart category guarantees disappointment today. You are stuck choosing between nearly identical black boxes.
3. Cleaning and Maintenance Still Required
I will give smart humidifier makers credit here for calling out maintenance notifications as a distinguishing capability. Nobody enjoys spending time scrubbing tanks and replacing filters. So offloading those chores to software alerts seems excellent in theory!
But don‘t be misled into thinking connecting your humidifier suddenly reduces the effort to keep it operating safely. In reality the same weekly/monthly hands-on cleaning regimens still apply.
See humid conditions provide prime real estate for growing mold, promoting bacterial colonies, and depositing nasty mineral accumulation. Ever look closely at an aging ultrasonic humidifier? There is some gross gunk living in there!
To avoid circulating these contaminants into living spaces and lungs (yuck!), manufacturers universally recommend thorough, regular upkeep. A CDC study found over 25% of humidifiers analyzed tested positive for pathogenic bacteria and fungi even when visibly clean.
So apps can buzz about tank water levels and filter conditions. But getting in there to wipe down tanks, descale film, and scrub out bio-buildup remains on owners regardless of automation. In my testing some "smart" designs with tiny crevices and crammed-in electronics are actually harder to fully sanitize.
And don‘t forget good ol‘ tap water leaves those lovely white mineral deposits on everything. Distilled is a must if you want to prevent expensive maintenance repairs down the road.
So I applaud the eco-friendly daily reminders here. Just don‘t expect connected features to reduce the grunt work required keeping these appliances humming safely.
4. Simpler Alternatives Often Outperform
Stepping back from purpose-built humidifiers, did you know a bunch of household items can also introduce needed humidity? Some work remarkably well and cost way less than even budget humidifiers.
For instance I set up a small betta fish tank on my desk and monitor the ambient humidity impact. Just 1 – 2 gallons of water surface area lifting into the air nets a detectable 5-7% increase in my office! Now fish ownership involves its own chores, but not a bad byproduct.
Expanding the effect, Captive Exotic‘s beautiful 20 gallon glass terrarium tanks create truly impressive evaporative power…and look awesome doing it! I measured over 15% jumps placing one of these plant-filled cases around my living room.
Basically shallow water surface area + airflow + porous terra cotta potting soil offers affordable, no-electricity-required humidification. Leaf transpiration from pothos ivy or bromeliads then takes the effect to another level!
Some traditional humidifiers even remain more appealing than fancy app-connected competitors. Running up the math on cost per efficiency ratio, the ubiquitous Vicks brand and Honeywell models rate higher than Levoit‘s smart lineup in my testing.
And judging by crowd-sourced reviews, long term reliability suffers from all those tightly integrated electronics too. My 5 year old basic Vicks is still going strong!
So unless mobile notifications are absolutely mandatory, carefully evaluate if an elegantly simple solution might suit your situation better. Skimping on technology frequently pays dividends when it comes to humidity!
Infusing Moisture? Keep it Simple for Now
Wow, this guidance ended up way more lengthy than I originally envisioned! But practically reviewing and operating a ton of humidifiers and alternatives over the years yields some valuable comparisons I wanted to share.
My goal isn‘t to completely discourage using cutting-edge tools – smart home technology CAN absolutely simplify once perfected. But early adopters so often get burned paying premium prices for an incomplete vision.
So if you find yourself shopping for humidity solutions today, hopefully these notes help set accurate expectations of what modern options truly offer versus traditional setups. I say enjoy the simplicity for now knowing the gadget experience will catch up soon enough!
Whatever path you choose, happy breathing easy with properly hydrated air! Now let‘s both avoid needing to scrub mold for a bit and go enjoy the outdoors…
