Help me choose an air humidifier!

In My Humble Opinion
1

A little less than a year ago I moved into a studio apartment, renting. I’ve since learned, that most of the year relative humidity drops extremely low in my low-end penthouse. It’s been sitting at ~20 % RH for a while now, down from the 40 % RH or so last fall. This is not only unhealthy, it also messes up my bass and archery gear, ie. precision-made wood objects. Low-tech solutions such as drying laundry indoors only boosts the RH for a while.

I’m thinking of buying a portable air humidifier to raise the RH back to 45 % or so, good for me and my stuff. There are tons of models to choose from, vaporizers, ultrasonics & what-have-you, at many price points. I’d like to hear your experiences on using air humidifiers in living quarters - what to look for, what to avoid? What do I need to >double the RH in my 375 sq.ft. bedsitter? I’d hate to spend money on a machine that only got me few precious points in the RH scale, and I’d really appreciate quiet operation, but my means aren’t unlimited - I’d avoid several-hundred-dollar appliances, if possible.

Or should I just place a half-dozen vats of standing water around my joint and deal with it?

2

I’ve used the Crane cool mist type before, like this. I liked it well enough. I now live where I don’t particularly need one, so I no longer have one.

Before that I tried one that required a filter and didn’t like it, but I don’t remember the brand.

3

I would get an evaporative humidifier. To my knowledge, all the rest of them will leave residue all over your stuff. I have this one and it humidifies my entire apartment (about 700 square feet). It is annoying to have to keep buying filters though - they don’t last very long and are pretty expensive.