In the last year, we got a rather surprising bit of information about our website. Our site’s metrics for the last three months showed that our article on travel humidifiers gets significant traffic. I was surprised to learn this since, when I published it, it got very little traction. It seems, though, that in the time since, people have been looking for travel humidifiers in a way that they weren’t before. Why that is I can’t say, but I’m glad more people are paying attention to it because dry rooms are a very solvable problem.
The Problem
Winter air brings a drop in humidity. The reason is simple, cold temperatures reduce the amount of water the air can hold. When you heat that air up, like we do in our homes and offices, it can now hold more water because it is warmer but it still had the water squeezed out by the cold temps and is now dryer. This makes all the water in your body want to leave through your skin and dry you out.
To combat this, I place a small humidifier in my bedroom – and the rest the house for that matter. Without it, the dry indoor air causes my sinus to clog and skin to crack. My dryer complexion doesn’t play nicely in these conditions, no matter how much I love the snow. Of course, the humidity problem isn’t isolated to my home, it also rears its ugly head most when I’m traveling.
Earlier this year, I was on a cruise through Alaska in May. It’s still cold up there during that part of the year and my cabin got very dry. Now, the Regent Seven Seas crew was so amazing that they provided a humidifier for me, but that’s not something that I expect of cruise lines. Without that humidifier, the cabins were dry enough that it was starting to cause problems.
Enter the solution – travel humidifiers.
The Search For The Best Travel Humidifier
It’s been more than a year since the first travel humidifier article was published. The intervening months did not bring much innovation in the product field, but it did bring some – and it was very welcome. Though most travel humidifiers use a wick, some new ones use a water bottle that drains into a basin. A neat idea that I decided to test with two new products in addition to the ones I already had. Here’s the lineup:
Pure Enrichment PureSpa XL
Pure Enrichment – MistAire
Homdis Portable Humidifier
Homedics Portable Humidifier
SmartDevil Portable Mini Humidifier
I need to be clear about the testing below. Two of the products I tested for this are no longer available to purchase in the versions that I own. However, nearly identical models are available for purchase on each, so I have tested the older versions because no meaningful updates to the mechanics of the humidifier were shown.
- The previous SmartDevil humidifier has received a refresh and the original version that I own is no longer available. However, the renewed product seems identical in every specification and the updates seem to be to the appearance and it has an essential oil pad.
- A similar refresh has happened with the Homedics humidifier. The product is still being made and available through many retailers (Amazon is not one of them), but it appears a mostly cosmetic update took place. The listings for the new model show a glossier finish and it now includes an essential oil aroma pad on the side. Aside from that, the model seems identical, it even comes in the same box.
Specs and Initial Thoughts
Pure Enrichment - PureSpa | Pure Enrichment - MistAire | Homdis | SmartDevil | Homedics | |
Size | 12”h x 5.9”w | 3.5”h x 5.5”w x 2.5”d | 4.5”h x 4.25”w 1.25”d | 5”h x 3.75”w | 7”h x 2.5”w |
Tank Capacity | 2000 ML | No Included Tank | No Included Tank | 500 ML | 251 ML (8.5 oz) |
Stated Coverage | 350 Sq Ft | 160 Sq Ft | Bedroom | N/A | 100 – 300 Sq Ft |
Power Source | Wall connection | Wall connection | USB-C (no battery) | USB-C (no battery) | USB-C & Battery |
Run Time | 50 hrs/full tank | Depends on tank size | Depends on tank size | Up to 12 hrs/18 hrs | Up to 10 hrs/3.5 hrs |
Speeds | Variable dial | Variable dial | Continuous/Intermittent | Continuous/Intermittent | Continuous/Intermittent |
Extras | Ambient light, essential oil diffusing | Night Light, Essential oil diffuser | Essential oil diffuser |
In my previous testing, the Pure Enrichment – PureSpa was the only device that really moved the needle on humidity. Its capacity and output far outperformed the other two devices. To be fair, the SmartDevil and Homedics didn’t claim to perform the same way as the Pure Enrichment but the results were clear.
This time around, a new idea of using a water bottle as the tank really changed the game. It meant that the devices could be much smaller because that didn’t include their own tanks. Packing both the Pure Enrichment MistAire and the Homedis was a breeze, far easier than any of the others. In addition, having the water bottle be to tank means that they are replaceable should the bottle break or need to be disposed of.
Pure Enrichtment PureSpa
Still, the Pure Enrichment PureSpa has a much larger in capacity and size than the other of the others and should be able to humidify a room much longer periods. The downside is that it’s not exactly luggage friendly, but it’s still feasible to fit it in a carry-on. Right out of the box it feels very nice and looks well made. Turning it on reveals an ambient light that’s nicer than I expected – frankly I didn’t think I would care about it at all, but it’s pretty enough where it adds to the overall value.
Meanwhile, the Pure Enrichment Mist Aire seems to have an ultrasonic plate similar in size to its larger sister product, which could mean that the output is similar. The build quality is just as good as Pure Enrichment’s other product, which is also a good sign. No ambient light with this unit, but I’m not sure most people care about that.
The SmartDevil is quite compact and easy to pack in any luggage, but with the smaller size comes no claims about coverage. It too has a light as part of its features, although it doesn’t change color like the PureSpa. But if you like having a small light to guide you in a dark room, then it’s perfect. Perhaps the most surprising thing is that the SmartDevil feels sturdy. Yes, a hard fall onto tile or cement floors would likely crack it, but I think this thing can take few hits.
SmartDevil Humidifier
Homedics made an even smaller unit than the SmartDevil, capable of fitting in a cupholder. It’s also battery powered, unlike the SmartDevil, so the Homedics is the ultimate in portability. While its coverage and humidifying power is likely to be the weakest, that portability gives it an edge that the others don’t have. The battery also allows it to be put in places that don’t have easy access to an outlet. That might not seem like a concern, but if you’re a frequent traveler, you know how often hotel rooms or cruise cabins don’t have convenient power outlets.
Last in our list is the Homdis, not to be confused with Homedics. It easily wins most portable, it’s not even close. The flat design can fit into a purse or briefcase without any issues or need to make room. It is seriously small and that’s not something to scoff at when portability is an issue. Like the Pure Enrichment MistAire, it uses generic water bottles that you would buy in any convenience store.
It’s not all rosy with these three though. The Homedics and the SmartDevil come with USB-C cords included, but not a wall connection. To use either you’ll have to provide USB power, meaning bringing a separate charger or USB hub. Surprisingly, the Homdis does include a wall connection, so good on them.
All included USB-C cables were of decent quality, but they weren’t very long. I’d recommend that you purchase a 6ft / 2m long USB-C cable – I’ve got several and they are a worthy investment. Here’s the exact one I use.
Homdis Humidifier
More downsides with both the SmartDevil and Homedics, their construction uess a wick style water basin. This means that a cotton wick draws water up from a basin into the aerosolizing chamber. These wicks will need to be changed from time to time and it is an ongoing cost.
Further, the SmartDevil, Homedics, and Homdis all have internal components exposed to water that are impossible to clean without breaking the device apart. In my experience with humidifiers, you need to clean things out and these designs makes it very hard to do. You could possibly disinfect the device by running a dilution of white vinegar through it while it’s running, but I couldn’t find that recommended by the manufacturer. It will also make everything smell like vinegar while running, so only do so when prepared.
Similar cleaning concerns also come up with the Pure Enrichment PureSpa, this time with the tank. I’ve owned several different ultrasonic basin humidifiers. One of the things that is essential to do with these is disinfect the tank and basin. Doing so with the basin is easy, but the tank is much harder. The fill cap for the tank is the size of a quarter, which means manually cleaning it and rinsing the disinfectant out is very difficult. Not impossible, but a serious pain. I’m sure that they could have fitted a larger fill cap to this if they wanted.
Note: I purchased a Smart Water bottle from the store for the tests with the Homdis and the MistAire. I chose this because I see these everywhere when I travel, but it isn’t the only bottle that would fit. Indeed both devices come with multiple adapters to use with different bottle heads and screws.
Testing
I ran each of these humidifiers through the same test. They were placed on the floor of a bedroom that’s just slightly larger than 150 sq. ft. The humidifier ran in the room over a period of 3 hours and the humidity was monitored at 2 feet and 6 feet away over that time, measured on the floor. During the 4th hour of testing, I moved the hygrometers to table height and took a reading at the same distance from the humidifier.
In my opinion, the 4th hour reading is the most consequential and informative, but there is a reason for testing at floor height. All of these models show their use as being directly next to your while using it. They are referred to as desk or personal space humidifiers. Because of that, I wanted to understand what the humidity is when used in the most favorable conditions for them.
The PurSpa has a nice glow to it, but will it retain the title of best travel humidifier? Oooohhhh… (dramatic noises)
In between each test I gave 24 hours for the room to return to a baseline humidity level and temperature. This will vary between each test as the ambient humidity and temperature changes somewhat from day to day, but the conditions are very close for each one.
It’s important to note that we are employing two hygrometers (that’s a device that measures humidity). Every hygrometer, even of them same model isn’t perfectly calibrated, unless you shell out for laboratory grade ones, which I haven’t. I know there to be differences in the baseline readings between the two that I used, but the change in humidity is still valid.
Results
After running all the tests, here are the results.
6 Foot Sensor | Pure Enrichment - PureSpa | Pure Enrichment - MistAire | Homdis | SmartDevil | Homedics |
Baseline Humidity | 40% | 43% | 42% | 41% | 41% |
Starting Temp | 67° | 69° | 67° | 67° | 68° |
1 hr | 46% | 47% | 45% | 43% | 44% |
2 hr | 48% | 49% | 45% | 46% | 45% |
3 hr | 50% | 50% | 45% | 46% | 45% |
4 hr | 46% | 47% | 44% | 43% | 42% |
2 Foot Sensor | |||||
Baseline Humidity | 36% | 35% | 40% | 38% | 37% |
Starting Temp | 67° | 69° | 67° | 67° | 68° |
1 hr | 55% | 80% | 57% | 50% | 49% |
2 hr | 55% | 80% | 57% | 50% | 49% |
3 hr | 57% | 83% | 43% | 51% | 50% |
4 hr | 46% | 49% | 43% | 41% | 40% |
Conclusions
The Pure Enrichment PureSpa performing quite well is not a surprise, it did so last year and it’s a compact but effective humidifier. The Pure Enrichment MistAire performing on par with the PureSpa, however, is surprising. It’s compact size lead me to think it would be less powerful, but it is not.
The Homdis performing similar to the SmartDevil and Homedics is to be expected. They all use similar aerosolizing techniques, even if the Homdis does not have a wick, which I think is an improvement. Although the humidity did improve, it wasn’t by as much as the Pure Enrichment models. Close by, as in next to your face, they seem to do a bit more and perhaps in a smaller room they would be able to move the needle further.
Clear Winner
There should be no doubt that the Pure Enrichment MistAire is the new champ. It put out similar moves in humidity to the larger version and is an order of magnitude easier to pack. Additionally, the design using a generic water bottle means that it is easier to clean and/or replace the tank than the PureSpa. The MistAire basin is also easy to clean and feels sturdy.
The Pure Enrichment MistAire is the best travel humidifier.
This one is already in my bag for a trip I have in a few weeks, and I will likely never travel without it. Until I see something from a different maker in a similar form factor, I won’t go searching for anything else. This unit is cleanable, compact, sturdy, and powerful. It is the full package.
Runner Up
The Pure Enrichment PureSpa is now the second best travel humidifier. It combines a large tank capacity, serious humidifying power, and the capability to fit inside carry-on luggage in one device. Yes, it is much larger than the others and will take up a lot of space in your bags. I’ve traveled a lot in winter and been so terribly miserable that this is a tradeoff I’d be willing to make if we didn’t have MistAire. Still, there’s one thing that the PureSpa has – tank capacity. Being able to let this thing run for 8+ hours is a big deal that none of the others can tackle.
The Rest?
The other three devices all offer something unique that may matter to you. The SmartDevil has a night light and is more potent than the Homdis and Homedics. The Homdis is ultra compact, so it’s a major space saver and it works with generic water bottles. Finally, the Homedics has a battery and could be used in a car with ease. If any of those features matter to you, they’re worth considering. Still, for my money, the MistAire wins hands down.
