Most articles on this subject seem to focus on the difference between warm and cool mist humidifiers. The decision is actually far more complicated than that, as there are several different types within those two categories. Let's take an entirely different approach, and ask three important questions:

1. Is noise important? The most popular type of cool mist humidifier uses a fan to help evaporate the water. Obviously, a fan can make quite a lot of noise, and can be very annoying when you are trying to sleep. Warm mist humidifiers that use a heating element can make a gurgling noise. This is much quieter than a fan, but it can still be a problem for some people. Ultrasonic humidifiers on the other hand are almost silent to the human ear, making them the obvious choice if you require a noise free option.

2. Do you have children? Warm mist humidifiers used a heating element to boil the water. This means there is a burn risk, and they are therefore not ideal for use with children.

3. How much humidification and do you require? Or, to put it another way, how many rooms do you have and how large are they? To humidify an entire building a whole house solution that will attach to your furnace is ideal. The particular model that you buy will be dependent on your current heating system as it will need to be compatible. For single rooms you have much more choice available. Generally speaking, cool mist humidifiers can cope with a larger space than warm mist. Each model will state clearly on it the size of area that it is designed to be used in. You simply have to match the capacity to the size of room.

Taking these three factors into account is a much better at way of choosing a humidifier. Hopefully you now have a clearer idea which type is right for your situation.