Consumer Reports Finds Best Humidifiers

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- With the cold weather, the air gets drier.

Add to that most heating systems dry out the air in your home and it's easy to see how a humidifier can come in handy this time of year.

Consumer Reports just tested more than a dozen to see which ones can keep your house comfortable all winter long.

Sales of humidifiers triple in winter months and a humidifier can help with symptoms like itchy eyes, sore throats and stuffy noses.

Consumer Reports tested 13 portable humidifiers that cost anywhere from about $30 all the way up to $180.

Testers checked how big an area the humidifiers claim to cover and then tested each one to see if it creates enough humidity to cover that claimed area.

In a special chamber, testers set the humidity to 30 percent and the temperature to 70 degrees. Each humidifier is then run on the highest setting for two hours.

"We also checked each machine to see how loud it is, how easy it is fill the tank, how often you have to clean and disinfect the tank and also how easy the controls are to read," Dan DiClerico with Consumer Reports said.

Consumer Reports top-rated a $170 humidifier from Air-O-Swiss. It covers 650-sq. ft. so it's good for all but the biggest rooms.

If you're looking to spend less, the Ultrasonic 360 from Safety First also rates excellent. While it doesn't have as many features, it's very quiet and costs just $30. It covers about 330-sq. ft. – more than enough for most bedrooms.