Cool-Mist Germ Free Humidifier

This cool mist humidifier is sold a Brookstone and online through a company called KAZ. I purchased it over a year ago when my daughter got her first stuffy nose. We were using a cheap Vick's cool-mist vaporizer but hated how quickly it was developing bacteria and that it left a weird white dust all over the exposed surfaces in our room. Our pediatrician strongly recommended that we stick with a cool-mist humidifier (over warm) so I started researching.

The Slant/Fin humidifier has a UV bulb inside which kills 99.9% of germs, so it's not spreading bacteria throughout the house. The bulb has an incredibly long life. We've run ours every night for a total of about 6 months and it's still going. And replacement bulbs are very affordable (about $10).

You can control the desired humidity level (four levels) as well as the speed (high or low). One of my favorite features is the automatic shut-off. It has a sensor that will tell when it's out of water so it won't keep running dry, unlike the Vick's model we had before.

My biggest complaint (other than price - it was over $100) is that you basically have to clean it daily while it's in-use. This means emptying out the tank and rinsing it with a water/bleach solution and rinsing out the base with water and vinegar. It usually takes about 30 minutes to clean it and honestly, I only do it about 4 times a week (less when we're not using it), but still...it's kind of a pain.

We've seen pretty good results with this - we definitely notice a difference when we don't use it. If you're in the market for a long-term solution to the humidifier issue, this might be the way to go. Even if you don't go with this brand, I would definitely recommend looking for a model with the cool-mist, UV germ-free features.