Recommend A Good Cheap Humidifier?

Unfortunately, winter is once again sneaking up on us and i'm watching the humidity level plummet in my snake room. Can anyone recommend a good, cheap humidifier that would keep the humidity at 50% - 60% in an 8' x 11' room throughout the winter months, where humidity can reach as low as 16% - 19%?

This is the only humidifier I've bought that made a noticeable difference, 100 bucks, but I've spent 40-50 bucks on 3 different humidifiers and even running all 3 of them couldn't compete with this one. Lasko 1128 Evaporative Recirculating Humidifier, 9-Gallon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FGLPCN8..._nz79zb8DXMVJ6

Thanks for your recommendation man. I really appreciate it! As it turns out, I went to pick up a live rat from a local snake/rat breeder and I brought this subject up. He took me into his snake room and showed me his cheap little 1 gallon $20.00 cool mist humidifier. His room is probably almost twice the size of mine and he claims that his little humidifier will easily keep his room 60% - 70% and even cause condensation to form on his walls. How large of a room do you keep your snakes in?

10x20, but I used to have a 10x8 and ran 2 cheaper humidifiers and they barely kept up. Guess it all depends how harsh your house is on the humidity. I'm sure you'll find something that works out for you.

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Originally Posted by OhhWatALoser

This is the only humidifier I've bought that made a noticeable difference, 100 bucks, but I've spent 40-50 bucks on 3 different humidifiers and even running all 3 of them couldn't compete with this one. Lasko 1128 Evaporative Recirculating Humidifier, 9-Gallon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FGLPCN8..._nz79zb8DXMVJ6

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How difficult is that humidifier to clean? I need to get one for my place.

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Originally Posted by andrewross8705

How difficult is that humidifier to clean? I need to get one for my place.

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Most of it comes apart pretty easy, a few things like the sight glass require a little more work.

Thanks again for your recommendation, OhhWatALoser. After doing quite a bit of research on many different humidifiers I decided to go ahead and order the one you suggested. It will supposedly cover up to 3200 square feet and only uses about 65 watts of power on high. I found a brand new one on Ebay for $125.99 (with free shipping). I could totally see those cheap little 1 gallon humidifiers not even touching the dryness in my house during the later winter months when humidity drops clear down as low as 16%, as i've seen it do.

For anyone else, who is looking for a higher performance humidifier here are the specs for this one:

Lasko 1128 Evaporative Recirculating Humidifier

The 9.0-gallon Recirculating Humidifier offers contemporary styling and efficient humidification up to 3,200 square feet, making it ideal for multiple rooms and large living areas. 9.0-Gallon Output per Day (4.5-Gallon Water Capacity); Easy-to-Fill, Removable Water Reservoir with Dual Handles; Adjustable Humidistat for Personalized Comfort; Patented, Cascading Waterfall Shows it's Working; Castors for Mobility on any Surface; Three Comfort Control Speeds; ETL/cETL Listed; 22" L x 14" W x 17" H; includes filter.

- Tank Capacity: 4.50 gal
- Water Rate: 9 gal/Day
- Coverage: 3200 Sq. ft.
- Features: Self Clean Function, Quiet Operation
- Color: White
- Height: 22"
- Width: 14"
- Depth: 17"
- Weight (Approximate): 18.70 lb


The Lasko 9-Gallon humidifier is ideal for use in multiple rooms. Large enough of an output to cover almost any size room. The continuous water recirculation self-cleans the filter and maintains the unit's efficiency. The evaporative output helps to eliminate some of the concerns associated with a cool mist humidifier. The quiet operations and the high performance make this humidifier a must have!

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Originally Posted by Aedryan Methyus

Thanks again for your recommendation, OhhWatALoser. After doing quite a bit of research on many different humidifiers I decided to go ahead and order the one you suggested. It will supposedly cover up to 3200 square feet and only uses about 65 watts of power on high. I found a brand new one on Ebay for $125.99 (with free shipping). I could totally see those cheap little 1 gallon humidifiers not even touching the dryness in my house during the later winter months when humidity drops clear down as low as 16%, as i've seen it do.

For anyone else, who is looking for a higher performance humidifier here are the specs for this one:

Lasko 1128 Evaporative Recirculating Humidifier

The 9.0-gallon Recirculating Humidifier offers contemporary styling and efficient humidification up to 3,200 square feet, making it ideal for multiple rooms and large living areas. 9.0-Gallon Output per Day (4.5-Gallon Water Capacity); Easy-to-Fill, Removable Water Reservoir with Dual Handles; Adjustable Humidistat for Personalized Comfort; Patented, Cascading Waterfall Shows it's Working; Castors for Mobility on any Surface; Three Comfort Control Speeds; ETL/cETL Listed; 22" L x 14" W x 17" H; includes filter.

- Tank Capacity: 4.50 gal
- Water Rate: 9 gal/Day
- Coverage: 3200 Sq. ft.
- Features: Self Clean Function, Quiet Operation
- Color: White
- Height: 22"
- Width: 14"
- Depth: 17"
- Weight (Approximate): 18.70 lb


The Lasko 9-Gallon humidifier is ideal for use in multiple rooms. Large enough of an output to cover almost any size room. The continuous water recirculation self-cleans the filter and maintains the unit's efficiency. The evaporative output helps to eliminate some of the concerns associated with a cool mist humidifier. The quiet operations and the high performance make this humidifier a must have!

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I wonder if it's as effective in split level homes. Regardless, I can keep it on low and stick it in the lower level.

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I was also wondering if I were to keep this running on the first floor of my house if it would increase the humidity on the second floor. I have my doubts... It would be nice if I could also benefit from it, but clearly the snakes health is more important than my own... lol My furnace actually has a built in humidifier. I just need to replace the pump. I really need to be doing that...

Just an update on the Lasko 1128 Evaporative Recirculating Humidifier in case anyone else is looking for a good humidifier. I received mine today and so far, I am very impressed! The humidity was pretty high in my snake room today, because we have had some rain, so the humidity was already at 53%. Once I got this humidifier setup and running it brought the humidity right up to 60% within less than 15 minutes I would say. I ran it on high at first until the humidity reached 60% then I switched it to low and it has been maintaining 60% humidity in my snake room ever since. One of the things I like about this humidifier is it has a built-in humidistat, so it will sense when the water level in the air has gone down and kick the humidifier off and on automatically. Another great thing about this humidifier is that is uses very little wattage. When tested on a killowatt meter it only draws 71 watts on high, 66 watts on medium and only 58 watts on low. So, it's very efficient.

The room i'm currently using is only 8' x 11', so I would have to say this humidifier is waaay overkill for such a small room considering it is capable of humidifying up to 3200 square feet. But, I have already pretty much outgrown this small room already and I will be moving my snakes to a much larger room in my house before too long. So, this will be great!

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Originally Posted by Aedryan Methyus

Just an update on the Lasko 1128 Evaporative Recirculating Humidifier in case anyone else is looking for a good humidifier. I received mine today and so far, I am very impressed! The humidity was pretty high in my snake room today, because we have had some rain, so the humidity was already at 53%. Once I got this humidifier setup and running it brought the humidity right up to 60% within less than 15 minutes I would say. I ran it on high at first until the humidity reached 60% then I switched it to low and it has been maintaining 60% humidity in my snake room ever since. One of the things I like about this humidifier is it has a built-in humidistat, so it will sense when the water level in the air has gone down and kick the humidifier off and on automatically. Another great thing about this humidifier is that is uses very little wattage. When tested on a killowatt meter it only draws 71 watts on high, 66 watts on medium and only 58 watts on low. So, it's very efficient.

The room i'm currently using is only 8' x 11', so I would have to say this humidifier is waaay overkill for such a small room considering it is capable of humidifying up to 3200 square feet. But, I have already pretty much outgrown this small room already and I will be moving my snakes to a much larger room in my house before too long. So, this will be great!

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Any thoughts on how this would do in a split level home? I'm on the fence between this and getting a smaller one just for the level I'm on and keep the reptiles. Home is 3 level split with a basement so technically a 4 level. Primary concern is whether it will reach all 3 levels if I place it on the lower level, above the basement.

I definitely wouldn't recommend anything smaller... Winter is finally upon us here in Pittsburgh, PA and I have been running this humidifier on high 24/7 in just a small 8' x 11' room. As we speak, the current humidity outside is 55% and this big humidifier is struggling to keep the humidity in my snake room at only 43%! I definitely have to be getting a new pump for the built in humidifier system on my furnace, because this humidifier isn't keeping up by itself...

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Originally Posted by Aedryan Methyus

I definitely wouldn't recommend anything smaller... Winter is finally upon us here in Pittsburgh, PA and I have been running this humidifier on high 24/7 in just a small 8' x 11' room. As we speak, the current humidity outside is 55% and this big humidifier is struggling to keep the humidity in my snake room at only 43%! I definitely have to be getting a new pump for the built in humidifier system on my furnace, because this humidifier isn't keeping up by itself...

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Thanks. I was debating on whether to get this or something smaller just for the one level. The furnace is on the same level where the snakes are so I'm sure that's not helping.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by Aedryan Methyus

Just an update on the Lasko 1128 Evaporative Recirculating Humidifier in case anyone else is looking for a good humidifier. I received mine today and so far, I am very impressed! The humidity was pretty high in my snake room today, because we have had some rain, so the humidity was already at 53%. Once I got this humidifier setup and running it brought the humidity right up to 60% within less than 15 minutes I would say. I ran it on high at first until the humidity reached 60% then I switched it to low and it has been maintaining 60% humidity in my snake room ever since. One of the things I like about this humidifier is it has a built-in humidistat, so it will sense when the water level in the air has gone down and kick the humidifier off and on automatically. Another great thing about this humidifier is that is uses very little wattage. When tested on a killowatt meter it only draws 71 watts on high, 66 watts on medium and only 58 watts on low. So, it's very efficient.

The room i'm currently using is only 8' x 11', so I would have to say this humidifier is waaay overkill for such a small room considering it is capable of humidifying up to 3200 square feet. But, I have already pretty much outgrown this small room already and I will be moving my snakes to a much larger room in my house before too long. So, this will be great!

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I have one (the model you mentioned) running in the main floor of my house. It runs well, but the mechanical humidistat is "off" or at least, not consistent.

However, I was so impressed with the performance of the unit that I got a second one for my reptile room downstairs. I could not find the sane exact model, so ordered this one from home depot and actually ended up paying less for it. It has a digital humidistat and seems to be very consistent. I think it is quieter too. I am VERY pleased with it and wish that I had purchased this model the first time around. Had my parents over yesterday and they liked the one on the main house level so much they said they would be ordering one. :D

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Originally Posted by artgecko

I have one (the model you mentioned) running in the main floor of my house. It runs well, but the mechanical humidistat is "off" or at least, not consistent.

However, I was so impressed with the performance of the unit that I got a second one for my reptile room downstairs. I could not find the sane exact model, so ordered this one from home depot and actually ended up paying less for it. It has a digital humidistat and seems to be very consistent. I think it is quieter too. I am VERY pleased with it and wish that I had purchased this model the first time around. Had my parents over yesterday and they liked the one on the main house level so much they said they would be ordering one. :D

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That's the exact model I just ordered. I'm glad you like it.

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I hope it works out for you, Andrew. It will definitely help a lot! What state do you live in, if you don't mind me asking? I've seen the humidity inside my house drop as low as 16% in the winter here in Pittsburgh, PA! The humidity is always a lot lower inside my house in the winter than it is outside. I would presume that is because of the furnace... I'm going to try closing the vent off in my snake room and turning my oil space heater up a little more in the room if necessary. I think that might help with a lot of the dryness in that room. I'll let you guys know how it works out...

I'm in Ohio and all too familiar with that dry heat given how our winters tend to be. The humidifier arrives Saturday so I just need to hold out a few more days.

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I have a cheap little one and it has been working great for me for 4 years! $30. The only problem is, that I have to refill it every day since it only holds about 1 gallon of water. Leaves condensation on the windows. I have to run it on "high" during heavy heating winter days.
http://www.holmesproducts.com/humidi...M.html#start=2

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Originally Posted by Godzilla78

I have a cheap little one and it has been working great for me for 4 years! $30. The only problem is, that I have to refill it every day since it only holds about 1 gallon of water. Leaves condensation on the windows. I have to run it on "high" during heavy heating winter days.
http://www.holmesproducts.com/humidi...M.html#start=2

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Your heavy winter days down there in NC and ours are much different... We'll trade you! lol These humidifiers we're talking about are rated for up to 3,200 square feet and even though mine is running on high 24/7 (and never shutting off since winter officially arrived) in a little 8' x 11' room, it's becoming a constant battle to try and keep the humidity at least 50%. It holds 9 gallons and still needs to be filled about every other day... I see now the humidity outside jumped up to 79% from only 55% earlier today. Since my post a little bit ago, the humidity in my snake room went up from only 46% to 53%. I closed the heater vent in my snake room and i'm keeping a close eye on the temperature in there, so I can adjust my oil space heater settings accordingly. So far, the temperature only dropped from 75 degrees to 73 degrees, but i've been letting it drop to 73 degrees at night for breeding, anyway... I'm hoping the space heater might cause at least a little less dryness in the room than having warm air blowing in there from the furnace. *fingers crossed*

Well speak of the devil... THE SAME DAY that I post about how my cheap little $30 humidifier has worked so great for 4 years, it developed a small leak in the plastic tank!:pinkele: I think it got overheated by my space heater too close by. Back to the drawing board. I'm going to get a bigger one that doesn't require constant filling.

What do you mean? North Carolina's winters are brutal!

https://i.imgur.com/Y0nQua6.jpg

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Originally Posted by Godzilla78

Well speak of the devil... THE SAME DAY that I post about how my cheap little $30 humidifier has worked so great for 4 years, it developed a small leak in the plastic tank!:pinkele: I think it got overheated by my space heater too close by. Back to the drawing board. I'm going to get a bigger one that doesn't require constant filling.

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Oh man! That sucks! And, how bizarre is that!? lol Definitely sorry about your luck, though... :( But, yeah... You may as well make your life a little easier and get a bigger one. It amazes me how fast mine blows through 9 gallons of water! You would think my whole house would be a tropical climate, but that's definitely not the case... It just started snowing here again (AAARGH!) and I just noticed the humidity in my snake room is clear up to 57% and 88% outside at the moment... Apparently, it must be that humidity rises while it's snowing then drops after it stops? If that's how it works, I never realized that...

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Originally Posted by SDA

What do you mean? North Carolina's winters are brutal!

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/Y0nQua6.jpg

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Yeah, I suppose the more northern parts get their fair share of snow, eh? The winters here in Pittsburgh even pale in comparison to winters in Erie, PA just 100 miles north of here, where i'm from. We probably only get about 1 inch of snow for about every couple of feet that they get... lol

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Originally Posted by Aedryan Methyus

Oh man! That sucks! And, how bizarre is that!? lol Definitely sorry about your luck, though... :( But, yeah... You may as well make your life a little easier and get a bigger one. It amazes me how fast mine blows through 9 gallons of water! You would think my whole house would be a tropical climate, but that's definitely not the case... It just started snowing here again (AAARGH!) and I just noticed the humidity in my snake room is clear up to 57% and 88% outside at the moment... Apparently, it must be that humidity rises while it's snowing then drops after it stops? If that's how it works, I never realized that...



Yeah, I suppose the more northern parts get their fair share of snow, eh? The winters here in Pittsburgh even pale in comparison to winters in Erie, PA just 100 miles north of here, where i'm from. We probably only get about 1 inch of snow for about every couple of feet that they get... lol

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Well most of North Carolina is fairly warm. I live in the Appalachian mountain chain, its a few thousand feet altitude here, so its a bit chillier winter than the rest of the southeast.

I tried a humidifier for awhile but I found it was more trouble than it was worth. If you look at that 9 gallon humidifier and read the fine print it actually only holds 4.5 gallons of water and puts out 9 gallons of humidity per day. That means running it at full capacity you have to fill it twice a day using a five gallon bucket full of water. I got tired of all the heavy lifting just to fill the humidifier. If I ever did it again I'd have a reverse osmosis filter plumbed directly to the humidifier hooked up to my water line so it would automatically filter and fill the humidifier.

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Originally Posted by cchardwick

I tried a humidifier for awhile but I found it was more trouble than it was worth. If you look at that 9 gallon humidifier and read the fine print it actually only holds 4.5 gallons of water and puts out 9 gallons of humidity per day. That means running it at full capacity you have to fill it twice a day using a five gallon bucket full of water. I got tired of all the heavy lifting just to fill the humidifier. If I ever did it again I'd have a reverse osmosis filter plumbed directly to the humidifier hooked up to my water line so it would automatically filter and fill the humidifier.

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When completely filled mine will run on high 24/7 for basically 2 days... But, yes... I guess you're right about it not actually holding 9 gallons of water. I believe the reason why it is referred to as a "recirculating" humidifier must be for exactly the reason you said. It must suck moisture back out of the air then pump it back out. So, basically, even though it only holds 4.5 gallons, it pumps out the equivalent of 9 gallons per day?

One REALLY bizarre thing about this humidifier that completely boggles my mind is, when you fill up the water jug completely it is clearly completely full to the rim. But, when you turn it back over to put it back in the unit it will only be 3/4 full??? Can someone PLEASE explain how that is possible??? I mean... I am a magician and I can't even figure this out! LOL!

The unit itself holds quite a bit even without the jug. But without that, 9 gallons is the output per day, so in optimal conditions it could be filled twice a day and continue to put out. Recirculating means it moves the water so it doesn't just sit and grow things, it pumps it through a filter to keep it moving and filter the water at the same time. As for the magic jug, I think there a lot of space in the fill handle, but I found it odd also

I've had the humidifier running since Friday evening and I'm feeling a difference already. Mainly in that there's very little static in the air. The only problem I've had so far is that when I go to put the tank but in the base, it will start leaking water around the plunger. It just drips a bit but that's not a big deal. It's much louder than I expected when I cranked it up to the max and have left it on the lowest setting since.

Are you trying to humidify your whole house, Andrew? If so, I would be very interested in seeing how high you can keep the humidity throughout the house with it. You should get a hygrometer if you don't already have one so you can actually see what your humidity is...

Wanted to note that someone recommended to put the humidifier at an air intake if you are trying to humidify your house. I may try this and see if it works.

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Originally Posted by Aedryan Methyus

Are you trying to humidify your whole house, Andrew? If so, I would be very interested in seeing how high you can keep the humidity throughout the house with it. You should get a hygrometer if you don't already have one so you can actually see what your humidity is...

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I have the humidifier in the lower level by the air intake which is the same area where the reptiles are. I haven't been able to check the upper floors to see if there's much of a difference but I do plan to get a hygrometer this week so I can adjust the humidifier if needed.

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Originally Posted by artgecko

Wanted to note that someone recommended to put the humidifier at an air intake if you are trying to humidify your house. I may try this and see if it works.

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I did this when my ex and I were living with her mom before getting a new place. We noticed a slight difference and it probably would have been more effective if it weren't for the shoddy duct work throughout the house.