Every winter my nose dries out and my throat gets scratchy. So last year I bought an ultrasonic humidifier. Regretted it within a month.
White dust started appearing on my TV. At first I thought it was regular dust, so I wiped it. It came back. Again and again. Turns out it's white mineral residue — minerals in tap water get broken up by ultrasonic vibrations and land on everything. Furniture, laptop, clothes.
Then I read about bacteria concerns — ultrasonic humidifiers can spray bacteria from the water directly into the air. That was enough. I started looking into evaporative humidifiers.
What's different about evaporative?
Ultrasonic forces water into mist. Evaporative blows air through a wet filter — natural evaporation. Same principle as hanging wet laundry in your room.
The benefits:
- No white dust (water isn't being atomized)
- Can't over-humidify (evaporation naturally slows at higher humidity)
- No bacteria spraying
The tradeoff: slower humidification and filter replacement costs.
Why Smartmi
Between Balmuda (200,000+ won) and Smartmi (80,000–100,000 won), the choice was easy. Xiaomi ecosystem product, Mi Home app support, good reviews for the price.
One month in
White dust is completely gone. This alone made the switch worth it.
Humidification is noticeably slower. Ultrasonic gives you visible mist immediately. Evaporative? Nothing visible. Just a fan running. First time I thought "is this even working?" Humidity meter showed it climbing over 1-2 hours.
4L tank lasts a full day. Wide opening makes it easy to clean with your hand inside.
App is nice but not necessary. Mi Home shows humidity, fan speed, timer. But auto mode handles everything — I rarely open the app.
Not completely silent. There's a "whoosh" from the fan. Sleep mode is quiet but not dead silent.
Filter costs are the downside
Replace every 3-6 months, 15,000-20,000 won each. That's 40,000-60,000 won per year. Ultrasonic has no ongoing cost. But I'd rather pay that than deal with white dust and bacteria.
If you're switching from ultrasonic, the first few days feel underwhelming. Push through that — once you experience life without white dust, you won't go back.
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