Pure MistAire Ultrasonic Review

Humidifiers are straightforward devices that provide the simple function of humidifying a room. Unfortunately, unless the room in question is small, the compact Pure MistAire Ultrasonic likely won't meet your needs. We can see it being effective in specific use cases, but in terms of pure power, this model falls short. Now, if you're in the camp of folks who need to humidify a small room and you prioritize a low operating cost, you'll want to check out our test results below.

Performance Comparison

Effectiveness

In order to determine overall effectiveness, we closed the forced air heating vent on the ceiling and set the localized heating unit in the room to 70 degrees Fahrenheit and strived to maintain this temperature throughout the testing. We wouldn't allow the temperature to fluctuate by more than 3 degrees. Once the temperature stabilized, we recorded the room's natural relative humidity (RH). After each humidifier test, we would promptly turn on the vent and dehumidifier until the room's RH returns to its original level at 70 degrees. Once the room was in the perfect condition, we ran each humidifier on high for 1 hour to determine how effective each model was. If you would like a deeper understanding of relative humidity here is a comprehensive overview

The Pure Ultrasonic was one of the weakest models we tested. The humidity only changed by 6%, which falls on the lower end of the spectrum for this test. Higher percentages indicate better performance. The coverage area claimed for this device is 250 square feet, and given enough time, it would likely meet those claims. However, that falls outside the parameters for this specific test.

Ease of Cleaning

The Pure Ultrasonic didn't perform amazingly well in our ease of cleaning testing. The base is a straightforward oval shape with no sharp edges, making it simple enough to clean. However, the tank fill port is only 1.25 inches wide, and cleaning it requires the use of a bottle brush (not included). Even with a brush, reaching certain areas inside the tank can be quite challenging.

Convenience

The Pure Ultrasonic has a frustrating user interface. It has a single button that lets you scroll through its four settings (high and low, both with and without a night light). There is no indicator to let you know what setting you're in, so you must memorize them. It is fairly clear by the sound of the machine whether you're on low or high, but it would be nice if the machine confirmed it visually.

The tank is fairly high, so filling it directly from standard sinks is difficult. The opening is also fairly small at 1.75 inches wide, which can be a deceptively small target when pouring water. Other similar models have openings as large as 3.5 inches, making refilling much easier.

Run Time

To assess runtime, we filled each humidifier with 50 mL of water and operated them on every available setting. For the Pure Ultrasonic, this included both low and high settings. We then measured the duration until automatic shut-off. The Pure Ultrasonic ran for 2 hours and 4 minutes on low and 28 minutes on high. Keep in mind that more often than not, shorter run times correlate with higher humidity output.

Operating Cost

The Pure Ultrasonic is quite inexpensive to own and operate. It earned a very good score in our operating cost testing. It has a reasonable list price and uses just 0.005kWh of electricity per hour, the least of any models we tested. This energy use results in a $63 estimated lifetime cost, or $1.02 per month.

Should You Buy the Pure MistAire Ultrasonic?

The Pure Ultrasonic isn't a great performer, but it has an affordable list price and reasonable long-term energy costs. On the other hand, other similarly-priced models perform a bit better and list for a lower price, providing much better value in this price range.

What Other Humidifiers Should You Consider?

The Pure Ultrasonic is a decent, low-priced humidifier, but it just can't match the performance of other competitor models at the same price point. The Levoit Dual 150 Ultrasonic Cool is a better bang for your buck if you're shopping on a budget and scores better in effectiveness, ease of cleaning, convenience, and run time. Or you can step up to the Levoit Classic 300S Ultrasonic Smart if you need a top-level device that is highly effective and can perform with the best of them. It even has a plant mode on its companion smart app that allows you to set your room's humidity levels based on the type of plants you own.