TaoTronics TT-AH026 Review

The TaoTronics TT-AH026 is a good choice for small rooms and/or less frequent use, but lacks the firepower for larger spaces.

Performance Comparison

Humidifying Performance

The TaoTronics TT-AH026 turned in an average humidifying performance in our tests. It has enough power for a smaller bedroom or for close proximity use (such as placing it near your desk while you work) but isn't a great solution for humidifying large rooms.

It took the TaoTronics TT-AH026 1 hour 12 minutes to raise the humidity of our 150 square foot testing room up to the ideal level of 45%. By the end of our 3-hour test it had pushed the humidity in the room up to 57%. This performance is very similar to that of most of the comparably-sized humidifiers we tested, but falls short of some of the larger and more expensive purifiers. We would certainly use it to keep a small to average sized bedroom humidified, but wouldn't expect much more from it.

Ease of Cleaning

Through the course of our testing we cleaned the TaoTronics TT-AH026 five times. We found the process to be relatively easy, but it did present some slightly less-than-ideal challenges.

What we love about the TaoTronics TT-AH026's cleaning process is that it doesn't require any soaking. Most products recommend soaking the tank in some sort of solution for 10-30 minutes before cleaning, but the manual of the TT-AH026instructs just adding vinegar, shaking for 15 seconds, scrubbing with a bottle brush, and rinsing. This cuts down the overall cleaning time and fuss, which is appreciated. However, since the tank opening is only 1.75" you do need some sort of a bottle brush to accomplish that scrubbing, and depending on the shape of your bottle brush it can be difficult to scrub around the sonic agitator. This is a relatively minor annoyance, but a larger tank opening would make things a bit easier.

User Friendliness

We found operation of the TT-AH026 to be quite simple. However, it lacks any advanced features, and refilling the tank would be a bit easier if the opening were slightly larger.

The only control on the entire humidifier is a dial for selecting the humidification level. In a world where things tend to be unnecessarily complicated, this feels refreshingly simple. However, the lack of a remote control can be disappointing if you forget to turn the humidifier on before getting into bed. Additionally, if you live in an area that is only slightly too dry, the lack of any sort of control for preventing over-humidification can be problematic.

The 1.8 liter tank is only 7 inches tall, and is thus easy to fit into a sink when refilling. However, the lack of any sort of handle and the relatively small 1.75" opening did lead to some minor spills in our testing.

Operating Cost

The small size of the TT-AH026 reduces both its upfront and operating costs. We calculated its estimated lifetime cost over a 5-year period to be $72. This is one of the lowest such figures we've calculated. It's important to note that the TT-AH026 is less powerful than many models that cost more, therefore if you're humidifying a larger space you may actually get more from your money from one of the more expensive but more powerful models we've reviewed.

Value

The TT-AH026 sits at the more reasonable end of the price spectrum. It also sits at the less powerful end of the spectrum. The combination makes it a fairly good value for those seeking only to humidify a small bedroom or home office, but an under-powered disappointment for those that want to humidify larger spaces.

Conclusion