URPOWER Cool Mist Review

The URPOWER Cool Mist is hard to clean, somewhat confusing to use, and isn't very powerful. Unfortunately, it really doesn't offer any redeeming qualities to make up for these poor attributes.

Performance Comparison

The URPOWER Cool Mist occupied the bottom slot on our overall score sheet. Below, we detail how it performed in each metric that contributes to its overall score.

Humidifying Performance

The URPOWER Cool Mist shared the lowest score of 4 out of 10 in our humidifying performance test. It took over 2.5 hours to get our 150 square foot testing room up to 45% humidity, whereas the top models took less than half an hour. Even the Honeywell HUL520B, which is actually smaller, did this more than half an hour faster. The URPOWER Cool Mist also hit a maximum humidity level of 47.5%. Bottom line, this humidifier is only really suitable for smaller rooms (less than 100 square feet), or for use on a nightstand right next to where you'll be sleeping.

Ease of Cleaning

This was our least favorite aspect of the URPOWER Cool Mist, earning it the worst score in this metric, a 3 out of 10 . First off, the water tank is opaque, whereas every other tank we tested was transparent. This made it much more difficult to tell if there was mold starting to accumulate anywhere. The opening is also only 1.75", so not only can you not see inside, it's very hard to get inside and clean as well. The instruction manual, on the whole, is very poorly translated, suggesting you clean with a 'water cleaning agent.' Without clear instruction you'll have to go to Google to figure out the best way to clean this humidifier. In the end it took us about 30 minutes to get the URPOWER Cool Mist to a point where we felt satisfied with its cleanliness, double the time of most other models.

User Friendliness

The URPOWER Cool Mist has only three settings (low, medium, and high) and a single button to cycle through these settings, so it should be fairly easy to use. However, that button seemed to decide when it wanted to respond, so we ended up pushing it over and over to try and get it to switch between settings. The LEDs that indicate which setting is selected are also dim, so it can be hard to tell which one you've actually selected. It does have an off timer that you access by holding the button down, but there is no indication for what time is selected. The user manual is no help here either, but our best guess is that the off timer is set for somewhere between 14 and 17 hours, but honestly we can't tell for sure. This feature was so frustrating that you'd be better off telling Siri to remind you to turn the humidifier off.

The tank is quite large and is almost definitely too tall to fit into your sink, so you'll have to fill it from a cup or a pitcher. This can be difficult, as the opening is only 1.75". All of these frustrations earned the URPOWER Cool Mist a score of just 3 out of 10 in this metric.

Operating Cost

This was the only metric where the URPOWER Cool Mist was at least average, earning a 6 out of 10. It lists for $130, and uses 0.02kWh of electricity per hour (which is fairly high for a humidifier). This resulted in an estimated lifetime cost of $183, which was about $30 above the median of those that we calculated.

Value

The URPOWER Cool Mist lists for $130, which is astronomical considering its performance. Sure it can be found for as little as $50 at many online retailers, but even at that price it's a poor value. The Honeywell HUL520B is much better all-around, and lists for only $30. That is a much better value.

Conclusion