My daughter is very prone to nose bleeds, and it is important for her bedroom to be equipped with a reliable humidifier year-round. I am so pleased to recommend the Drop Shape humidifier by Crane USA.

The most important benefit with this unit compared to others we have used is that no extra filter is required! That means no extra cost to purchase filters, greater convenience in not worrying if we have extra filters on hand, no worries about the filter being out of stock at the local store, no need to run the unit for hours to dry the filter. Please let me repeat . . . no extra filter is required with this unit.

This unit is exceedingly easy to use. Simply unscrew the cap on the bottom of the tank, fill it with cool tap water, replace the cap, and fit the tank back on its base. The unit fits on the base very easily--no jiggling required. I will say that when you remove the tank, water that has condensed at the top of the tank will dribble out. This is nothing that a hand or paper towel can't handle.

There are other nifty features. There is a directional spout at the top of the tank which allows flexibility in finding the best spot to place the unit and control the direction of the vapor. This unit holds .9 gallons of water and will run for 10 hours per full tank. It is recommended for spaces up to 250 square feet. My daughter's room is very small; we keep it at a very low setting, and it runs longer than 10 hours. It is virtually silent while running.

The list price is $49.99. There are less expensive humidifiers available, but this is a case where the adage "you get what you pay for" holds true. Crane USA has several eye-catching models on their website.

Product review by Nancy Casari Dayton, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, December 2009