Product review – Air-O-Swiss ultrasonic travel humidfier

No amount of luxury at a hotel can help prevent me from waking up with a dry throat in the middle of the night – for some reason, the climate control at most hotels seems to keep the room a very unpleasant 30% humidity, and for some reason, I am very sensitive to dry air.

Last year I mentioned the Air-O-Swiss “AOS 7146” ultrasonic travel humidifier. I finally ordered one and am happy to report that it really does work as advertised. The humidifier itself is small at just 4.5″x2.5″x3″ and at tad over 0.7lbs it will barely take up any room in your bag.

Included in the box is the humidifier itself, a bottle adapter, a carrying pouch and a power supply with a set of international prongs.

To use the humidifier, you simply grab a water bottle (no larger than half a liter), insert the adapter in the bottle, and place the bottle in the humidifier. On the back of the unit is a knob to adjust the humidity level. On the bottom of the unit are 2 folding stands, which should prevent a heavy bottle from tipping the humidifier over.

The unit produces a very fine mist of cool water, which is easily absorbed into the air. The unit does lack a hygrometer, so you’ll either need to keep it on “high” all day, or adjust it when you feel things are getting too humid.

For my test, I brought along a pocket digital hygrometer. When I entered the hotel room, the meter read 34%, which is usually too dry for me. After about an hour with the travel humidifier the humidity level had reached a comfortable 46%.

The Air-O-Swiss AOS 7146 ultrasonic travel humidifier retails for $59.99, but can be found for at your local Bed Bath and Beyond store, which means you can pick one up with one of their easily obtainable 20% off coupons. I ended up paying a little over $48 for mine, which is quite a good bargain.

Dry and uncomfortable in your hotel room? Bring a humidfier!

While strolling through the aisles of the local Bed Bath and Beyond yesterday (which is a bad idea this time of year), I came across this fantastic little ultrasonic humidifier.

The Air-O-Swiss “AOS 7146 TRAVEL” is a tiny box, with a water bottle screw thread on top. Instead of relying on a gallon sized water container, you simply attach a regular water bottle to the top of the unit, plug in the power adapter, and it instantly starts blowing out nice humid mist.

The humidity (or lack of) in most hotel rooms has always bothered me, and I’d often wake up in the middle of the night with a dry throat, so this device just went on my Christmas list.

The AOS 7146 costs $59.99, but most people will probably have a large stack of 20% off coupons for Bed Bath and Beyond lying around, bringing the price down to a very reasonable level.

The unit comes complete with an international power adapter with foreign plugs as well as a travel bag. At just 0.7lbs, it is small and light enough to accompany you on your next trip, and hopefully make things a little more comfortable. If you don’t have a store in your area, you can order it on the Bed Bath and Beyond web site,