Philips Series 1000 Air Humidifier review

They say that comparison is the thief of happiness, which is unfortunate for me, given that I work for a comparison website. Literally, my job is to compare stuff you can buy. And perhaps that's why I'm so underwhelmed by my Philips Series 1000 air humidifier. It's not that it's a bad humidifier - it's just that I've seen what's out there, and what's out there is better. It's unfortunate, because the Philips Series 1000 Air Purifier is actually one of the best options in its category.

But before we get into the nitty gritty comparison, here are the basics you need to know. The Philips Series 1000 is a cool mist humidifier, that uses what Philips calls "nanocloud" technology. This, Philips claims, produces moisture particles that are so small they are incapable of carrying most harmful bacteria as well as scale particles, which means no white limescale dust build-up in areas around the humidifier.

Like most humidifiers we've looked at, it needs to be cleaned once per week. This involves emptying out the easy-to-remove tank and giving it a scrub, soaking the filter in cold water for an hour and giving it a rinse. Full cleaning instructions are available in the product manual.

With coverage of up to 15 metres squared and a small 1.3L tank, the Series 1000 is the smallest of all the humidifiers we looked at as part of our analysis of the best humidifiers you can buy in Australia. This really only makes it suited to use in small rooms, most likely a bedroom. It comes with two possible settings - standard with a noise level of about 40 dB, and silent mode which brings noise level down to 28 dB.

The Series 1000 silent mode is a soft hum, and perfect for use in your bedroom at night. However, unfortunately for me and likely many other users, this is a moot point, because I need to run it at the standard mode to get the benefit.

For the past three years I've suffered from chronic sinus troubles. Deep inside my nasal cavities lurks a constant low-level infection, that will never truly be banished until I get a chance to have surgery. What this means on a day-to-day basis is a regime of sinus rinses and antibiotic sprays that mostly keeps my symptoms under control. But even with these measures, my head still feels fuzzy or on the edge of headache a lot of the time.

Running the Series 1000 overnight helps my head feel more normal. But only when I use it at the standard setting. Silent mode does nothing for me. In terms of noise, standard mode isn't too bad. It's about as loud as a fan on a mid-level setting - noticeable, but I can sleep through it, and so can my partner. But if you're very sensitive to noise at night, it could be a problem.

At just $139RRP the Philips Series 1000 is pretty much the cheapest humidifier offered by any of the major brands on the Australian market. However, the cost of replacement parts drives that price up significantly over time. The Series 1000 comes with a filter that needs to be replaced once every three months. It costs $9.95 plus $10 postage to order from the Philips website.

Assuming you want your humidifier to last the full warranty period of two years, you'll need to purchase seven filters over that time. If you order them all at once to save on postage, that adds another $79.65 to the price of the Series 1000, driving the total cost of the device to $209.

To put that in context, the top-rated humidifier in our round-up, the Breville Easy Mist Humidifer, costs $179.95. Our top-rated humidifer for small rooms, the Beurer LB37, costs $140. Both these devices represent a $70 saving over the Philips. They also require no replacement parts.

Philips says the purpose of the replaceable filter in the Series 1000 is to catch big particles like human or pet hair, and dust. Not all humidifiers on the market come with a filter, so this may be an important feature if you live on a busy road or have a lot of hair around your home. Personally, I live on a quiet street with no pets, and haven't noticed any hair or dust build coming out of my Series 1000 filter during its weekly clean.

When you consider the overall cost over two years of running the Philips Series 1000, you have to ask what you're getting for your money. And unfortunately, that's where the Series 1000 falls down. It's a no-frills product that costs more over two years than competitor devices that come with better features.

For less money, you could buy yourself a Breville Easy Mist Humidifier, which for $179.95 will cover rooms up to 30 metres squared, can humidify using hot or cool mist and comes with aromatherapy.

If you don't mind spending more on your humidifier, $299.95 will get you a Breville Smart Mist Humidifier, which comes with an auto humidification setting that will adjust mist levels depending on room temperature, covers rooms up to 40 square metres, can humidify using hot or cool mist, comes with a remote control, a timer and aromatherapy.

Both options offer more bang for buck than the Series 1000. And if you can get more for your money, why wouldn't you?