8 min readWhen you’re shopping for a new humidifier, there are plenty of options to choose from. And though I have tried several in the past, I didn’t love any enough to recommend to others. When I was hunting around for a new brand to try, I clocked the popular Carepod because it was invented by a doctor in Korea and seemed easy to use, with no hidden nooks and crannies for mold to develop. I’ve wanted one since the brand launched in the States in 2021, and I finally got my hands on the Carepod One Plus this month (it sells out quickly). It’s been a game-changer for my sleep routine—mainly, it's made my bedroom air less dry and, as a result, stopped my morning nosebleeds.
One Plus Stainless Steel Humidifier</p>" title="<p>One Plus Stainless Steel Humidifier</p>" src="https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/product-images/d1f78dea-6f6e-4f84-b45f-ba1ec08f24e2/d667075b-4b88-44bd-8950-eecf50e00fbc.jpeg?crop=1xw:1.0xh;center,top&resize=980:*" width="2000" height="2000" decoding="async" loading="lazy"/>In the two weeks I have used it, not only are my nosebleeds gone, but the air in my room feels easier to breathe. I don’t feel as parched and dry when I wake up either, even if I had a couple of drinks the night before. I was truly not living properly before I got the Carepod, and I love it so much. If you’re in the market for a humidifier that won’t break down on you or get moldy, while also being easy to use/care for, read on. I’ll get into the ins and outs of why this one is SO worth the money.
Quick Verdict: Carepod One Plus
Rating: 4.5/5
Best for: People who care about simple, functional design and ease of cleaning in their humidifiers.
Not ideal for: People who don’t want to use distilled/filtered water for their humidifier, and/or who want a more design-forward device.
Price at review: $350
Bottom line: The Carepod One Plus is easy to set up and clean, so you don’t have to worry about mold ever, and it’s so quiet. I also like the fact that it was invented by a doctor for his own family.
What Makes the Carepod Different From Other Humidifiers?
The beauty of the Carepod lies in its simple design and extremely easy-to-clean parts. It doesn’t have any bells and whistles, so don’t expect it to diffuse aromas like the Canopy or cool the air like the Dyson. This humidifier has only one job, which is to make the air less dry. The Carepod One Plus has three main parts: the stainless steel water tank (other tanks are made of plastic), the inner lid cover, and the wand—all of which are washable to prevent mold growth.
Aside from its fuss-free design and features, what also appealed to me was that the Carepod was invented by a South Korean dentist, Dr. Hyung Joo Kim, who wanted a safer, cleaner humidifier for his family. Koreans are at the forefront of skincare, and I figured buying a product from a Korean doctor, no less, felt legitimate.
As someone who mostly uses K-beauty skincare products and watches a lot of K-dramas (in the hospital scenes, they always have a humidifier running next to the patient’s bed—something you never see in American medical dramas), I was hoping the Carepod would also give me glowy, hydrated skin in addition to making my nose less stuffy.
Delivery and Assembly
The Carepod One Plus came in one well-packed box.
The Carepod only has four parts, the giant body, stainless steel bowl, wand, and inside lid!
The Carepod comes in several sizes to accommodate different rooms. I opted for the second-smallest one—my Carepod One Plus works in spaces up to 500 square feet—since I wanted it in my bedroom, but the Mini, which resembles a Brita filter, would have been a good choice as well.
It came within two weeks of being ordered in a medium-sized box. When I opened the box to unwrap the parts, there wasn’t much to unpack: just the exterior vessel, the stainless steel water tank, and the wand. Setup, which included plugging in the humidifier, took five minutes.
I don’t have a nightstand, so I keep the Carepod on my dresser a few feet away from my bed (and head), as the recommended distance for a humidifier is three to four feet. The product does take up a decent amount of surface space, especially because I also have two big jewelry boxes, books, an Echo Dot, and a table lamp on my dresser. However, since I only plan to use the Carepod during the driest seasons of the year, I don’t mind leaving it out for a couple of months before I store it away in my bathroom cabinet.
Performance
I live in an old house, so in the winter, the air is dry—so dry that some of the wood in our home tends to shrink or crack—and in the summer, our home feels so humid. After just one night using the Carepod, my husband and I both woke up without stuffy noses or general congestion.
I have extremely dry skin, so it’s typical for me to get minor nosebleeds at least once or twice a week in the mornings during the wintertime due to the dry air in the home. I know a humidifier solves this issue, but since I’ve tried a bunch from when I was a teenager to now, as an adult, and didn’t like a single one, I just kind of suffer through with my nosebleeds for five months out of the year—until I got the Carepod, that is. Since using this humidifier, I have not had a nosebleed in weeks.
We also wear nightguards to sleep (being in your 30s is fun, guys), and I've noticed that sometimes my lower lip will stick to my nightguard because my lip gets dry. Ever since we started running the Carepod, this has not happened! The air generally feels easier to breathe, too, at night when we doze off. My husband and I literally turned to each other one morning and said, “Wow, this thing really works.”
I haven't yet gotten “glass skin” from using this humidifier, though—maybe it’ll take more time.
Functions
There are three buttons on the Carepod lid: Mist/Mood Light, Power, and Timer/Dark Mode. The Power button turns the Carepod on, and then you can use the Mist button to adjust the amount of mist. If you hold this button longer, you activate the Carepod One Plus’s “mood lighting.”
It glows in seven different colors, and while it looks pretty, I keep the lights off at night because I noticed they were too bright, since the Carepod is only a few feet from my face. I like to sleep in total darkness. If I had a bigger bedroom and my Carepod were farther away, rather than three feet from my head, I would leave the light on as a nightlight for my occasional 2 a.m. bathroom runs.
The timer lets you set the Carepod One Plus to run for four, six, or eight hours, while Dark Mode switches off the unit’s lights so it won’t glow in a dark bedroom. I don’t use the timer setting ever because I just let it run throughout the night and turn it off in the morning when I wake up.
Design
The Carepod has a rounded body and dishwasher-safe parts. The dimensions are 10.2" W x 10.8" D x 9.3" H, about the size of a small rice cooker.
The four-liter stainless steel tank holds enough water for up to 30 hours, which sounds about right. We’ve had to refill the tank with water every two or three nights since we run in every night from 11:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. I love that there are no filters to replace, no tubes to clean out with pipe cleaners, or any other annoying components that could get moldy.
I will say the Carepod looks like a medical device and isn’t exactly the prettiest compared to some colorful options out there, but when it comes to a humidifier, I will take ease of cleaning and function over looks. I’ve had more aesthetically pleasing humidifiers, and they all broke or got moldy within six months.
Noise Level
You can hear a faint misting sound when the Carepod is running, though it’s never disruptive. I actually don’t notice it because I also run my Windmill air purifier at night, and that is louder than my Carepod. There is no weird humming or beeping from the device itself!
Can You Use Tap Water With the Carepod?
The brand recommends using distilled or filtered water rather than tap water. I use distilled water because we already buy this for our Miro humidifier downstairs in our dining room/living room. It’s an additional expense, which is annoying, especially if you’re on a budget. My tip: If you have a Chase credit card, one of the benefits is that DoorDash will offer a $10 to $20 monthly grocery credit you can use to buy items like distilled water.
In general, though, I wouldn’t recommend using straight tap water in humidifiers because it’s bad for the devices. The EPA says, “minerals in tap water may increase the development of crusty deposits, or scale, in humidifiers. Scale can be a breeding ground for microorganisms.” And since I’m a germaphobe, I would rather not breathe in anything I can’t see from tap water as I sleep, so I will fork up the $2 for a gallon of distilled water.
Cleaning and Maintenance
I’ve only cleaned the Carepod once, and I did as instructed. It was hassle-free and so easy. I stuck the stainless steel pot and lid into my dishwasher on the bottom rack and hand-washed the wand with soap. I also wiped down the inside of the Carepod vessel itself. There are no vents/holes/gaps where mold can form, and this makes me feel much better about having a humidifier in my room.
Carepod One Plus Pros and Cons
Pros
- The device is so quiet: it doesn't make strange noises
- The mist is powerful and is effective at getting rid of stuffy noses and making the air less dry
- The mood lighting is actually quite bright, enough to double as as a nightlight
- All the button functions are easy to use and understand
- The humidifier has few parts, making it easy to clean in just 10 minutes
Cons
- Not compatible with tap water
- The round shape doesn't come in a mini size or extra large size
Final Verdict: Is the Carepod One Plus Worth Buying?
Yes, 100 percent yes! I’ve tried several different humidifiers, from random ones on Amazon to the popular, portable Hey Dewy, and no product comes close to the simplicity and cleanliness of the Carepod One Plus. I like that the device doesn’t try to do everything; instead, it focuses on perfecting the one thing I actually need: making the air less dry, so I stop getting nosebleeds. It hasn’t made a huge difference in my skin yet, but I have high hopes it will when I’ve had the chance to use it for several months.
It’s very easy to clean, and because there aren’t many parts, you don’t need to turn this device inside out to inspect for mold. Using distilled water (as much as I hate to admit spending money on water when the NYC tap is so good) has made a big difference in how I enjoy the Carepod, too, because it helps keep the whole device cleaner. I can rest easy at night knowing I’m not breathing in random airborne minerals or particles from tap water, too.
I know when I’m in the market for another humidifier, I’ll buy a Carepod again and won’t settle for anything else.
