Humidifiers / AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier vs Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier
AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier
$173.99
VSCrane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier
$44.99
AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier vs Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier
AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier
Twelve gallons a day for a whole house, from a tank you refill three times a day.
Wins overall by 1.4 points
Quick Verdict
A 1.4-point gap makes the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier the straightforward choice here. Twelve gallons a day for a whole house, from a tank you refill three times a day.
The AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier and Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier are both closely matched humidifier models, and the Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier is $129 cheaper than the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier ($44.99 vs $173.99). On Humidity Control, the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier leads (9.5 vs 2.0/10) — whether there is a genuine closed-loop humidistat holding a setpoint, or just fixed output steps and a timer with a humidity label on it. On Freedom From White Dust, the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier leads (9.5 vs 3.5/10) — the thing marketing never mentions. Ultrasonic humidifiers aerosolise whatever is dissolved in the water and deposit it as white dust on furniture — the EPA notes they are 'very efficient at dispersing minerals in tap water into the air', along with microorganisms from the tank. Evaporative and boiled-steam units do not do this at all. A high score means the technology cannot produce dust; a low score means you are buying distilled water for the life of the machine.. On Output, the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier leads (10.0 vs 6.0/10) — actual moisture put into the room per day in gallons or mL/hr, judged against the coverage the manufacturer claims — not the square-footage number on the box. Overall, the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier scores 7.3/10 across our 8 scoring categories versus 5.9/10 for the Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier. Below, we break down the full spec sheet, category-by-category scores, and exactly who should buy which one.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Spec | AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier | Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $173.99 | $44.99 |
| Release Year | 2011 | 2010 |
| Humidification Technology | Evaporative console — a four-speed fan pulls air through a large MAF1 SuperWick belt standing in the reservoir | Ultrasonic cool mist — a piezo disc atomises water into a visible plume, no fan and no wick |
| White Dust & Mineral Aerosol | None. All the mineral load ends up in the wick, which is precisely why AIRCARE tells you the wick life depends on water hardness. Tap water is the intended input | Yes, and Crane's own manual says so plainly: "filtered or distilled water is recommended to avoid white dust if tap water is too hard". Crane sells a demineralisation filter as an accessory, but retailers cannot agree on which one — Home Depot's listing cites HS-1932 and FiltersFast cites HS-3161. the EPA's "Use and Care of Home Humidifiers" states that ultrasonic and impeller humidifiers "are very efficient at dispersing minerals in tap water into the air" and that they "can disperse materials, such as microorganisms and minerals, from their water tanks into indoor air" |
| Tank Capacity | 3.6 gal / 13.6 L in removable bottles | 1 gal / 3.78 L |
| Rated Output per Day | 12 gallons per day — the highest rated output in this comparison, and more than three times what the tank holds. Hitting the rated figure means refilling 3.6 gallons roughly three times in 24 hours | "Approx. 2.3 Gallon / 8.7 Liter" per Crane's manual — from a 1 gallon tank. Reaching rated output means filling it two and a bit times in 24 hours |
| Quoted Runtime (and at which setting) | "Up to 36 hours" — that is 3.6 gal over 36 h, i.e. 2.4 gal/day, which is one fifth of the 12 gal/day rated output. The two headline numbers describe opposite ends of the fan range | Crane's manual gives both ends: "Max. up to 24 hours / Min. 11 Hours". Retail listings quote only the 24-hour figure, which is the lowest output setting |
| Rated Room Coverage | Up to 3,600 ft² in tight construction, or about 2,500 ft² average per AIRCARE's own literature. Sylvane's listing for the same unit reproduces the figure with a typographical error (36,600 ft²) | Sources conflict outright: Crane's own manual says "Up to 250 sq. ft. / 23 m2", while Home Depot and Lowe's list the identical EE-5301 at up to 500 ft² — a 2x discrepancy between the manufacturer's manual and its own retail listings |
| Humidistat | Real closed-loop digital humidistat, adjustable 25-65% RH in 5% increments, with an auto mode that varies fan speed to hold the setpoint plus a dry-out mode and auto shut-off. The most capable humidity control in this set | None. A variable-output knob and an auto shut-off for a dry tank. There is no humidity sensor and no auto mode anywhere in the Drop line |
| Noise | Not published as a decibel figure by AIRCARE. It is an 80W fan moving enough air to evaporate twelve gallons a day — speed 4 is loud, and this is a living-room machine rather than a bedside one | Not published as a decibel figure — the manual and retail listings say only "whisper quiet". No fan, so the noise is the ultrasonic hum |
| Filters & Cartridges (Annual Cost) | MAF1 SuperWick belts. AIRCARE's own guidance is one per season, but Home Depot's listing for the MAF1 states wicks "can last anywhere from 30 to 90 days, depending on the quality of your water", at $23.09 each. On hard water that is $70-90 a season, not one $23 wick | Nothing required — Crane's design is explicitly filter-optional. The demineralisation filter is an accessory whose part number varies by retailer; distilled water is the alternative, at roughly $1-1.50/gal |
| Cleaning Burden & Dishwasher-Safe Parts | Console-sized. The reservoir base is wide open and easy to wipe, the bottles unscrew for filling, and there is a dry-out mode — but nothing is dishwasher-safe and a 3.6 gallon standing reservoir is the largest body of stagnant water here if you let it sit | Crane's manual asks for daily emptying and a weekly deep clean: half a gallon of warm water plus two tablespoons of white vinegar in the tank, shaken and left 20-30 minutes, then repeated for the basin. The tank has a detachable bottom cap and a removable level sensor, which genuinely helps. Nothing is dishwasher-safe |
| UV / Antimicrobial Claim | No UV and no built-in antimicrobial stage. AIRCARE sells a bacteriostatic treatment and demineralisation cartridges as separate accessories; neither ships in the box | Claimed by retailers, absent from the manual. Home Depot's listing says the unit is "made with clean control anti-microbial material which reduces mold and bacteria growth by up to 99.96%"; FiltersFast's listing for the same model says no antimicrobial claims are made, and Crane's own manual contains no such claim. Treat the 99.96% figure as unsubstantiated |
| Mist Temperature & Burn Risk | Cool, invisible vapour at room temperature. No heat and no aerosol, but the sheer size and a 3.6 gallon water load make it a tipping hazard rather than a burn one | Cool mist at room temperature — no burn risk, no heater, no thermal kill step |
| Warranty | 24 months | 12 months |
| Colors | White | White, Blue/White, Clear/White, Grey, Pink, Orange |
Category Scores
Freedom From White Dust
The AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier leads clearly here, 9.5 against 3.5 — a 6.0-point margin on the thing marketing never mentions. Ultrasonic humidifiers aerosolise whatever is dissolved in the water and deposit it as white dust on furniture — the EPA notes they are 'very efficient at dispersing minerals in tap water into the air', along with microorganisms from the tank. Evaporative and boiled-steam units do not do this at all. A high score means the technology cannot produce dust; a low score means you are buying distilled water for the life of the machine.. If that is what you are buying for, the Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier does not close the gap elsewhere.
Output
The AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier leads clearly here, 10.0 against 6.0 — a 4.0-point margin on actual moisture put into the room per day in gallons or mL/hr, judged against the coverage the manufacturer claims — not the square-footage number on the box. If that is what you are buying for, the Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier does not close the gap elsewhere.
Runtime & Refill Interval
The AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier leads clearly here, 6.0 against 5.5 — a 0.5-point margin on how long a full tank really lasts at a useful output setting, rather than at the lowest setting the runtime is quoted for, and how painful the refill is. If that is what you are buying for, the Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier does not close the gap elsewhere.
Cleaning & Access
The Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier leads clearly here, 7.0 against 6.0 — a 1.0-point margin on whether the tank opening takes an adult hand, whether any part is dishwasher-safe or boilable, and how realistic the manufacturer's stated cleaning interval is to actually keep to. If that is what you are buying for, the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier does not close the gap elsewhere.
Running Cost
The Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier leads clearly here, 7.0 against 5.5 — a 1.5-point margin on wicks, demineralisation cartridges, antimicrobial additives, distilled water and electricity — everything you keep paying after the purchase. If that is what you are buying for, the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier does not close the gap elsewhere.
Quietness
The Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier leads clearly here, 8.0 against 4.0 — a 4.0-point margin on noise at the setting people actually run it overnight, weighted toward independently measured figures over manufacturer claims. If that is what you are buying for, the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier does not close the gap elsewhere.
Humidity Control
The AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier leads clearly here, 9.5 against 2.0 — a 7.5-point margin on whether there is a genuine closed-loop humidistat holding a setpoint, or just fixed output steps and a timer with a humidity label on it. If that is what you are buying for, the Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier does not close the gap elsewhere.
Safety Around Children
The Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier leads clearly here, 8.5 against 8.0 — a 0.5-point margin on burn and scald risk from boiled or heated water, tipping hazard, and whether the hygiene story holds up in a nursery. If that is what you are buying for, the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier does not close the gap elsewhere.
Best For
Choose the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier if…
- • Humidity Control matters most to you — the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier scores 9.5/10 here (whether there is a genuine closed-loop humidistat holding a setpoint, or just fixed output steps and a timer with a humidity label on it).
- • Freedom From White Dust matters most to you — the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier scores 9.5/10 here (the thing marketing never mentions. Ultrasonic humidifiers aerosolise whatever is dissolved in the water and deposit it as white dust on furniture — the EPA notes they are 'very efficient at dispersing minerals in tap water into the air', along with microorganisms from the tank. Evaporative and boiled-steam units do not do this at all. A high score means the technology cannot produce dust; a low score means you are buying distilled water for the life of the machine.).
- • Output matters most to you — the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier scores 10.0/10 here (actual moisture put into the room per day in gallons or mL/hr, judged against the coverage the manufacturer claims — not the square-footage number on the box).
- • Your main use case is no-white-dust or whole-house.
Choose the Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier if…
- • Quietness matters most to you — the Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier scores 8.0/10 here (noise at the setting people actually run it overnight, weighted toward independently measured figures over manufacturer claims).
- • Running Cost matters most to you — the Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier scores 7.0/10 here (wicks, demineralisation cartridges, antimicrobial additives, distilled water and electricity — everything you keep paying after the purchase).
- • You want to spend less — it's $129 cheaper.
- • Your main use case is nursery.
Pros & Cons
AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier
Pros
- +12 gal/day is genuine whole-floor humidification — nothing else here is within a factor of five
- +A real digital humidistat with 5% setpoint granularity, an auto fan mode and a dry-out cycle
- +Evaporative, so no white dust, no distilled water and no aerosolised tank water anywhere in the house
- +Casters, a wick-change indicator and a $23 commodity wick that every hardware store stocks
Cons
- −The 12 gal/day output and the 3.6 gal tank are irreconcilable: run it at rated output and you are carrying water to it three times a day
- −80W of fan noise at speed 4 — this is not a bedroom unit, and AIRCARE publishes no decibel figure at all
- −Wick life is quoted by AIRCARE as one per season but by Home Depot as 30-90 days depending on water hardness; on hard water that is $70-90 a season in $23.09 wicks
- −Prices for the identical unit range from $149.99 at Sylvane to $187.99 on AIRCARE's own store — shop it, do not accept the first number
- −No antimicrobial or demineralisation stage in the box; both are accessories AIRCARE sells separately
Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier
Pros
- +Crane's manual is unusually honest — it publishes 2.3 gal/day output, both ends of the runtime range, and tells you outright to use filtered or distilled water to avoid white dust
- +Detachable bottom cap and removable water-level sensor make the tank genuinely easier to clean than most ultrasonics
- +Variable-output knob rather than two or three fixed steps, so you can dial in a low continuous rate
- +A gallon of capacity and six colour options for $44.99
Cons
- −Crane's own manual (250 ft²) and its own retail listings (500 ft²) disagree by a factor of two on coverage, and by nearly $21 on price
- −Ultrasonic white dust, and the demineralisation accessory has two different part numbers depending on which retailer you ask (HS-1932 vs HS-3161)
- −The "reduces mold and bacteria growth by up to 99.96%" antimicrobial claim appears on retail listings and nowhere in Crane's manual — another retailer says the model makes no antimicrobial claims at all
- −2.3 gal/day rated output from a 1 gallon tank means two-plus refills a day to hit the number
- −No humidistat, no humidity readout, and a one-year warranty against five on the cheaper Pure Enrichment
Shop by Need
FAQs
Is the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier or Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier better overall?+
Based on our 8-category scoring, the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier comes out ahead overall. See the full breakdown in the scores section above — the right pick still depends on which categories matter most for your use case.
Which is better for Humidity Control, the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier or the Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier?+
The AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier scores higher on Humidity Control (9.5/10 vs 2.0/10) — whether there is a genuine closed-loop humidistat holding a setpoint, or just fixed output steps and a timer with a humidity label on it.
Which is better for Freedom From White Dust, the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier or the Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier?+
The AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier scores higher on Freedom From White Dust (9.5/10 vs 3.5/10) — the thing marketing never mentions. Ultrasonic humidifiers aerosolise whatever is dissolved in the water and deposit it as white dust on furniture — the EPA notes they are 'very efficient at dispersing minerals in tap water into the air', along with microorganisms from the tank. Evaporative and boiled-steam units do not do this at all. A high score means the technology cannot produce dust; a low score means you are buying distilled water for the life of the machine..
Which is better for Output, the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier or the Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier?+
The AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier scores higher on Output (10.0/10 vs 6.0/10) — actual moisture put into the room per day in gallons or mL/hr, judged against the coverage the manufacturer claims — not the square-footage number on the box.
Which is better for Quietness, the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier or the Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier?+
The Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier scores higher on Quietness (8.0/10 vs 4.0/10) — noise at the setting people actually run it overnight, weighted toward independently measured figures over manufacturer claims.
Is the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier worth the price difference over the Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier?+
The Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier is the cheaper option at $44.99 versus $173.99. Whether the pricier model is "worth it" depends on how much you value its lead in Humidity Control.
Which is better suited to my use case?+
The AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier is the better fit if you mainly care about no-white-dust or whole-house. The Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier is the better fit for nursery.
What's the warranty on the AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier vs the Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier?+
The AIRCARE MA1201 Whole-House Console Evaporative Humidifier ships with a 24-month warranty; the Crane Drop EE-5301 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier ships with a 12-month warranty. Always confirm current terms on the manufacturer's site before buying.
Should I wait for the next model instead of buying either of these?+
If either model is more than two years old, a successor may be close — check the "Latest Model" link on each product page. Otherwise, both are current, well-supported options and there's no strong reason to wait.
Cheaper Option
Pure Enrichment MistAire Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier (PEHUMIDIF) — $39.99
Premium Option
Levoit Superior 6000S Smart Evaporative Humidifier (LEH-S601S-WUS) — $249.99
Specifications and prices for both products last verified . Scores are calculated from published specifications — see how we compare products.