Levoit LV600S Smart Hybrid Ultrasonic Review

Levoit is a big name in the humidifier world, and several of their models scored high and garnered awards for us. Overall, we don't find glaring design oversights or omissions. The LV600S Smart Hybrid specifically is one of our favorites as it offers a lot of flexibility and options, and is one of the few affordable consumer units that can truly handle large spaces.

Humidification

Right off the bat, know that the LV600S is exceptionally good at, well humidifying. Possibly too good. With both modes running full power, we measured humidity in our test lab rise 25% in 1 hour. Opening that door and stepping into 65% felt like being dropped on a surprise hike in a tropical rainforest.

While this is more humidity than necessary, it does make this humidifier great for large spaces, provided there's some good air movement. Plus, power level control and a smart auto-humidity mode can help keep things under control. The 'hybrid' part of the name is important here too — a 'cool mist' option refers to ultrasonic tech used to create water vapor; most common among models on the market these days. 'Warm mist' tech is basic steam.

Ease of Cleaning

Cleaning your unit often is undeniably important to keep buildup like mineralization and pink haze at bay. The Smart Hybrid is fine in this regard, what we'd call average among our tested group. It does have a wide tank mouth so generous hand/scrubbing access is a big plus.

The tank shape itself is decent here too; there's not a ton of crevices to struggle around, though we found clearance around the vapor tower to be tight. The base of the unit is more where it got annoying. A good number of little parts need to be removed for access. The ultrasonic unit is pretty straightforward and accessible, but the boiling plate has small channels to spend some time on.

Noise

Humidifiers aren't inherently loud contraptions, but the LV600S measures a little on the high side at 44dB average run noise.

The ultrasonic unit itself is pretty silent, so with that mode, you're really only hearing a small fan sound. Running steam mode sounds like a (muffled) kettle boiling — starts off with a low rumbling, then transitions to a continuous low hiss. We wouldn't call it annoying or distracting in most cases, but it's noticeable. 'Sleep mode' doesn't lower the noise, just turns the display off for lower light levels.

Ease of Use

To start, the fantastic App (called VeSync) is surprisingly useful. Not all of us want to download Apps and set up accounts with every widget and device these days, we do get that. You don't need one here either, and it's still a great product without. With the App, you can set timers and schedules, and set a desired relative humidity. Beyond that, Levoit has catered specifically to plant owners. It'll track watering schedules and give light and humidity recommendations for specific species, then set itself to accommodate the average humidity needs of plants in your space.

Filling the tank is going to be your biggest touch point here. The actual act of filling is about as easy as we could ask for. The tank has a nice, balanced handle and a stable bottom for filling in the sink, and a wide opening in case you prefer filling in place.

Where we had to ding the Smart Hybrid is on run time. The 6L tank (1.58gal) is top of our lineup, but even so, on full blast, this thing runs through so much water it won't even last 21 hours. That doesn't tell the whole story of course, as running it on lower levels or with only one mode on will extend that quite a bit. For example, we measured almost 36 hours of run time with just Cool Mist on.

Operating Cost

We estimate it'll cost the average household about $170 to run this model roughly 1/4 of the year. Of course, those numbers will vary based on your personal usage, and what mode it's run on.

In the case of the hybrid mode, much of the cost will be the higher energy consumption needed to run the boiler. It's essentially an electric kettle. Running ultrasonic mode only is about 10x cheaper, but you're gonna have the cost savings negated by buying distilled or RO water. What we figured out is that buying de-mineralization treatment tablets was the cheapest method long-term.

We should note that either mode should probably use treated or 'pure' water. The dissolved minerals in tap water, no matter if the specific water in your area is 'hard' or 'soft', are too small to be filtered out by most home filtration systems. And while boiling water releases pure water steam into the air, the minerals just remain behind, meaning you'll need to clean your unit more often to prevent scale buildup.

Should You Buy the Levoit LV600S Smart Hybrid Ultrasonic?

This is a polished model that we don't have many complaints about. More than that, it's both powerful and versatile, so we think it's the best option for anyone with larger rooms that need some extra humidity. That said, the purchase price and operating cost, while not outrageous, are on the high end.

What Other Humidifier Should You Consider?