Hi again!

So, winter is approaching and it's getting colder.
This will be my first winter in my new apartment, so I don't know yet what to expect and how cold it'll really get.
It's already as cold as 16°C inside in the morning when I wake up, so I expect it to be around 8-10°C inside once it's getting really cold.

Luckily I have an A/C with heating function in one room. And that's the room I made my main room (bedroom and working room). It's a bit crowded, but the A/C was the very reason why I decided to do so.
In summer it's easy to keep it cool, in winter it's easy to keep it warm.

I also have a new kotatsu (part of the apartment, not bought by me) that I won't need to use at all. Kind of a pity.
I always enjoyed using my old kotatsu in my previous apartment!

One thing that I noticed, though, is that it gets EXTREMELY dry inside, especially when turning on the A/C heater.
A humidity level of 40% or lower is not considered healthy anymore. It's easy to get dry skin, itchy eyes and a sore throat - and all of that has already happened to me.

In my old apartment I used to have a great humidifier that was also an air-cleaner and a fan heater at the same time.
I knew those thingies were quite expensive so I was happy that the school provided one. As it wasn't mine, I couldn't take it with me when I moved.

Now, I'm struggling every day with the dry air in my apartment and I NEED to get a good humidifier.
However, there are so many to choose from.

Of course, I could go with a very cheap version for about 3000-5000yen. Those are usually quite small, but the size might be enough as my room is pretty small (~ 6 tatami mats -ish ..) and I would only use it in that one room, my main room, after all.



If I'm going to spend money anyways, I thought I might as well get one with air-cleaning function, so that it will be useful once hay fever season in spring is hitting.
Those humidifiers are around 8000-10.000yen.



There are also different types such as hybrid, supersonic and steam.
The steam types automatically heat up the room a bit through the hot water steam, but mold is a risk.


Last but not least there are those 3-in-1 thingies (what I used to have in my old apartment): air-cleaner, humidifier and fan heater in ONE!
Of course they are the most expensive with around 15.000-20.000yen.




My family is coming in 2 weeks. They will have to stay a few nights in my apartment in a tatami-mat room that is usually empty. Of course there is no A/C and I don't have ANY portable heaters at the moment. I only have the kotatsu.
I'm worried how to keep them warm in this room, so I'm thinking about getting a cheap portable heater (halogen etc.). Some are as cheap as 3000yen and I'm also going to check the nearby recycle shop.
However, if I buy one of those earlier mentioned 3-in-1 thingies, I don't have to care about getting a heater anymore.
Apart from that I don't think I'll ever need the heating function. Not sure.

If I get a good humidifier (8000yen-ish) and buy a cheap heater (3000yen-ish) it might be still cheaper than buying a 3-in-1 solution (15.000-20.000yen-ish).


I'm also waiting 2 more days as one of my adult students said she has a very small, simple humidifier that she never uses, so I could have it.
I doubt it would be enough for what I need, but I want to have a look at it before I order something expensive.

You have to keep in mind that this is probably my last winter in Japan and I won't be able to take the device back with me.
On the other hand I want a good quality product as it's something I'm going to use every single day and night for quite a few months!

Do you have any experience with any of these?
Any suggestions / recommendations?

Thanks a lot in advance!