OP's probably never been to a region so dry that people actually appreciate a bit of humidity. Living in a relatively humid region, it's easy to see humidity as a nuisance that no-one would actually desire.

I didn't get it until I first visited Las Vegas. Nosebleeds, and static electric shocks every time I touched a door handle.

Living in a climate that's humid year-round will do it. I've seen plenty of dehumidifiers, but no humidifiers.

Yeah, as others said, I just can't imagine it - totally foreign concept. I didn't mean to be insensitive.

That said, I have friends from Europe who struggle in Summer because although they're used to much higher temperatures, they say it feels hotter because it's so humid. (To which I think "is it?!")

I remember when I was a child: my grandparents used a very simple humidifier attached to the heating in each room [1]; I'm not sure how effective these are, but I guess they don't require any real maintenance. ;)

[1] http://bilder.zuhause.de/b/66/73/47/12/id_66734712/tid_da/sc...

While they're no longer sold in America, this Zojirushi warm steam design https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PVXOX4/ requires very little in the way of cleaning and maintenance, just add some citric acid to the water and run its clean cycle when scale deposits get thick enough. Mine is still going strong after 7 winters.

I wouldn't, however, be inclined to buy an ultrasonic model like they're selling, you're depending on its filter way too much to keep dissolved solids and bacteria out of the air.