Humidifiers
53 guides tagged Humidifiers
Explainer
Where to Place a Humidifier in a Bedroom
Put it on a hard, waterproof surface at least a couple of feet off the floor, roughly three feet or more from the bed, a foot or more away from walls and furniture, with the mist aimed at open room rather than at bedding, books, wood or electronics. That placement gets the moisture mixing into the whole room instead of soaking one square yard of carpet, and it keeps the two real hazards, damp surfaces and hot water, away from anything that matters. Nurseries have their own rule, and it is not optional.
Read the guide →~9 min read
Explainer
Warm Mist vs Cool Mist Humidifier: Which to Buy
Buy cool mist. It is the safer machine, the cheaper machine to run, and the one the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends around children, and for the great majority of rooms it puts the same water into the air. Warm mist earns its place in exactly three situations: a cold adult bedroom where the mist itself is part of the comfort, a unit with a medicine cup you actually intend to use, and a house where fan noise is the thing keeping you awake. Here is the full mechanical comparison, the noise and dust reality, and the room-by-room, season-by-season call.
Read the guide →~10 min read
Review
Vornado Humidifier Review (2026): The Evap40 and the Rest
Buy the Vornado Evap40 at $109.99. It publishes 4 gal and a maker-stated 1,000 sq ft, it produces no white dust because it is evaporative, and its replacement wick is $12.99 for two, the cheapest consumable in our catalog. The rest of the line is the same idea in four other sizes. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~11 min read
Review
Vicks Warm Mist Humidifier (V745) Review: The Safer Vicks
The V745 is what people actually want when they say they want a Vicks vaporizer but do not want boiling steam in the room. It heats the water, cools the mist before releasing it, keeps the medicine cup for VapoSteam, adds two speeds and an automatic shut-off, and costs $39.49. It also holds a gallon rather than a gallon and a half, and Vicks does not publish a run time for it. Here is exactly when that trade is worth twenty extra dollars.
Read the guide →~10 min read
Review
Vicks Cool Mist Humidifier Review: The Filter-Free Line, Ranked
Vicks sells four filter-free cool-mist humidifiers that look almost identical on a listing page and cost between $39.99 and $68.97. This is the one review that separates them: which one belongs in a nursery, which one is the value buy, which one is easiest to fill and clean, and why cool mist is the output type the American Academy of Pediatrics prefers for a child's room in the first place.
Read the guide →~10 min read
Explainer
Vaporizer vs Nebulizer: Two Very Different Machines
A nebulizer is a medical device that turns prescribed liquid medication into an aerosol fine enough to be inhaled into the lungs, obtained and used under a clinician's direction. A vaporizer is a household appliance that puts water vapor into a room to make dry air more comfortable. They are not competing products and one is never a substitute for the other. Here is the distinction in full, why the mix-up is dangerous rather than merely confusing, and what a vaporizer or steam inhaler can legitimately do while you are waiting on care.
Read the guide →~8 min read
Explainer
Vaporizer vs Humidifier: What the Difference Actually Is
A vaporizer boils water and releases hot steam. A humidifier releases mist that is cool, or warmed and then cooled before it leaves the machine. That single mechanical difference decides everything else: burn risk, filters, noise, what you can add to the water, how much it costs to run, and which one belongs in a nursery. This is the full decision, with a side-by-side table, the running-cost math, and the specific unit to buy for a cold, a baby, and a dry winter bedroom.
Read the guide →~11 min read
Review
Pure Enrichment MistAire Review (2026): Worth It?
The MistAire at $39.99 is the default cheap ultrasonic humidifier, and it is a perfectly decent one. The problem is what Pure Enrichment does not publish: no tank capacity, no runtime, no decibel figure in our verified data. Levoit's 2.5 L top fill at $29.79 states 25 dB and costs $10.20 less. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~9 min read
Explainer
Pink Mold in a Humidifier: What It Is and How to Remove It
The pink or orange film in a humidifier tank is usually not mold at all. It is most commonly attributed to Serratia marcescens, a bacterium that lives happily on damp surfaces and shows up in showers, toilet tanks and any reservoir left wet between uses. That distinction matters, because it explains why the film wipes away easily, why it comes back within days, and why the fix is a sequence rather than a single scrub. Here is how to clear it and how to stop it returning.
Read the guide →~9 min read
Comparison
Levoit LV600S vs Vicks Warm Mist (2026): Which One?
Buy the Vicks Warm Mist V745 at $39.49 if warm mist during colds is the whole job. Buy the Levoit LV600S at $109.00 if you want a humidifier running most of the year. The $69.51 between them buys a bigger tank, cool mist, a humidistat and scheduling. It does not buy a medicine cup, and Vicks has one. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~8 min read
Review
Levoit LV600S Review (2026): Is It Worth $109?
Yes, if you want one humidifier to cover a whole year. The LV600S is a 6 L warm and cool mist unit with a humidistat and app control at $109.00, and the thing it really buys you is not the app, it is a machine that holds a humidity number instead of a fan speed. Price verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~9 min read
Review
Levoit Humidifier Review (2026): The Whole Lineup, Ranked
Buy the Levoit LV600S at $109.00. It is the only Levoit that does warm mist, cool mist, a real humidistat and app control in one 6 L body, and it is the model the rest of the lineup is measured against. If you want the cheapest Levoit worth owning, it is the 2.5 L top fill at $29.79. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~11 min read
Explainer
Is a Vaporizer Good for a Cough? An Honest Answer
A vaporizer can make a cough more bearable and it does not make a cough go away. That is the whole answer, and most of the internet will not give it to you straight. Added humidity genuinely helps a dry, raw, irritated airway feel better, especially in a house dried out by winter heating, and medicated steam adds a sensation of an open nose that many people find worth the twenty dollars. What the evidence does not support is that any of it shortens an illness. Here is what humidity actually does, what it does not, when a cough is a reason to call a doctor instead of shop, and how to set a unit up safely.
Read the guide →~10 min read
Explainer
Ideal Humidity for a Bedroom: The Number to Aim For
Aim for 30 to 50 percent relative humidity, the range the EPA commonly cites for indoor air, and treat the middle of it as the comfortable target rather than the edges. Below 30 percent you get the dry-throat, cracked-lip, static-shock winter bedroom. Above 60 percent you are running an environment that favors mold and dust mites, which is a worse problem than the one you were solving. Here is why that band exists, how it shifts in winter, how to measure it for about eleven dollars, and which machine holds it without supervision.
Read the guide →~9 min read
Explainer
Humidifier White Dust: Why It Happens and How to Stop It
White dust is your tap water, minus the water. An ultrasonic humidifier shears the whole contents of the tank into a fine aerosol, the water evaporates in the room, and every dissolved mineral it was carrying lands on your nightstand as powder. That is the entire mechanism, which is why it only happens on ultrasonic units and never on evaporative or warm-mist ones, and why there are exactly three fixes: change the water, filter the minerals, or change the machine.
Read the guide →~9 min read
Explainer
Humidifier vs Dehumidifier: Which Problem Do You Have?
These two machines do exactly opposite things, so the only question that matters is which direction your room is wrong in. A humidifier adds moisture to air that is too dry. A dehumidifier removes moisture from air that is too damp. Guessing from how a room feels is unreliable, which is why the correct first purchase for almost everyone is neither: it is a hygrometer that costs about eleven dollars and settles the argument in an afternoon.
Read the guide →~8 min read
Explainer
Humidifier vs Air Purifier: Which One Do You Need?
They are not competitors, and choosing between them is easier once you stop treating them as alternatives. A humidifier adds water vapor to dry air. An air purifier pulls particles out of the air and changes its moisture content not at all. If your problem is a cracked-lip, static-shock, dry-throat winter bedroom, you need the humidifier. If your problem is dust, pollen, pet dander or smoke, you need the purifier. Plenty of households genuinely need both, and they do not interfere with one another.
Read the guide →~8 min read
Explainer
How to Clean a Vaporizer: The Routine That Keeps It Working
Empty and dry the tank every day, descale with white vinegar every week, sanitize on the schedule in your manual, and replace wick filters on time. That is the whole routine, and it is the difference between a machine that helps you sleep and a warm reservoir of standing water quietly distributing whatever grew in it overnight. Here is the daily and weekly procedure, the extra step steam vaporizers need on their electrodes, what to use and what never to mix, and the point at which a unit is finished rather than dirty.
Read the guide →~10 min read
Explainer
How to Clean a Humidifier: Daily, Weekly, Deep Clean
Empty and dry the tank every day, descale with white vinegar every week, sanitize with whatever your manual specifies, and replace wick filters on the maker's schedule. That is the entire routine, and it takes about a minute a day and ten minutes a week. Below: the exact procedure, what changes between ultrasonic, evaporative and warm-mist or steam units, the one combination that is genuinely dangerous, and the mistakes that turn a helpful machine into a warm tank of standing water.
Read the guide →~10 min read
Explainer
How to Clean a Humidifier With Vinegar: The Method
Plain white vinegar, poured into the base and left to sit for twenty to thirty minutes, dissolves the mineral scale that soap and scrubbing will not touch. That is what vinegar is for, and it is the right first step in almost every humidifier clean. What it is not is a sanitizer, which is why the makers who specify a vinegar soak also specify a separate disinfecting step afterward. Here is the ratio, the dwell time, the parts that should never be soaked, and the moment vinegar stops being the answer.
Read the guide →~9 min read
Explainer
How to Choose a Vaporizer: A Decision Guide by Problem
Do not start from the product. Start from the problem, because the word vaporizer covers at least six different machines and picking the wrong category is how people end up with a device that cannot do the thing they bought it for. Cold and congestion, a baby's room, a dry bedroom all winter, blocked sinuses, dry skin, a room that should smell like eucalyptus, and dry herb are seven different jobs with seven different answers. This routes you to the right one in about two minutes, with the specific unit and the live price at the end of each path.
Read the guide →~10 min read
Explainer
How Long Does a Humidifier Take to Work?
Minutes for the air right beside the unit, several hours for a closed bedroom to settle at a new humidity, and often overnight before you notice the difference where it matters. That spread is not vagueness; it is three different questions wearing one sentence. What decides the answer is room volume, how well the room is sealed, how dry the outside air is, and whether the machine moves enough water per hour to outrun the leaks. Here is what to expect, and how to tell when it never will.
Read the guide →~9 min read
Explainer
How Does a Vaporizer Work? The Mechanics, Explained
A steam vaporizer passes electric current between two electrodes through the water itself, which boils it and vents steam. That is a genuinely different machine from a warm-mist humidifier with a heating element, from an ultrasonic unit that shears water into fog with a vibrating disc, and from an evaporative unit that simply blows air through a wet filter. Understanding which of those four is inside the box explains everything you will ever wonder about your unit: why it needs salt, why it dusts your furniture, why it stopped making steam, and why one of them belongs nowhere near a crib.
Read the guide →~11 min read
Review
Honeywell Humidifier Review (2026): Evaporative, and Why That Matters
Buy the Honeywell Cool Moisture evaporative humidifier at $76.42. It is the HCM-350 class machine that uses a wick filter and a fan instead of an ultrasonic mister, which means it never throws white dust, it cannot over-humidify a room, and the minerals in your tap water stay in the filter. You pay for that with fan noise and a filter to replace. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~10 min read
Review
Frida Baby Humidifier Review (2026): Is the 3-in-1 Worth It?
Buy the Frida Baby 3-in-1 at $43.49 if you were going to buy a night light anyway. It is a cool-mist humidifier, a diffuser and a night light in one nursery machine, and cool mist is what the American Academy of Pediatrics prefers in a child's room because heated units can scald. The XL top-fill version is $79.99. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~9 min read
Review
Dreo Humidifier Review (2026): The Lineup, Ranked
Buy the Dreo 4 L smart cool mist at $42.27. Dreo is the rare humidifier brand that publishes both a runtime and a decibel figure for most of its lineup, which makes it unusually easy to shop, and the 4 L smart unit is the model where price, tank and app control meet. The 11 L 747S at $99.99 is the outlier worth knowing: 100 hours and a stated 21 dB. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~10 min read
Explainer
Do Humidifiers Help With Congestion? An Honest Answer
Many people find that comfortable indoor humidity makes a stuffy nose and a dry, scratchy throat feel better, and that is a real and reasonable reason to run one. What a humidifier is not is a treatment. It does not cure a cold, shorten one, prevent one or clear an infection, and the evidence for anything beyond symptomatic comfort is thin. Here is what humidity plausibly does, what it does not, how to set one up safely, and when the right move is a clinician rather than an appliance.
Read the guide →~9 min read
Explainer
Distilled vs Tap Water in a Vaporizer: What to Use
Use distilled or demineralized water in an ultrasonic cool-mist humidifier, and use ordinary tap water in an electrode steam vaporizer. That is not a contradiction, it is two opposite mechanisms: an ultrasonic unit atomizes whatever is dissolved in the tank and sprays it around your bedroom as white dust, while a steam vaporizer needs those same dissolved minerals to conduct the current that boils the water. Here is which machine takes which water, what the long-standing federal consumer guidance actually says, and honest math on what running distilled costs per night.
Read the guide →~9 min read
Explainer
Diffuser vs Humidifier: They Are Not the Same Machine
A diffuser exists to put scent into a room and a humidifier exists to put water into it, and the gap between them is not a matter of degree. A 500 mL diffuser and a 6 L humidifier are two different appliances doing two different jobs, and buying the first to fix dry air is the most common mistake in this whole category. Here is the output difference in plain numbers, where essential oils actually belong, the handful of units that legitimately do both, and which one to buy for scent, for dryness, and for a nursery.
Read the guide →~9 min read
Review
Crane Humidifier Review (2026): The Nursery Lineup, Ranked
Buy the Crane Adorables 1 gallon ultrasonic cool mist at $50.99. It is the animal-shaped nursery classic, it is cool mist, and cool mist is what the American Academy of Pediatrics prefers in a child's room because warm-mist and steam units can scald. Crane's warm-mist side starts at $29.99 and belongs in adult bedrooms. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~11 min read
Review
Canopy Humidifier Review (2026): Is $159 Justified?
Buy the Canopy Bedside Humidifier 2.0 at $159.00 if the reason you stopped using your last humidifier was cleaning it. It is evaporative and mist free, its parts go in the dishwasher, and Canopy states a 2.5 L tank and 36 hours per fill. You pay for that with the highest price in the category and a filter subscription. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~10 min read
Explainer
Can You Use Tap Water in a Humidifier? An Honest Answer
It depends entirely on which machine you own, and most advice online fails because it answers for only one of them. In an ultrasonic cool-mist unit, tap water is the source of white dust and transducer scale, and public guidance is consistent in recommending distilled or demineralized water. In an evaporative unit, tap water is fine because the wick keeps the minerals. And in an electrode steam vaporizer, tap water is required, because distilled water has nothing in it to carry the current that makes the steam.
Read the guide →~9 min read
Explainer
Can You Put Vicks in a Humidifier? What Goes Where
No, not VapoRub, not in the tank of any humidifier or vaporizer. It is a petroleum-based ointment, it does not disperse in water, it coats and can damage the components it touches, and Vicks itself says not to. What you can use is the product built for the job: VapoSteam liquid in the medicine cup of a steam vaporizer, VapoPads in a unit with a scent pad slot, and essential oils only in a humidifier that provides a dedicated oil tray. Here is the complete what-goes-where, product by product, plus what to do if you already put the wrong thing in.
Read the guide →~9 min read
Buyer's Guide
The Best Warm Mist Humidifiers (2026)
Buy the Vicks Warm Mist Humidifier V745 at $39.49. It heats the water, cools the mist before it leaves the machine, shuts itself off when the tank runs dry, and takes VapoSteam in its medicine cup. Six alternatives below, from a $19.79 steam unit to a $114.99 Honeywell hybrid. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~12 min read
Buyer's Guide
The Best Warm and Cool Mist Humidifiers (2026)
Buy the Levoit LV600S at $109.00. It holds 6 L, switches between warm and cool mist on demand, and has the humidistat that makes a dual-mode machine worth owning in the first place. Six alternatives below, from a $79.94 Dreo to a $114.99 Honeywell. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~12 min read
Review
The Best Vicks Humidifier (2026): The Whole Line Ranked
Buy the Vicks Warm Steam Vaporizer V150 at $19.79. It boils its water, runs about 24 hours a fill on Vicks's own figure, has no filter to buy ever, and takes VapoSteam in its medicine cup. If a child sleeps in the room, buy a cool mist unit instead, because the V150 holds boiling water. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~13 min read
Buyer's Guide
The Best Vaporizers (2026): One Word, Five Different Machines
Buy the Vicks Warm Steam Vaporizer V150 at $19.79. It is the machine almost everyone means when they type "vaporizer": the warm steam unit you run beside a bed during a cold. If you meant something else, this guide names the pick for every other meaning of the word, from the Levoit LV600S at $109.00 to the Vicks Sinus Inhaler at $42.98. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~13 min read
Buyer's Guide
Best Ultrasonic Humidifiers (2026): 7 Quiet Picks
Buy the Levoit 2.5 L top fill at $29.79. It publishes a 25 dB noise rating, the quietest verified figure in our catalog, it fills from the top, and it has no filter to buy for as long as you own it. If you want warm mist and a humidistat as well, step up to the Levoit LV600S at $109.00. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~13 min read
Buyer's Guide
The Best Travel Humidifiers (2026): 5 Ranked
Buy the Homedics USB rechargeable portable at $29.99. It runs off a battery rather than hunting for a free hotel outlet, it packs into a washbag, and it costs less than one night of regretting the hotel's air. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~11 min read
Buyer's Guide
Best Smart Humidifiers (2026): 7 App-Controlled Picks
Buy the Levoit LV600S at $109.00. It is 6 L, it does warm and cool mist, and it carries an onboard humidistat with an auto mode, which is the feature that actually earns the word smart. The app is a convenience. Targeting a humidity level and stopping is the point. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~13 min read
Buyer's Guide
The Best Quiet Humidifiers (2026): Published Decibels Only
Buy the Levoit 2.5 L top fill at $29.79, which publishes 25 dB. If you want the quietest published figure at any size, the Dreo 747S 11 L states 21 dB at $99.99. This page ranks on numbers makers actually print, and says "not published" everywhere else, because "whisper quiet" is not a measurement. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~11 min read
Buyer's Guide
The Best Humidifiers (2026): Every Type, Ranked
Buy the Levoit LV600S at $109.00. It is the only unit here that does warm mist and cool mist, holds 6 L, and runs itself off a humidistat instead of running until the tank is dry. If $109 is more than the problem is worth, the Levoit 2.5 L top fill at $29.79 solves eighty percent of it. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~14 min read
Buyer's Guide
Best Humidifier for Sinus and Allergies (2026)
Buy the Vicks Warm Mist Humidifier V745 at $39.49. It is warm mist with auto shut-off, two speeds and a medicine cup, which is the configuration most people want on a congested night. If your household is allergy-sensitive, buy the evaporative Honeywell at $76.42 instead and read the cleaning section. Humidity is comfort, not treatment. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~13 min read
Buyer's Guide
The Best Humidifier for Plants (2026): 7 Ranked
Buy the Crane 1 gal classic ultrasonic at $39.98. Crane's own listing names plants alongside bedrooms and nurseries, a gallon is enough to run all day near a plant shelf, and at under forty dollars you can put one at each end of a long collection. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~12 min read
Buyer's Guide
The Best Humidifiers for a Large Room (2026)
Buy the Levoit OasisMist 1000S at $149.99. It publishes a 10 L tank, which is the capacity a living room, a basement or an open-plan floor actually needs and the reason smaller units seem not to work. Five alternatives below, including the Dreo 747S at $99.99 with a published 100 hours and 21 dB. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~11 min read
Buyer's Guide
The Best Humidifier for Dry Skin (2026): 6 Ranked
Buy the Levoit LV600S at $109.00. It holds 6 L, it runs warm or cool mist, and it has a humidistat, which is the feature that decides whether a bedroom sits at a steady 45 percent all night or spikes and crashes. Humidity is a comfort measure, not a skin treatment. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~12 min read
Buyer's Guide
The Best Humidifier for a Bedroom (2026)
Buy the Levoit LV600S at $109.00. It holds 6 L, runs warm or cool on demand, and has the humidistat that stops a closed bedroom from turning into a greenhouse overnight. Six alternatives below, from a $39.49 Vicks to a $159.00 Canopy. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~12 min read
Buyer's Guide
The Best Humidifier for a Baby's Room (2026)
Buy the Frida Baby 3-in-1 at $43.49. It is cool mist, which is what the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends for a child's room, and it folds in the diffuser and night light most parents buy separately anyway. Six alternatives below, from a $29.79 Levoit to a $159.00 Canopy Nursery. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~12 min read
Buyer's Guide
Best Humidifier Cleaner (2026): Keep the Tank Safe
Buy BestAir 3BT bacteriostatic treatment at $22.90 for two 32 oz bottles. It is the treatment that slows what grows in a tank between cleanings, which is the actual failure mode of every humidifier. It does not replace descaling with white vinegar, and nothing replaces emptying the tank. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~12 min read
Buyer's Guide
Best Filterless Humidifiers (2026): 6 No-Filter Picks
Buy the Vicks Filter-Free Ultrasonic at $68.97, from the pediatrician-recommended Vicks line. There is no wick, no cartridge and nothing to reorder, and the trade you are making instead is white mineral dust unless you run distilled water. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~12 min read
Buyer's Guide
Best Evaporative Humidifiers (2026): 6 Wick Units Ranked
Buy the Honeywell Cool Moisture at $76.42. It is the evaporative unit most people should own: invisible moisture, no white dust whatever your water is like, UV treatment in the HCM-350 class, and genuine wick filters at $29.21 for three. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~13 min read
Buyer's Guide
The Best Desk Humidifiers (2026): 6 Small Units Ranked
Buy the Vicks Mini Filter-Free at $39.99. It is cool mist, it has no filter to buy or forget, and it is small enough to share a desk with a monitor and a keyboard without becoming the main event. If price is the whole question, the Homedics portable in matte white is $24.99. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~11 min read
Buyer's Guide
The Best Cool Mist Humidifiers (2026): Ultrasonic vs Evaporative
Buy the Levoit 2.5 L top fill at $29.79. It publishes a 25 dB noise rating, the quietest verified figure in this field, and it fills from the top so you are not carrying a tank to a sink at midnight. If you have hard water, buy the Honeywell evaporative at $76.42 instead, and the section below explains exactly why. Prices verified live via the Amazon Creators API on September 5, 2026.
Read the guide →~13 min read
Our top-rated vaporizers
Whatever you decide, these are the picks we recommend across every category, ranked on verified output and value. Live price check on each.
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