Review of Holmes HM1865-U Comfort Select Cool Mist Humidifier

Customer Ratings:

I've had a number of humidifiers and this one fairs favorably to most. First, it uses a cool air wick rather than a sonicator (which puts the water contaminants on your furniture and in your lungs) or a heater (which is inefficient, gets horrible mineral buildup which is very difficult to clean, and can cause fire hazards). It has a huge tank. And it has a humidistat so you can just turn it on and forget about it, aside from refilling it every day or two. It will get the humidity where you want it not too dry, not too humid. For these reasons, I recommend this unit.

The downsides: It is not as nice as the model it replaced (which I also have) which looks almost exactly the same. The controls and display are a little less obvious they added more functionality with too few buttons. That is easily dealt with by deciding how you want to use it and then always putting it in that mode. I like to set the fan to low or medium (so it is nice and quiet and you hardly hear it) and then set the humidity to 30, 35, or 40. As others here have mentioned, the hygrometer is a bit flaky. At times it is stable. At times it jumps around a bit. This can lead the system to turn on and off in response to changes in the measured humidity. It still gets the humidity to roughly what you set it to (as I've verified with a separate hygrometer). And if you don't have the fan set too high, you don't really notice that it turns on and off a bit more than it needs to. Mine has not turned on and off in short succession that frequently, although sometimes it does. It doesn't appear to impact its efficacy or accuracy, although if the fan is high and the room is quiet, it might really bug some people on the occassions it cuts on and off. Some people here report more aggressive cycling than I've observed. Sunbeam really should fix this and ponder a user interface tweak. The improvement over the previous model is that it continuously reports the hygrometer reading, which is really nice.

I'm giving this 4 stars because I still greatly prefer this over all the other humidifiers I've ever owned (and about the same as the model this one obsoleted).

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For those saying they aren't sure if it humidifies their room, get a hygrometer. You know, those digital temperature/humidity sensors with the LCD panel. I have one from Honeywell. This humidifier is able to keep my humidity at 40% in a LOFT apartment in Nebraska winters. We're talking below zero, frozen and humidity in the teens without a humidifier. In a single level apartment, it can get us to 50% but I keep it at 45. It is about twice as capable as a warm mist humidifier that can't get the room above 30%. PLUS, the warm one requires about 230w of electricity to run vs about 30w for the fan in this one. PLUS, the heater block in the warm mist unit must be soaked in white vinegar and have the minerals scraped off of it periodically. Pain in the butt, and not worth it.

The downside? The filter must be washed in a bucket of soap water every so often or it accumulates pink/black mold and smells funny. It won't hurt you, but it is unpleasant. That's the only reason I don't give it 5 stars.

I like the automatic setting. I want 45%? It will hold it there. That way I don't have to touch the thing until its running empty.

Use distilled water ONLY for the best results, as with all humidifiers.

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Pros:

-Humidifies large rooms for a low price.

-Auto humidity regulation (great for our guitars which need ~45% all the time)

Cons:

-I have exclusively used Brita distilled water on this, and the filter still needs to be cleaned/changed at least once a month.

Other thoughts:

-We fill the tank once every three days to keep a 300 sq ft room humidified at 45%

-We have three acoustic guitars that we can leave out and not worry about with the regulator

-We had to get used to the continual on/off's throughout the day because we run it on "Auto 1" at 45% humidity

Cleaning the filter:

-Place the filter in the sink or bucket, fill with warm water, add some bleach (and stir), let sit for 15 minutes, rinse with cold water, stick back in humidifier damp

Honest reviews on Holmes HM1865-U Comfort Select Cool Mist Humidifier

No, it is not the quietest humidifier on the block, but its no worse than a box fan in the window in the summer. I find it very effective at doing its job and it is easy to maintain. With regular use and recommended filter changes, mold is not an issue and it removes some of the dust from the air. The only reason I'm replacing it is because I damaged the one I've had for 3 years when I moved. Getting another one just like it.

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I bought this in mid December to replace an earlier version of this humidifier that ran for at least a decade (the humidistat on the old one is a slider knob...). I learned with the first unit to religiously use the bacteriostat, which I can buy at the local bed and bath store that sends those never expiring coupons. Other than that, I pretty much neglect the unit until end of season, when the wicking filter gets the vinegar treatment and I decide whether or not it will make it to next season. It's used mainly in a 12 x 14 bedroom, although the door is always left open. Definitely provides needed humiditydry air nosebleeds are gone. It sits on a braided area rug, which helps absorb some of the sound from the fan. After seeing the buildup of white, sticky mineral deposits inside of my stereo and other electronics from my ultrasonic humidifiers, I switched to these wicking style machines years ago. I'd rather the buildup occur on the wick than in my lungs, on my skin, and all over the house.

As others have written, the fan can cycle frequently, especially when you first start it up. I think this digital humidistat is more sensitive than my old, analog slider, and sometimes causes the fan to cycle more frequently. Like other sounds in your house, you learn to ignore it, but I think it helps if the unit is on a sound absorbing surface rather than a hard floor or hard tabletop.

For the money, I am happy with this machine. I hope it lasts as long as the first one did.