I took a chance on this product given the bad reviews posted by other users. originally my intention was to buy an above average Ultrasonic humidifier that would last us for years. So, i set aside at least $150 for this project. my biggest problem with any humidifier has been refilling the unit daily. most of humidifiers have a very inconvenient way of refilling. you must remove the tank, turn it upside down, open the lid, refill it with couple gallons then replace it back on the base after turning it back upright. i end up spilling a significant amount of water on the floor. it is a messy job which discourages me from filling the tank and hence using the humidifier on a daily basis.
this time i made it a point to get a humidifier with a convenient refill method. it should be as simple as pouring water right in to the tank without having to remove it from the base or turning it upside down. unfortunately most of the well known or high ended brands have the same inconvenient refill. then i stumbled upon this Honeywell EasyCare Ultrasonic Humidifier. just 50 bucks. i read its reviews and found that most people were complained of 'noise' and poor durability. then i watched this video uploaded by someone on amazon.com and i fell in love with this product. refilling is as convenient as i had desired. they say it is like 'watering a plant'. honeywell is a well known brand so i was not too worried about the durability. but if you bought your item from an unauthorized dealer chances are that you were sold a damaged or refurbished unit.
i went straight in to the walmart store and picked up a brand new unit for $52. it has been running since few weeks now without any issues. you can hear its motor running but the noise is no more than that of a ceiling fan. and i am sure most of us are used to this level of sound at night (unless you are someone who gets irritated by a ticking watch). i found a very neat way of reducing its sound further, almost to Imperceptible level. the motor is located at the bottom of the unit so if you place it on a table top chances are that the sound will resonate. if you have a carpet floor put it there and the carpet will absorb most of its humming sound. otherwise place a sheet of cloth folded on itself several times between the bottom of the unit and the table. you can also use a thin cushion as long as it can hold the unit parallel to the ground.
Performance: the cold vapors are good enough to fog your window panes. before buying this unit i used to wake up every morning with a bad dry mouth but with this running at the lowest level i could feel the difference.
i have been watching this unit closely since i bought it. so far i am totally pleased with it and i have already placed an order for second one for my vacation home. The only thing that you should know about this unit is that there is no auto-shut off option so if water runs out it could run forever. But i do not think it poses any major threat to the unit and it does not (unlike hot mist humidifiers) consume too much of electricity. So, i am not going to lessen the stars that i gave to this product at least for one good reason, hey, we are talking about an ultrasonic Honeywell humidifier for just 50 bucks. Moreover, since the refilling is so convenient most of you will refill it every night and let it run for the whole night and shut it off in the morning as a routine, so you will never feel the need for an auto-shut off option.
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We bought this humdifier in early December 2010. We followed the recommended cleaning regimen (using the dishwasher for the parts that could be washed on the top rack). We used filtered water. We reassembled it according to the instructions. It worked fine for a month. Then the unit began making loud noises when we turned it back on after cleaning. Also, we began to notice a strong smell. Soon we were cleaning it every 2-3 days. The purchase of Protec antimicrobial filters brought close to immediate relief of the odor issue--but we didn't know this would be necessary when we first bought the unit. This is not a "no filters needed" unit. We also didn't expect to have to replace the demineralization cartridge so often. In any event, the unit stopped working yesterday. This humidifier comes with a 3-year warranty. We expected it to last longer than this.
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I have had 4 or 5 of these now "I keep returning them after a few weeks because the vibrating disc that creates the mist keep disintegrating" I don't know why but if you look when you first get it that little disk will be a shinny silver after a week or 2 they start falling apart and turning black after a certain point they stop working and will no longer create the mist which is how this type of humidifier works. I have 2 other cool mist humidifiers "cheap wall greens ones" that I have had for years and they still work perfectly and the disks still are silver. The disks in these Honeywell units must be made out of some really cheap metal or something.
I have 1 left to return this time I am getting a refund instead of a replacement, luckily target has a great return policy. Oh and actually 1 of the units I returned because it came with a defective pump, also there is a huge range on there quality control some units are really loud and some are silent but all of them have busted after a few weeks so I am just going to get my money back and probably buy a whole house humidifier sick of this 20% humidity in my house.
Honest reviews on Honeywell Top Fill Ultrasonic Humidifer
Don't waste your money. The description of the product says that it is easy to clean and fill and there are no filters to replace. These are the reasons that I bought it in the first place. It IS easy to fill, I'll give them that. But, while there are no filters to replace, you do have to replace the demineralization cartridge. There is no mention of this on the box; you only find out after you've used it for a week and then read the cleaning instructions. Despite changing the cartridge every single week (expensive!), I still have a a thick coating of white powder on every surface of the room after a couple of days of use. In addition, it takes ONE FULL HOUR EVERY WEEK to clean this unit. You can wash some parts in the dishwasher if you are willing to run a load with ONLY the humidifier parts and no dishes. But even so, you have to clean some parts by hand and they are not easy to clean--a lot of nooks and crannies. I end up using four or five cotton swabs to get into all the small spaces. Meanwhile the unit itself must be filled with vinegar and soaked for twenty minutes, then rinsed. Then filled with a bleach solution and rinsed. If you don't put the other parts in the dishwasher, these need to be soaked in the main unit. The amount of bleach water and vinegar must be tripled from what the instruction say if you want to actually "soak" all these parts and not just dip a quarter of the part in the soaking solution. These parts then need to be wiped with the soaking solution. I did not expect to spend the equivalent of 2 and a half working days each winter cleaning a humidifier. As I said, "easy to clean" is the reason I bought it. Well, as it turns out I won't have to spend any more time cleaning it or any more money on cartridges because after only two months the unit stopped working--makes a horrible sound like when something is stuck in a garbage disposal every time I turn it on and isn't producing any mist. Based on the customer service reviews I've seen online for Honeywell, I don't have high hopes for getting my money back, but I guess we'll see.
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I was looking for a humidifier that didn't have a filter and used cool mist. This one fit the requirements, although there's this terrible blue light that made using this in the bedroom quite difficult. There was no off switch for the light and it was nearly impossible to block. After deciding that I really liked everything else, I opened up the unit and removed the bulb for the light. Problem solved.
The only other complaint I have is there's no setting for the unit to shut off based on the humidity nor any hygrometer included so you have an idea of what impact the unit is making. But given the price point, I can live with that.
I'd definitely say this unit is just for a single room, but that was fine for me.
