GeneralAire Humidifier Filter (Evaporator Pad) 2-Pack Review

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These are exactly what I was looking for. It was kinda a pain in the butt to put in, but that had more to do with my installation than the filters I ordered...

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Exact replacement for my GeneralAire Humidifer! I would definetly order again but won't have to anytime soon thanks to the 2 pack.

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I received this item undamaged and quickly. It is the proper humidifier filter for my humidifier. What a difference this pad makes! All the other pads that I found at local big box hardware stores were less efficient and sent a steady stream of water down the drain. With this GeneralAire pad all the water is picked up by the warm furnace air and raises the humidity in the house, as it should.

Reviews of Hydra Humidifier Extra Fan

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What can i say, I bought it, easy to install, and it works just fine in my cabinet style humidor.

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didn't need it and if needed it, should have bought the whole fan kit. otherwise, I am sure it would have been fine.

Review of Lasko 1128 9-Gallon Evaporative Recirculating Humidifier

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I have the predecessor that was black in color. It's 3 years old and still works great. Definitely evaporates lots of water into the air. The reservoir must be filled 2 to 3 times per day depending on how often your furnace comes on. It's somewhat of a chore but I get used to it. Keeping the household humidity at 60% or better surely makes lower thermostat settings tolerable so it's a money saver in that regard. The unit uses about 100 watts during its intermittent runs.

Mine is so accurate that it is almost perfectly synchronized to furnace operation. Furnace comes on and shortly thereafter the Lasko humidifier starts up. Furnace shuts off and shortly thereafter the humidifier shuts off. I presume the same accuracy is maintained in this newer white model.

These do use disposable paper filters. I use 2 per season. Cheapest source for the filters is direct from Lasko. I bought a box of 10 for $50 right after I bought the humidifier and I've got about 5 filters left. Even if you throw away about half of them, you'll save money compared to single filter prices at brick and mortar stores. The shipping was free at the time. Maybe it still is.

Humidifiers require periodic maintenance. These Lasko's are no exception. Each year, I sit the thing in the bathtub and fill it's reservoir with vinegar/water and let it run about 30 minutes. This dissolves or loosens the mineral deposits. After rinsing, I then fill it with a bleach/water solution and let it run about 30 minutes to kill mold spores and dormant bacteria.

That yearly demineralizing/disinfecting is somewhat of a chore but I only have to do it once. That's enough to get me through the entire heating season.

All humidifiers require some maintenance--even the ones connected directly to your furnace. I've read operator's manuals for most every one of the furnace mounted units and some of the maintenance procedures are complex and labor intensive compared to the little bathtub routine I've developed for this Lasko.

When I think I will install a furnace mounted unit I search the internet and read the reviews and realize why I put up with this Lasko cleaning routine. Many of those furnace mounted units require demineralizing and disinfecting just like the Lasko--except that I can put the Lasko in a bathtub and keep the mess contained. If I had to rinse and clean a furnace mounted unit, I'd have to use a wet/dry vac to sop up the spillage all over the basement floor, I'm sure. On top of that mess, it seems that furnace mounted units die at an early age due to mineral deposits that can't be controlled.

When the temperatures drop to about 15°F or below, our furnace runs a lot. The more the furnace runs the more the Lasko humidifier runs. I'm sure I have to fill the removeable reservoir 3 times a day or more. It seems to be sized so that a full reservoir lasts about 8 hours. That's enough to get a full night's sleep. Actually, the removeable reservoir holds about 8 hours worth. There's another several gallons in the base to supply the unit with water so you can easily stretch it to 12-14 hours between fillings. I do it all the time. It's just that if you stretch it to 12 hours or more, you'll have to fill the removable reservoir 1.5 times to completely "fill 'er up" again.

All in all, I don't think I could live without a humidifier. We feel warmer, the children cough less while sleeping, there's no static electric sparks when we touch objects or each other ... it's worth the hassle, I think.

This unit says it will do a 3200 square foot home. I guess that's so, but, it's quite nicely sized for homes smaller than that because it won't have to run on high to do the job. Buying the biggest humidifier means you can run the fan on low so it's as quiet as possible.

Once a year I also take it apart to clean the dust from the fan blades and the vortex shroud. This isn't absolutely necessary but it makes it look new again. About 6 or 8 screws removed lets the thing come almost entirely apart for cleaning.

So, a humidifier takes some work no matter what type you get. For a household humidifier, I like this Lasko but I've also got a wife and kids to share in the task of refilling it 3 times a day.

I'm a home handy man so I'll be able to replace the motor in this thing when it goes bad. I don't think it will cost much.

Lasko sells parts and that's what I truly love! Unlike other companies, Lasko actually has parts available and they sell them at reasonable prices.

We use Lasko ventilation fans year round as a sleep aide to produce "white noise." I've got a remote controlled fan that I've come to depend on. After about 4 years of daily night time use, I needed a motor for it last year and, sure enough, Lasko sold one to me and the cost was about 1/3rd that of a new fan.

For the home do-it-yourselfer types, Lasko is the only way to go because they sell parts. Other companies, like Holmes, don't stock any parts at all. Once the complete Holmes unit comes from Taiwan or Sri Lanka to your store's shelf, that's it--you can't get a part even if it was missing from the package before you bought it.

Lasko has a respectable warranty and they don't charge a fee. Holmes and other companies like them charge you a fee that they call "handling" just to get a warranty remedy. That "handling" fee is usually 2/3 or more the cost of a new fan. In other words, you have to pay to return the defective item to Holmes, you also have to pay that "handling fee", and then they might send you a replacement. Lasko doesn't do that. I think that they do require that you ship the item back to them at your cost.

This is a recirculating type of humidifier so it doesn't throw white dust all over everything. The other type of humidifier uses heat to evaporate water (like a distiller) and in the process, all of the minerals of the water become airborne grey-white dust. I don't like that idea. These recirculating types just trickle large quantities of water through a paper filter. The filter retains the minerals.

I remember as a kid, about 45 years ago, I used to sit on my grandmother's floor and enjoy the breeze from a "ottoman" style fan and it had the name "Lasko" on it. I used to think it had something to do with Alaska. I presume it's the same company--still making fans and things that circulate air.

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Our house is so well insulated that the furnace doesn't run often enough for a furnace-mounted humidifier to work well in our 255 s.f. house. As a result we've tried a number of different kinds of portable humidifiers.

The ultrasonics don't put out enough volume. Nor do the spray mist ones. The warm mist ones have a very high operating cost. For a couple of years we used a wick-and-fan humidifier that had plenty of capacity and ran quietly. The problem was that the wicking filters were expensive ($16 each) and rapidly lost their capacity: a filter that would wick 5 gallons a day was down to 1 gallon a day within two weeks. So even this solution cost us almost $1/day for filter replacements.

The Lasko Recirculating Humidifier seems to have solved this problem: instead of water being wicked up by the filter, the filter is wetted from the top by a little built-in aquarium pump much in the way that furnace-mounted humidifiers work.

We've been using this humdifier for three weeks now. It is slightly noisier (even on its lowest setting) than our old one; but the noise is not objectionable, and the volume of water being put out has not decreased at all.

I can't speak for the longevity of the product, but its operating costs should be very low, and its technology is exactly what I've been looking for for years.

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This is my second one of these. The first one performed well but quit working after 3 years. It was inexpensive so I bought another one. I bought a cheaper model this time that didn't have the LED displays the first one had. This one just has a knob with no readout of setting or room humidity. The reason I did that was the LEDs on the first one quit working after about two years. I figured this simpler one would be less likely to fail who knows?

I keep it in the master bathroom and fill it twice a day from the tub. It uses a lot of water which is what I want it to do, but without the convenience of the adjacent tub it would be a pain all these portable ones probably have this problem.

I keep it on the medium fan setting and it seems fairly loud for the first few days but now I'm used to it and I don't notice it coming on and off.

The area around the unit remains dry so it works well as an evaporative humidifier which is what you want it to do. It puts moisture into the the air, not the floor. I keep it on a bath mat to catch the drops that result from the filling operation.

My bedroom ceiling and wall joints have quit coming apart in the wintertime like they did before I added this humidifier so it does the job well.

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For some reason I find many of the 1-star reviews of this product frustrating...almost all of them can/should be attributed to human error and not defects in the device itself.

Yes, if you hold the jug by the one handle water can leak from the valve at the end. Guess what? It has two handles. Use the one at the other end and it doesn't leak at all....use the top handle only when loading the thing into the unit itself.

Yes the little pictograph at the far end says you press the little spring-loaded lever to fill it at the tap. But the entire lid also unscrews to fill using a larger source (like a bathtub).

If you can fill a glass with tap water and not smell the nastiness within, great. Fill that glass then let the water evaporate from it completely. Repeat. Eventually that glass will smell (and look) REALLY bad from the contaminates left behind by the water. This is the process your humidifier goes through daily on a large scale. This is why they have filters. The nastier your water is, the more you have to change filters and clean the unit; and if your water smells, then there's absolutely nothing ANY humidifier can do to help you with that problem. If the water rings your toilet or sink drains, you're going to have problems with any device that is built to evaporate water.

Is it noisy? It can be; it has a big fan that runs to pull the moisture through the filter. It also has 3 speeds and the lowest isn't objectionable. It also has a humidistat so it will run automatically. No, it doesn't have a digital gauge and a build in hydrometer, so you will have to buy a hydrometer ($3, walmart) and play it by ear; here's a hint: Crank it to the max; watch the gauge over the course of a day. Dial back a bit. Repeat until desired humidity level is reached. Why is this is a difficult procedure?

If you find that your humidifier isn't humidifying your house like you would like it to, instead of spending 10 minutes writing a review on Amazon bashing the unit, spend 5 minutes googling for "humidifier placement" and discovering that placing the unit near a cold-air return will allow it to humidify the entire house instead of just the room its in.

Its built from plastic, not solid oak, so yeah, you don't want kids playing near it; but there's a lot of things in my house susceptible to damage from small children. This thing is the least of my worries.

I've had this unit for 2 weeks. Its not flawless, but i don't think its deserving of some of the criticism being delivered here. There's no such thing as a device that's immune to operator error. The only thing these people should really be faulting Lasko for is not being able to read their minds or providing a user manual that's 200 pages thick (which then nobody would read and Lasko would go out of business trying to print).

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I've only had this for one week, and I came very close to sending it back because of the noise. It is effective in putting water into the air, but the fan is really loud. There are three fan settings, and it's reasonably quiet at the lowest setting and you can have a normal conversation when near it. At the middle setting I have to raise my voice, and at the high speed I would have to start yelling. At the lowest fan setting, it puts about 2.5 3 gallons of water into the air per day, or about 1/3rd of it's rated capacity. I've decided that 3 gallons per day into the air is enough to be a benefit and I will keep this unit. I plan on only using the lowest fan speed and I leave it in a room where I don't spend much time.

As another reviewer pointed out, humidifiers are rated in gallons per day of water into the air. The rating has nothing to do with the size of the water storage. This Lasko is rated for 9 gallons per day (using the high fan speed), but storage capacity is 3 gallons plus 1.5 gallons for the refill jug, for 4.5 gallons total. I like the fact that I can have this running continuously while filling up the jug. Since I only run this on low, I only have to fill it once a day, which is great.

There are some design problems with this humidifier. First, the housing is made of flimsy plastic, and seems like it could break easily. This flimsy plastic also forms the mount for the fan and fan housing. The fan on my unit was not centered within the housing, and the fan blades were extremely close to the housing on one side. With the fan on high and sometimes medium speed, the fan blades would hit the housing and make a terrible racket. I was able to loosen the 4 screws that hold the fan and slightly reposition the fan so that no longer happens at any speed. From the other reviews, it seems like a common problem with this model. My comments on the noise above are for the sound level AFTER fixing the mounting problem.

The other design issue I have is with the refill jug. There is a recessed/retractable handle (good), but the shape of the top is rounded, so it will not stand upright on its top. Since the jug is refilled from the bottom, it would be nice if it stood upright. If the handle is retracted, it will stand lopsided on its top however, so this is just a minor annoyance. There is a valve on the bottom of the jug that is only opened when installed in the unit, and when depressed manually while refilling. This spring loaded valve is just plastic mating with plastic, and is not water tight. So if you carry the jug right side up by the handle, water will leak out the valve. It's not too hard to carry the jug upside down since there is a handle on the bottom too. I just refill and carry upside down, and then turn it right side up while over the reservoir of the unit; it still spills some water if I'm not careful, but it's acceptable.

There is a little plastic window in the side of the unit that has water trickling down when the fan/pump is on. This is to tell if the water is flowing, and it also makes a pleasant sound; can only hear it with fan low and even then the fan sound dominates. Nice little feature though.

The controls on top are for fan speed (1, 2, 3 and off), plus a humidity level. It shuts off when the humidity reaches the set level, and turns back on when it falls below that level. There is a green led that lights up when the humidity level is met. I tested to make sure this works, but living in dry Colorado, I expect it to be on all the time.

Mine came with 4 casters to make it easier to slide around. They work fine, but I had to press so hard to install one of them that the receptacle (flimsy plastic) cracked slightly.

Reviews of Vicks 1.0 Gallon Cool Mist Humidifier

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I started getting sick, and for the first time since grade school had a bloody nose. That coupled with getting dry mouthed and dry skin and chapped lips every morning made me consider a humidifer.

When I went to the store I wanted a cool mist one, as cool mist would be nice in my room that is hot and dry during the winter. I expecte a misting machine, this thing doesnt mist, but I'm happy it doesn't after reading all the review of people with soggy carpets because of their misters...

Since having this I haven't felt as dry in the morning which is nice, I breathe easier and started feeling better. It a little louder than some but if you dont like the noise, turn down the speed to lower at night, I personally like some background noise and keep it on high.

The water last for a long time in these ones that use these wicks. There is only one downfall, mine is about a month old and the filter is getting pretty nasty already, although I admit my room is a dusty place and I've been using tap water. Apparently if you use those cheap 1 gallon Distilled waters the filter wont get all dirty or smelly as easily, as distilled water is pure, and tap water well....no matter what you think isn't ;).

PRO: Humidifies room with few refills and doesn't soak room.

CONS: The filter gets moldy/dirty pretty quick.

Hopefully this is usefull, I'm happy with it and I'm sure you'd be.

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I originally purchased this unit for my child's room 2 years ago -worked fine. There was no soaked carpet, no leaks, no fires, and no problems finding filters. I even liked the level of sound it would get loud gradually. My child (now 2 yrs old) loved the sound so much we had to find a sound machine to duplicate it.

We purchased another unit for our second child's room. Strangely, this unit worked differently than the first. The second one leaked (very litte nothing a hand towel under the unit couldn't fix) and was MUCH louder than the first. I also found that I needed to refill this unit more often than I did the first.

I didn't see too much of a problem with the difference, just thought it was worth mentioning...

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I have purchased and thrown away at least 3 other humidifier's prior to this one. I really like this one. The maintenance is so much easier and so far no scaly build-up like I had with the others. I love that the basin tray can go in the dishwasher. I put the filter in the sun to dry out weekly. I am very pleased with this item and haven't experienced any of the problems others have mentioned. Very happy!!

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This humidifier is cheaper than most, especially if you buy something else from the same manufacturer (the $10 off $30 coupon helps out).

It only has two speeds, low and high. HIgh is somewhat noisy, but what you would expect. However low is whisper quiet, you can't even really tell it's on at all. I have a somewhat large room 17x14 or so, and it easily keeps it humid in here (I have a clock that has humidity on it, and can see the difference). As far as replacement filters, it appears as those are reasonable as well.

It doesn't have any real features, but it works and it has worked well for me so far with no complains. Quiet, cheap, and humidifes, it's win-win.

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I have used this product for about 4-years now, same unit and still works great and I run it all night every night. I bought it when my daughter was sick on recommendation from the doctor and continued using it for the white noise created at the high speed. My daughter never slept well and this white noise helped her a lot. It also makes a huge difference in the air, when I forget to turn it on at night now I know in the morning it was not on because I wake up thirsty. Like with anything, you have to complete proper maintenance...keep it filled with water, change filters as needed, and clean at least twice a month to keep the mold out. -NOTE: The maintenance recommendation to run once a week with no water is only as long as it takes to dry the filter out and keep mold from growing on the filter. ALSO, if you do not properly screw the bottom back on after filling, the unit will leak. If properly screwed on, it will not. Highly recommended.

Best Aprilaire Humidifier Maintenance Kit for 600 series Deals

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I really just ordered this for the bracket and tray, but getting all the extra parts was nice. I'm hanging on to them for future replacement. This came with all the pieces to those attachment from the solenoid to the humidifier (plus a new hose, which is not included in the product pictures), the gasket for the base of the humidifer for the drain tube, a new pad, the black bracket and tray.

The pad is a branded Aprilaire replacement pad. I've been using off-brand for years, this is actually the first time I've even had a branded pad since it was new.

The bracket was 100% identical to the bracket I replaced. I didn't really need to do so, but the old one was funky with deposits on it so I figured I didn't need it anymore.

The main draw here, for me at least, is the tray. The tray that came installed with my unit had nothing in its base to guide the water to distribute evenly. It was just smooth plastic. But the tray that came in this package has a pad across the bottom with grooves that I assume are meant to help with that even distribution. With my old tray, the water always seemed to pool on the left side (I think the unit isn't 100% level) and occasionally spill over the top. So far, this new tray seems to work much better.

I could not possibly tell you if these parts are all Aprilaire OEM parts, nothing came in a branded box but the humidifier pad. But every piece seems to be of identical quality and construction. The only difference is the tray. If this tray is an OEM Aprilaire product, then I would love to know what was used in my original install. Regardless, the tray is great!

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Fit perfectly and was an easy replacement. I also found a video online that showed step by step instructions. Piece of cake.

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The kit contains everything that I needed to get my humidifier up and running again. After 11 years, it was time for an overhaul. It is now running like it was new.

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DH accidently pitched the plastic case for the filter. Was glad to find it online at such a reasonable price.

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Everything needed to perform maintenance. Worked great. Installed the kit in 30 minutes tops. I recommend this kit. word word

Buy TruAir Plug Mnt Odor Eliminato -

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The exhaust fan in our powder room died (well, it was 50 yrs old!) and it was just noisy. The specs/expense for a new one that would be quiet was simply too high to justify. The reviews on this plug in device seemed to be really good, so I ordered one.

WOW. It is quiet, and it just simply works. It is a bit bulkier than I thought, but it is worth the money, and it is really quiet. It clears "offensive" air in our powder room in just a minute or so. The old exhaust fan would run for lots longer and never did really clear the air.

Good product.

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Review of Air-O-Swiss AOS 7144 Ultrasonic Humidifier

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My family and I moved from Southern California (where we slept with the windows open nearly year round for wonderful, well rested sleep) to Phoenix, Arizona (where the humidity hovers at most to 15% in my house according to my hygrometer.) After a month (and before we got the humidifier), my kids (3 and 1) were absolutely suffering. During the night, they were choking and hacking, wheezing and just plugged up. I was no different. Needless to say, our sleep was badly affected. I knew it was the air situation. After 3 nights of researching the different types of humidifiers, I finally settled on buying two Air O Swiss 7144 units (one for each kid's room). Although it was expensive, I buy things for the long haul and figured better to spend up front then have problems with cheaper models down the road. I have since turned it on absolutely every single night for them and the difference is short of miraculous. Here are some points:

1a full tank lasts two nights running at 8 hours a night with the windows closed and the door nearly shut (about an inch ajar at most)

2tank is not difficult to fill. I use one 3 gallon water bottle

(normally used for my drinking water dispense) to completely fill up both humidifier units

3to maximize space and thus get the most water into the humidifier, I removed the demineralization cartridge and use only reverse osmosis drinking water for my unit. I have had ZERO WHITE DUST. The R.O. water is purified enough that there are no remaining minerals to be churned out as white dust. This trick also saves me from having to replace the cartridge. (BTW, our tap water is VERY hard so I didn't want to use it even with the demineralization cartridge because why make the machine work harder than it has to?) R.O. water is perfect and again, NO WHITE DUST AT ALL!!!!

4It's so quiet, it's ridiculous. I LOVE that.

5The warm mist feature is perfect. It does not raise the temperature of the room so it's never like a sauna. The air leaving the machine even at warm mist feels somewhat cool (and the first night I kept checking in on the kids to make sure I wasn't freezing them) but the unit actually heats the water to 104 degrees which is just the right temp at maintaining room temp (no moist saunas!!) and/or preventing steam burn to your finger in case a curious little one chooses to wave his/her hand in the mist.

6I've religiously used the units each night for the last 3 months with absolutely no problem.

7The buttons don't light up or create distracting glows. Important for me because I wanted the kids' rooms to remain relatively dark as that's what they're used to.

8There is no leaking or condensation on the unit. The mist is so fine that it evaporates before it touches the little folding dinner tray table that I have each unit placed on. The carpet underneath doesn't feel soggy or anything. It truly produces an ultrafine mist that dissipates almost immediately.

9I can adjust the flow and humidity to my liking (to get 2 nights' worth of output from one tank, I set it on warm mist at the lowest air flow at 55% humidity)

10It automatically shuts off when it runs out of water. There is a blinking light that indicates that the machine is on "On" but there's no water. I usually press the off button the after the second night's use. If I forget to press off and fill the tank up on the third night, I noticed that since the machine is technically "on" (even though there's no sound or movement indicating that), as soon as I put the filled tank back on the unit, it immediately starts working on the settings I last set it on.

11I have yet to use the cool mist (since it's still winter) but I read that it actually helps to maintain (at the very least) or slightly lower the room temp which is convenient in summer months.

All in all, I love this machine. By the way, on a few occasions when my older child needed me to sleep next to him until he fell back asleep (usually a nightmare woke him up), I noticed within 10-15 minutes that my breathing was VERY different in his room where the unit had been running for several hours into the night. No clogged sinuses or difficult inhalation. Once he was appropriately tucked in and I would go back to my room, within 5-10 minutes, my breathing would get adversely affected. That's how dry the air is in our house. So, that's why after 3 months of enjoying how well it's worked in the kids' rooms, my husband and I are looking forward to our own good sleep after just purchasing our 3rd machine.

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I searched long and hard to find a humidifier that would meet my needs. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one, so this is what I ended up with. Kind of harsh to start out with, I know, but I'm just being honest. I wanted a humidifer, first and foremost that was quiet, so I started looking at Ultrasonic Humidifiers. Ultrasonic humidifers are notorious for emitting a white dust as they work which is actually dissolved minerals in the water. I did not see this as an issue as I will be using RO (Reverse Osmosis) water to fill it. Next, a Humidistat. Suprisingly few humidifers actually come with humidistats, even among the higher priced units. A unit with a humidistat will control the the humidity level of a room by constantly measuring the humidity and turning the unit on or off based upon the preset user selectable setting, much like a thermostat does for heating and cooling. Many units simply have Low Medium and High settings, or some variation thereof which makes it difficlult to control the humidity level with any precision.

I chose the 7144 for a few reasons, the Primary of which were the features talked about above combined with the minimal footprint and elegant modern look. The unit is fairly quiet, although even when not working the fan runs. A fan is used to propel the mist into the room making for a more efficient introduction of moisture to the environment, however when the unit is at rest and not calling for humidity, I see no reason this fan needs to be running. This is both a waste issue as it is using energy and a noise issue as, although the unit is fairly quiet, the fan can still be heard when it is running.

The Water tank is undersized for the the unit. This humidifer is capable of outputting a generous amount of moisture, however if left to run at maximum output at constant interval the tank will need to be refilled about every 8 hours. The tank is also awkward to handle and difficult to refill. While the tank conforms nicely to the asthetics of the unit, once removed, it has an odd shape to it which makes it difficult to refill. One can't simply place it under the sink and leave it to fill, it requires some kind of shim, or assistance to keep it from tilting over, or even to keep the opening close enough to the edge of the sink in order to reach the faucet. I have overcome this issue by refilling it in the Kitchen sink and using a funnel to reach the faucet.

The last issue I have with the water tank is that it is a bit messy to remove. It is impossible to remove this tank without dripping water all over the floor. When installed in the unit, the base of the tank actually sits in a pool of water making it wet. Once removed, the wet tank drips everywhere unless it is wiped down immediatly, or some such.

I've given the unit 3 stars for its' elegant look, attractive fine mist, humidistat, and quiet operation, and dropped the 2 stars for its wasteful fan and numerous water tank issues.

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This is my 2nd purchase of this same unit...we needed another one for the living room. I have not had a single issue with either of them. One has been running for ~8 straight months with no need for cleaning (because there's nothing to clean off it). My newest one is only 2 weeks old. They both work flawlessly.

You need to realize that this humidifier is ultrasonic, which has many advantages over "swamp cooler" style humidifiers, but they have a few things to keep in mind. If you didn't know, an ultrasonic humidifier uses a piezoelectric transducer element that vibrates at ultrasonic speeds. This causes water molecules to break off from the rest of the pool and it becomes vapor. In doing so, it also rips the mineral deposits apart from the water. This is that "white dust" you hear about. It's bad. It will accumulate pretty much everywhere in, on, and around the humidifier...including the ultrasonic element. Minerals are abrasive...and they *could* essentially "sand" away the finish on the element over time. That's bad, but it's not the manufacturer's fault by any means...it's *your* fault for using hard water.

Now, with that elementary stuff out of the way, RO water good enough for daily use with the demineralization cartridge. The "white dust" may be non-existent to your eyes, but there are still trace minerals in RO water and the cartridge in the tank can't remove everything, so they'll build up over time. That's why you have to clean it every few months. I removed the cartridge and use a mix of distilled water (from the store) and free de-ionized water from my work. I get the best performance this way. If I ever get my reverse osmosis system fixed, I might us a mix of RO water and DI water to save some $$$.

So how about some features to consider:

1. Mist control There are 3 levels: "barely any", "a good amount", and "old faithful." I keep both units set at 50% humidity and on the highest vapor setting. This is able to keep my living room and master bedroom at an optimal humidity. The tank will last 1.5 to 2 days depending on usage and relative humidity.

2. Near silent When it's on, the little fan (that you don't have access to) is always on. It's only there to help the vapor get up and out of the unit. It's about the same volume as a single low-speed computer fan. You can only hear it if it's dead silent in the room. When the unit is producing vapor, you can hear the hum of the ultrasonic element doing its thing, and there's the occasional "blurp" sound of air bubbles in the tank. Total noise level is less than 25% of a typical house fan on the "low" setting. In fact, when my fan is on, you cannot hear the unit at all.

3. Pre-Heating It has a pre-heat function that *warms* the vapor. By the time the vapor leaves the unit, it's slightly above body temperature. It adds the same energy usage as a light bulb, so don't be scared off by it...it's by no means a steam humidifier. If you put your hand 3" away from the nozzle, the vapor will be cool already. Speaking of nozzles...

4. Dual adjustable output nozzles Great for putting the vapor where you want it. If you line up the thumb tabs, the nozzle comes out for cleaning...snazzy.

5. Buttons/Display The buttons have a nice feel to them, and the display is big and bright...it's slightly brighter than my alarm clock's display. If it's too bright for you, leave the protective film on the display and color it in with a sharpie marker. You'll still be able to see the display...just a little darker.

Now for the drawbacks...

1. No rubber feet. I like things to stay where I put them. Because it has plastic feet it will move if you bump it.

2. It does drip a bit when you remove the tank. Now understand me: this is impossible to avoid. Warm vapor + cool water tank = condensation in the vapor tube. Also, the bottom of the case comes in contact with the water that's about to be pre-heated/vaporized. Pick the tank up, let it drip for 2 seconds, tip it at a slight angle, let it drip for another 2 seconds...no spilled water. Or you can be quick and flip the tank upside down in one swift motion like I do. The tank itself does not leak.

3. The only way to fill it is to flip the tank over and unscrew the cap. I've thought about drilling/tapping a 1" hole in the top that's big enough for a funnel...but I've never got around to it. Having to flip the tank over to fill it isn't worth the effort/time.

So that's it. The 3 "cons" are so minor they don't even matter, but I thought I'd still bring them up.

Honest reviews on Air-O-Swiss AOS 7144 Ultrasonic Humidifier

This unit is much better than the evaporative type. I owned an evaporator for 2 years but it had problems with mold in the wicks and filter. Air-O-Swiss uses ionization, not evaporization, to put mist in your air. Ionization is faster and more efficient. It doesn't require a fan to do it's work, as all evaporitive types do, so it is quiet. For compairison, see the Essick Air 336-500 3-Speed Tabletop Evaporative Humidifier, this is an evaporitive type that I owned before buying the Air-O-Swiss.

The Air-O-Swiss is easier to clean, more efficient and it looks pretty cool too! It seems that most air cleaner/humidifier makers don't care much about how the product looks in a room, but this one is sleek and subtle, blending well with my modern taste (I hate taupe/beige appliances, but that's me). Whatever it looks like, it needs to be effective, as this unit is. The higher price seems justified by the very useful controls (which are completely absent in cheaper models), the superior design and efficiency.

The unit has many settings and digital controls that allow timed use, heated or cool mist, and humidity control. It flashes a symbol to let me know when to fill more water. No need to keep logbooks about cleaning, a different flashing signal tells me whenever I need to do the simple descaling. It's easy to loose track of cleanings without this feature (who has time to keep notes on such a thing?).

All humidifiers need some cleaning and filter replacement. The Air-O-Swiss replacement filters (for cleaning the water, replace about 4 times a year), the silver stick (needs replacement rarely, maybe once a year or less) and descaling packets for cleaning the tank (cheap and must be used once every week or two). The costs for all of these are reasonable, perhaps somewhat lower that the costs of the extra things needed for other units I have owned/checked out.

Do not neglect the replacement/cleaning processes. This unit, or any other brand, will begin to fail quickly if you do not keep up the maintenance. This is true with any humidifier, but the Air-O-Swiss manages to make these steps easy and relatively hassle-free.

I would never go back to the evaporative type, the filters for them are much more expensive, they seem to mold no matter how carefully maintained (a big problem for sensitive people) and they use more electricity than the Air-O-Swiss. The Air-O-Swiss costs more to start, but consider having to buy the other, cheaper type, 2 years worth of replacement wicks, filters and descalers, then scrapping it all to buy this one anyway. This one is a pleasure to use and own. My advice is to consider my experience and buy the more expensive, but much better, Air-O-Swiss.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Air-O-Swiss AOS 7144 Ultrasonic Humidifier

I have been using this humidifier for about a month. I live in the mountains of Idaho and our only heat is from our woodstove. Burning wood dries the air out horribly. We have always had trouble with our sinus' in the winter because of the dry heat.

This humidifier brought our humidity level up from 34% to 50% in a little over two hours. Even though it is only meant to work in a single room we have noticed a higher humidity in our breakfast room (two rooms away) while this little machine is running.

We are looking forward to a much more comfortable winter this year.

Discount Blue Rose Ultrasonic Humdifier

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The water storage tank of this machine broke from its base when cleaning it. I also felt it did not disperse the scent if the essential oil that well. I am going to attempt to return the machine for a replacement. I can only hope I received a defective machine and they will replace it.

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lov it so easy to fill with water not noise the mist is cool looks like a lava lamp nice light in it the colors are cool colors not hard to clean the shape is fun stile easy to put the essential oils in need more wicks to go in the little oil bottle that holes the essential oil bottle only 1 came it need 5 to come it then it would be just right over all lov it ty

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I recently got this humidifier a few weeks ago. The humidity setting work awesome. At the maximum humidity setting there is so much mist coming out that it looks like its making a cloud in my kitchen. And it does every setting down to barely running, not just a few settings. The mood light works decent in the day and great in the darker light. We use essential oils with this humidifier and it disperses it very well. I have bought several humidifiers in the past and this is the best one I have bought yet, I definitely recommend it.

Review of Perfecto 8 Cigar Travel Case Humidor

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I have had this to carry cigars to the beach for the last couple of years. May not look like much but it is a sturdy case offer lost of protection, built in hygrometer seems to work, and I use a drymist tube instead of the small sponge provided as a humidifier. The sponge it comes with for humdification makes the humidor too wet initially and it dries out fast. Just too dificult to regulate the humidity but a drymist tube works fine even if it takes one slot away from cigar storage. The case is easy to adjust for any length cigar. Great travel humidor for the price that keeps your cigars safe and humdified. I'm pleased with it.

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The only negative I can say is that it is very hard to open. I consider myself a pretty strong guy and I struggle to get it open.

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Looks very nice and sleek. Great price for the value! Holds all sizes of cigars and keeps them fresh. Convenient for travel! Very nice product!

Discount Aprilaire 550 Series Humidifier Feed Tube with Compression Sleeve

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $20.86
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I needed a water line quickly for my humidifier at home. It was easy to find, purchase, and it came in a timely manner.

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This tube was the exact replacement for the tube that broke in my humidifier. It was easy to install and works without a problem.