List Price: $159.99
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Before we got this humidifier, we had two smaller humidifiers placed around the house and despite having to refill them constantly, we were still getting static electric shocks when touching door knobs and light switches (scary). I wanted a humidifier that held a lot of water, was reliable, didn't coat everything with a white dust, and simply worked to help alleviate dry winter skin and static electricity issues. So far, this humidifier has been working perfectly to mitigate the dry winter air in an area just over 1000 sq ft.
When I first took it out of the box, the construction quality seemed a bit flimsy and I was kinda worried. Yeah, the plastic and seams could be a little tougher feeling, but once you have the few different sections into place, I would say the overall build quality is as solid as it needs to be. Our model is also more of a pure white color, rather than the cream "old PC case" color shown on Amazon. After about 3 months of constant use, we haven't had any leaks or a single issue to worry about.
Pros:
-Holds 3.9 real gallons (not just the misleading daily output figure that manufacturers use). It's great that I don't have to refill this thing every 2 days. A whole week or more will go by before we have to refill it. Of course, the refill period will depend on your settings and how often its running. We've left it running all the time (automatic setting) set to maintain 45 or 50 (somewhat high), and still only need to refill about once every 8-12 days.
-Has casters for easy relocation of unit
-Super simple operation. One button to power on/off, one button to set which humidity level you want to maintain, and one button to set to automatic or manual operation levels.
-As far as humidifiers go, the styling is good in that it sorta just blends into our similarly colored wall. Fairly subtle presence for a larger unit.
-Pretty quiet. It has a fan, so yeah, you will hear it when its spinning faster, but the noise is like a white noise, which we don't mind hearing when we sleep. Never noticed it to be a problem when trying to talk or watch TV.
-Up to 2500 sq ft. coverage area. We can only attest to just under half of that.
-None of that fine white dust like you get from those "cool mist" humidifiers.
-Display shows "F" on our unit when it's time to refill.
Cons:
-None!
Be sure to add a few capfuls of bacteriostat solution to the tank and you're good to go with this humidifier.
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Pros: Highly effective, I didn't measure it but I would certainly believe than it can move 12 gallons a day. Easy to refill, Wicks are inexpensive.Cons: Noisy, poor quality, creates a draft of cold air.
This product comes from Essick Air, and it is cheaply constructed (judging from other reviews, such is the quality standard of all their products). This item must have a huge profit margin because it is little more than some flimsy plastic parts which don't fit together very well, plus an electric fan. Everyone seems to have different quality issues; on my unit, the float sensor is nonfunctional (either always on or always off, depending on how you adjust it). The hydrostat seems to be calibrated way off -it reads about 10-15% lower than my (calibration verified) Caliber III Thermometer Hygrometer -but still works, as long as you set it high enough.
But the main problem with this humidifier is the noise. On low it is loud enough to hear from 25 feet away. On medium it is hard to have a conversation. On high it drowns out most other noise. My girlfriend had to turn up the TV over it even when on low. On top of the fan noise, the propeller seems to be not quite balanced, so that the whole thing vibrates, and even rattles if oriented wrong.
Unfortunately for us consumers (but fortunately for Essick Air), there seems to be a few options for in-house humidifiers on the market with more than a few gallons a day of output. So if you really need all 12 gallons/day, and can't get one integrated with your heating system, this might be the best product on the market, despite all its shortcomings.
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Bought this unit to replace 2 smaller units on my house's main floor. Depending on your personal takeaway, some of the build on unit may seem flimsy. However, this isn't something you're gonna be pulling or pushing on a daily basis. I really do like a couple of features on it: Being able to lock the controls is great especially when you have kids and want to place unit on the floor. Also, the Dry Out Mode will come in handy should you forget to fill it up. After one week the unit seems efficient and really accurate. My one word of advice would be to make sure you line up the reservoir's float properly when assembling unit. Failure to do so will trick the unit into thinking that it's empty, sending it into Dry Out Mode. I know because it happened to me. Perhaps the manufacturer can address this in the future. Overall, a very good humidifier.Honest reviews on Essick Air MA1201 Whole-House Humidifier, White
We have hard water, and this lasted about 2 weeks before we got rid of it to someone without hard water. We had issues because the wick filter just sat in the water, soaking it up from the bottom. My hard water affected the filter very quickly (within only 2 weeks) to the point where it was no longer wicking up water, the filter was hard, and the humidifier was running constantly trying to put out what it could manage, and it started to smell bad. Again, all of this was within only 2 weeks, and the filters are expensive ($13 on Amazon right now and $>15 at local stores, and there was no way I could justify spending that every 2 weeks for new filters).We ordered the Lasko 1128 from Amazon because, in contrast to this Essick, water flows at the top and bottom of the filter, helping to extend the life of the filter. As opposed to less than 2 weeks before, the filter with the Lasko lasted over a month, without any smell, and you can get the filters for the Lasko very cheap (we got them direct from Lasko on their website at $5 and some cents per filter including shipping...the more you buy from them at the same time, the lower the cost per filter).
So, even though the Essick lasted 2 weeks for us before giving away, I still give it 2 stars because I liked how you could set the humidity level and let it go, and I liked how the tank filled (no mess).
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I have tried cool-mist, warm-mist and now the Essick MA1201 (moist-air evaporative) humidifiers.Cool-mist is quiet and effectively humidifies, but creates really annoying white dust and requires frequent fillings
Warm-mist is also quiet and effective, no white dust, but requires frequent fillings and a weekly clean up of deposits created by the boiler plate a plate that burns a fair amount of electricity. I had a Honeywell warm-mist unit for 5 years before it failed, so this isn't a bad solution if the cons I mention aren't a problem.
I replaced the Honeywell with the Essick. The MA1201 has an evaporative filter that absorbs water. Air is drawn through the filter by a fan and evaporation humidifies. This unit is large and will handle up to 1,500 sq. ft. with at most 1 daily filling (holds combined 4 gallons in base and tank). An evaporative humidifier is noisier than the other two types due to the fan. At low setting (Essick calls it "Ultra Quiet") there is still a background white noise But, since this unit has the capacity for multiple rooms, I put it in a room near the furnace return vent and away from sleeping rooms and it works very well (holds 6 rooms at 35%), with no noise to interrupt sleep. The unit construction seems good none of the problems mentioned by others yes it is plastic, but it moves a lot of water and metal would not make sense. The 2 gallon refill tank is particularly well designed and easy to refill in a kitchen sink. Made in U.S.A.
After years of finding humidifier solutions, I found the Essick MA1201 to be the best for my needs.
