I believe this item has received unfairly low ratings from other purchasers. Perhaps these reviews are from purchasers who have never owned a humidifier before, or who didn't bother to read the directions. I have owned three different humidifiers over the years, and this one has been overall the best.
I would agree the tank shape could stand some redesign. Like most humidifiers, you turn the tank upside down to refill, thus the top of the tank is best designed to conform to the shape of a tub or sink, so that it stays upright on its own while filling. This one does not do that, but it is still possible to prop it against the end of the tub to refill.
As for the other comments that have been made, of course it makes a gurgling noise. Water is dripping down into the base in order to be converted to steam. I have had the unfortunate experience of owning a humidifier that sounded like an 18-wheeler driving through my house--and believe me, this one is QUIET.
The only knocking noises I've heard were when the tank emptied while I was asleep and I didn't shut it off, AND I hadn't cleaned it in a very long time.
And of course the heating element is going to be hot right after you turn it off, and yes it could char a piece of wood if it came in contact with the heating element. The instructions CLEARLY STATE you must allow the heating element to cool before cleaning or refilling. I cannot imagine why someone would set something wet down on a wood table, or how the heating element came into contact with wood of one reviewer, as the heating element has a surrounding plastic framework that makes it difficult if not impossible to place anything directly against the heating element. Perhaps the user modified this plastic housing in some way.
Also, the tank cap has a mechanism that, together with the humidifier base, controls the amount of water that flows out of the tank. The only way this could malfunction and send water everywhere is if the cap was not screwed on properly (and just like a bottle of soda, if you don't screw the cap on properly, the bottle will leak), or if it is not placed on the base securely.
I have not found the recommended cleaning to be an issue. But then, I use the recommendations as a guideline, not a requirement. How much you cleaning you have to do depends on the condition of your water and your performance expectations.
The recommended "daily" cleaning is basically to remove the base reservoir and dump out any water and accumulated sediment. I actually only do this about once a week, and I have very hard water (lots of clay sediment and calcium. I cannot drink tap water, its that bad.) The recommended "weekly" cleaning is to fill the base reservoir with vinegar and soak for 20 mins, and wipe down the heating element and surrounding housing to remove any calcium deposits. I actually only do this about every 3 months. Sometimes I actually have to chisel off the calcium from the heating element! And with all this obviously poor maintenance, I have noticed no diminished performance!
I'm not sure what the 'reboot' requirement is, stated by one reviewer. The instructions clearly state that you should turn off the humidifier when you remove the tank for refilling, or when you are cleaning. This makes sense. Leaving it on without the heating element resting in a reservoir of water is like putting an empty pan on a hot stove burner. It will damage it. But turning it off for the few moments required for filling or cleaning is sufficient. No further effort is required. And I really don't understand how one is personally offended by an inanimate object.
As for the size of tank, and how long it lasts, that all depends on the settings you use, and the size of your room. The 36-hour timeframe advertised by the manufacturer is at the unit's lowest setting, as most manufacturers do. I keep mine set on low speed, with the humidity percentage at about 60%. This lasts 24 hrs. I definitely notice a humid feeling when walking into my bedroom where I keep the humidifer. My bedroom measures about 12' x 18', but I keep my bedroom door open always so the humidity isn't just staying in my bedroom alone. The packaging states accurately that this humidifier is intended to serve a medium-sized room, not a whole house or very large rooms.
I really love the fact that this model does not require filters. I've had humidifiers that require filters, and of course you can never find the filter when you need one, and they are often very expensive. I've also had a humidifier that advertised no filter required, then upon reading the fine print inside the box, learned that while a humidifier was not REQUIRED, it really needed one to function properly.
I replaced my last humidifier with this one because the lat model I owned had no controls other than on/off, and pumped out so much mist it soaked everything around it, and was a cold mist model that did not keep the calcium deposits inside the reservoir--everything that got soaked by the mist ended up with calcium residue on it that was impossible to remove.
All in all, a very good model. The only thing I would like better is a domed-top model that could rest easily in the tub for refilling.
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This product has gotten a LOT of negative reviews. I'm not sure why.
We bought this humidifier from a local store...the ONLY humidifier we could find in town. We needed a humidifier for our newborn, since he was getting some dry sinuses (poor little man!)
The model had obviously been returned, as it was repacked terribly and had no manual. No worry, though; the design is so simple that I figured out how to get water into it and get it working in about 3.5 minutes, even without the manual. It did drip a bit of water as I went to fill it, but is that REALLY a big deal? Maybe for some folks; not for us.
Anyway, as to the comment about "dead lifting" a gallon of water...a gallon of water weighs 8 pounds, which, let's be honest, isn't that much. I had to cringe when I read the "injured vet" comment; agreed, filling this tank would be very hard with one arm, but I imagine that a one armed person would buy a different model (say, one of the 30 others that Amazon offers). Could Holmes have made it better by making it top filling? Possibly, but in all honesty, this design works just fine.
Is it noisy? That depends on what you mean by "noisy". Let's attack the question a different way: is it silent? No, it's not. It makes (what my wife and I find to be) a nice gurgling sound, very similar to the humidifiers my mom used to use when I was little. However, I sleep better with a small amount of white noise, so those of you who are very light sleepers and/or need total silence might look at other models.
As to the comment about not producing enough moisture to get through the night...how much do you SLEEP? We fill the tank when we go to bed, and 8 hours later, it's just about empty. That's on the highest setting on both dials (max humidity and max fan), AND we live in a high desert area with hardly any ambient humidity to speak of. Just last night, we ran it on max fan and half humidity (our son's sinuses are getting better) and the tank was still half full after 8 hours of sleep. I suppose if you sleep for more than 8 hours, or if you're trying to humidify more than one room in the house, this might not be the one for you, but come on! It tells you right on the box that it's good for A bedroom.
As far as the melting of the tanks I've read about...that's terrible, but ours hasn't done that.
I'll give this humidifier 4 stars, not because it didn't come with a manual, but because after calling them multiple times, Holmes still hasn't sent me one (even though they've told me they will, and even given me other websites to check dedicated to replacement manuals which...surprise...don't have the one for this model). Also, I agree that the "power down" "feature" IS stupid and, not having a manual, I thought I had broken this thing at first. However, one you know you have to do it, you just do it. it's like turning off your PC: I bet we all thought it was silly to go to "start" and select "shut down" to turn them off...but we all do it now, don't we?
Could it be better? Maybe, but I have no major complaints with it. You put water in, you turn it on, the room gets moist. Isn't that what a humidifier's supposed to do?
Just thought I'd post this, since it looks like the reviews are mostly one sided up to this point!
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Thanks to my cold, dry apartment, I have chronic sinus infections. I bought this humidifier and it has been amazing the air is pleasantly un-dry and my nose is very happy! I definitely notice a positive difference now that I run this particular unit, and I can tell when it has been off all day (I only run it at night). :) It is easy to fill, easy to clean, and I kind of like the soft water sounds it makes as it 'percolates'. :) There was a lot of belly-aching about this product on other sites, but with proper use and care, it is a really worthwhile product.
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I bought this humidifier a year ago. I like it because there are no filters to mess with. It's easy to keep clean and sanitized. It takes just a few minutes to heat up and start steaming. It does make a little noise, but not enough to be bothersome at night, at least for me. Since using this humidifier, I've noticed my skin is not as dry in the winter and it has been really helping with my sinus infections. A year later and it still works great.
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Regret buying it for my bedroom because every 60 seconds it sounds like a boiling teapot, only pours out mist like a volcano every 60 seconds, meaning it is not a steady QUIET flow...My old one lasted two winter seasons then broke...I am not very confident in the quality of Holmes Products since they seem to break every other season...
