When I first moved to the high mountains (8400') of Colorado, I used a wick-type humidifier constantly. I also had a nasty little cough that stayed with me for 18 months. Finally, I took my doctor's advice and junked the humidifier. End of cough, due to things growing in the unit. I have been shopping for humidifiers again for a while, and found them all to be lacking severely. Either they were the same type of filter construction that had caused my illness, or they were cheaply made, or low-capacity. This unit may have a tippy storage tank when turned upside-down to fill, but it is well made. The screw-on cap for the reservoir is sturdy and has a rubber gasket. There are carrying handles on the top and bottom of the water container to make it easy to manage, and it puts out a LOT of humidity. At 2/3 setting, it ran the humidity in my bedroom from 22 to 35% the first night, all while being completely silent. The (silent) piezo-electric ultrasonic element is the same as is used in the tweeters of my big PA speakers, and these are practically indestructible if kept clean. The huge water reservoir does mean that it is big, and the styling is retro, which is OK, I guess. More expensive units from the same manufacturer have useless and noisy digital features with the same overall construction. Overall, a solid five.
Update on 22Mar2012: This thing is great. The silver (yes, they impregnate the plastic with silver) added to the water chamber means that there is virtually no scum build-up inside. I did clean it once in the time I have had it. The little metal diaphragm of the ultrasonic element is brass not silver, so I do wipe that off every now and then, but this thing is fantastic. I always run filtered water in it. If you don't, you are either leaving the unfiltered residue in the tank, or blowing it out into your room! Give your sinuses, musical instruments and wood furniture a nice gift.
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