William Ultrasonic Humidifier in Black

I recently moved to Aurora, Colorado (just outside Denver) and at 5,400 feet the humidity is extremely low. I noticed my skin began to itch, which it had not done before. My doctor advised moisturizing creams, which helped a bit, and an air humidifier. After a lot of investigating I narrowed my search to the Air-O-Swiss and the Williams. In fact, both units seemed remarkably similar with both using a "patented" ionic silver cube and a filter cartridge which seem visually identical. Both units provide warm and cool mist. Possibly the technology is licensed from Air-O-Swiss? The deciding factors for me were:

(a) the Air-O-Swiss listed a capacity of 650 sq. ft. and the Stadler 1,000 sq. ft. I have a very small house 850 sq. ft. which effectively makes the Stadler a whole house humidifier for me.

b) almost every review of the Air-O-Swiss commented on the inaccuracy of it's humidity meter and the only review I could find of the Stadler said it's meter was accurate.

THE GOOD: Assembly is a snap. The meter is close to accurate. The water tank is extremely easy to remove and fill. It is dark plastic, but the water level can be seen quite clearly. The tank capacity is sufficient for 9 hours of continual use. The machine is so silent that I have to listen closely at night to hear anything at all. Just a soft "ssshhh." The Control Panel is easy to see and use with many options and has a light to indicate no-water.

My skin itching stopped.

THE NOT SO GOOD: It is expensive and every source I could find had the same price. The filter cartridge needs to be replaced three or four times a year, depending on the hardness of your water, or when white dust accumulates on the unit or on a small mirror held to the fog. The ionic cube must also be replaced once a year. A testing strip is included and if your water has a hardness greater than 21 degrees dH, an ionic humidifier is not recommended. They suggest then using an impeller humidifier. The Desired Humidity cannot be set lower than 40%, but I found that setting it at 60% results in an actual humidity level of about 37% which is what I want anyway.

THE BAD: I couldn't find any.

SOME NOTES ON OPERATION: The instructions say not to place the Stadler Williams directly on the floor or next to heating. I went to Ace Hardware and found a small, plastic step stool for $12 that is 5" high. This keeps the unit off the rug and makes it easier to access when changing settings. If you have an chest of drawers in the room with space on top it should work equally well. A review of the Swiss-O-Air reported good results from soaking the ionic cube in water for 24 hours before initial use to increase effectiveness. I don't know if this is beneficial, but I did it and had no bad result.

I set my unit to Auto/Sleep

IMPORTANT: Several reviews of the Air-O-Swiss said that they used de-ionized water. The Stadler unit specifically recommends against this. It is designed to use with untreated water or with a drinking water filter system such as Brita. Using any additives are specifically warned against.

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