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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Up here in the deep north it is essential to have humidifier if you have musical instruments, or anything made out of nice wood. I have tried several different options, and evaporative humidifiers are the best. This one has enough nice features to warrent an excellent rating. The main great feature is that it is easy to add water to the system. The tanks remove easily, and can be filled from the kitchen sink (they are too tall for filling in a bathroom sink). In the dead of winter expect to fill it daily, but fortunately this is big enough to only need filling once per day. Other nice features include a fan speed control (pump humidity in fast because you were gone all weekend and its dry), or quiet. At low speed settings you barely know its on. I also like the optional air cleaning evaporator. It apparently slows down air flow, but that seems trivial since the fan can simply be turned up.
I have used the IQ Air brand filters in my Health Pro Plus for years now, but with all the recent issues with the bad smell and out gassing coming from some of the IQ Air HEPA filter I am giving this product only 3 stars. Being unsatisfied with the product, I started looking for an alternative filter manufacturer.
I prefer buying this online. To go to the store and hope they have it in stock is just a pain. The price at the store is more than I would pay online plus shipping. This is a wonderful product. I will continue buying it from Amazon. Thank you. Sherrie Siemons
Works Very well Cleared air in my office after only a few days of running the unit Very Quiet and easy to adjust speeds !
When Bionaire was founded they were a great company. In fact I still have a unit that was made in 1983 and that is still running fine. All I've had to do is replace the filters and a fan switch. Try finding parts for any of the newer ones...Impossible!
Filter is made in USA and is an effective Merv 13 during dry weather. The extended descriptions says that the filters are 19 7/8" tall. The filters are actually 19 3/4" tall. To fix, I cut a 1" x 25" piece of cardboard from my last filter pack shipping box and double taped it across the top with 2" wide 3M clear packaging tape. I, like 99.9% of homeowners, do not have a manometer to check pressure drop, but my furnace does not seem to be working any harder than it did with a Merv 8 filter. My allergies did diminish greatly after installing this filter.
Shipment arrived in tact and as described. I will buy more as it's a good "bulk buy". This is my wife's favorite and can never find them locally in the near stores
My house uses forced air for heating. The disadvantage of such a system is that it distributes the dust in the air everywhere in the house. However, it is supposed to be possible to filter out the dust. Over the years, I have steadily increased the quality of the filter that I use for my forced air heating system. However, until now I have not noticed any obvious difference in my allergic reactions that seem to start with the heating season.
I haven't used anything different in my Essick Humidifier (which is by far the best humidifier I've ever owned -definitely worth the $80 I paid for it), and I think these filters work swell.
Excellent supplemental source of heat. As with most portable heaters, it takes awhile to warm the area, but it is more than adequate. I really like the air purifier and humidifier functions. Everything works well and the unit is quite user friendly, particualrly with the remote. Great price for value with this model! Company was wonderful to work with.
great air purifier, love the black color. used this for cleaning up so called zero voc paint fumes. works great and we keep it on all the time and it has made our indoor air quality just amazing.
I recently picked up 2 of these filters for our 2 Holmes HEPA air purifying machines. We have a dust problem in the house, and allergies as well. These filters seem to do a good job of making the air in our house cleaner, especially on the machine's medium and high settings. We do not use the 'ionizer' function, being that we have read conflicting claims as to whether this is healthy or not. The only downside is that the filters seem a bit costly, as were the older 'OEM' ones that from a few years ago that looked a little different than the current incarnation of the filter.
I started to run this air purifier exactly 52 hours ago, and it has already changed my quality of life.
Of course we can't know how things would be WITHOUT this air purifier, but it seems (to me) to be helping. I have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and I'm doing better. Now, we've also recently moved out of a mold-infested home, BUT we now have attached neighbors who smoke, and it's difficult to get away from plastic odors, etc. etc. I feel that this purifier helps. The science behind it also makes sense. I also like the feature where you can turn it down so it's still working but it's not as loud. Even at the highest "setting," it's not obnoxious--like a very small fan noise, I think. It's also very easy to move, etc., with its nice top handle and not-too-heavy design. The circular shape also makes sense to me (to circulate the air), and it's reasonably "nice looking" in our living space.
Overpriced? Maybe, maybe not. It depends on what you expect it to do. It works well in small rooms that do not have tons of dust, smoke, or mold. And it is quiet at least on the low speed.
I've already reviewed the Miele vacuum cleaner itself, along with the Turbo brush, so I'm a fan of the pricy-but-worth-it-if-you-can-afford-it sucker. If you're reading this, you're probably one too, so I'm not gonna talk about the vacuum cleaner on a net page selling the bags. I'm just going to relate information on the box about what Miele vacuums this goes with, on the theory that's the main question you have. It's not entertaining, but perhaps it's useful:
Purchased this unit a few weeks ago to cool a small office room (about 120sf). I was skeptical when I bought it because I was unsure how well portable AC units could be. The unit works really well and is very nice looking. The blowers are somewhat loud but given the small size of my room that is to be expected. It's not annoying loud. My only complaints were the poor documentation regarding the drainage. There are two drainage outlets. The upper one requires a garden hose attachment. This is only required if you are using the unit in the dehumidifier mode (which I am not). The instructions about this one were clear. The second drainage port is very small at the bottom of the unit. There were no specific instructions about this. It has a soft rubber cap. Once a day I place a shallow tin (pie tin) and drain the water. This is really important otherwise you will have a leak on your floor. Ideally you would hook up some type of small tube to drain. The only problem is that this drain is only about an inch above the floor which makes draining somewhat clumsy.
Priced right for quality. Good quality. Make sure if you are smokers, you vacuum out the filters every week. Does a great job on the low setting for about 900 sq ft which is more than specs. Only draw back is the fan noise. Sometimes you notice it, but getting use to it. Cannot complain about how much better the air quality is in the house. Note...if you have a nice tropical plant close by...more it. Think it sucked the life out of mine and I had it for over 15 years.