Customer Reviews

AIR-O-SWISS 1355 Air Washer / Humidifier - White

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

...And I've owned many. I've tried the traditional "wick" humidifiers, steam vapor, ultrasonic, and even ones with pumps. None can compare to the convenience and reliability of the Air-O-Swiss, though.

Steam Vapor ran my electric bill through the roof (it eats electricity like crazy). Ultrasonic created white dust that got into everything, no matter how small the crevice (even got on the CD inside my CD-ROM drive). As for the one with pumps? Um, the pumps burned out after 2 months.

My traditional wick humidifier was the most reliable of my previous humidifiers, but wicks need constant replacement (which can get expensive if you live in an arid region like me) and their performance degrades as you use them more (eventually even with frequent cleaning, they will just not absorb water any more and the reservoir on your humidifier will frustratingly be full).

The Air-O-Swiss works like a wick-based humidifier, except instead of a wick it uses slowly rotating plastic discs (about a dozen of them)to increase the surface area of water-to-air contact. A fan facilitates the flow of air through the housing. It does a great job of keeping the air breathable, and thus keeps my associated allergies at bay, but it's also so quiet that I can't even tell it's on unless I put my hand over the inlets/outlets to feel the air flow.

The simplicity of its design lends to its reliability (it's just a fan and a motor to turn the discs very slowly). It doesn't have any wicks that need to be replaced, though it still needs regular cleaning (to get rid of mineral buildup). I've had it for about 3 months now and have had no problems with it. After trying so many different types of humidifiers, I was almost ready to just settle for my old wick-based humidifier (for which I was spending about 20$ a month in wicks). I'm very glad I discovered this humidifer.

Very good customer service from the manufacturer, Plaston. I had a slightly older version of this humidifier that stopped working after about a year. When I called the company someone picked up the phone who knew all about the product. I sent them the broken humidifier and they sent me a new one right away.

Apart from the fact that my first one broke down, I've been pretty satisfied with this product. My old humidifier used expensive disposable wicks, which used to get filthy after just a few days of New York City air. With this one, you just empty the water pan and wipe it down once in a while. Once every month or so, you have to clean the discs. This can be a pain without a dishwasher.

this product is an air washer, not a humidifier. any humidification is incidental.

this fact was confirmed by the manufacturer (plaston) customer service person (maria) i spoke to on the phone. i was told that if i wanted a humidifier, i should get one - this product is an air washer.

the product does capture the large dust particles in the room - i see them in the pan, and it (subjectively) does feel easier to breathe if you have allergies.

as far as humidification goes, it failed to increase the humidity by more than 1-2% from the initial ~35%. the room is in manhattan, it is 17x17ft, the unit was run for 24 hrs straight at high setting and evaporated ~1.9 gallons of water at room temperature ~75F. it was a couple of feet away from the walls and the vents, and the humidity measurements were taken with WS-9410TWC hygrometer. the windows/doors were closed.

after i conducted the test and verified the results with the manufacturer customer services representative, i was told that i should get a humidifier.

i will be returning this product and getting a separate humidifier and an air purifier instead.

I bought this product to replace my humidifier when the permanent filter failed. This has been the best purchase I have made this year! It does what it advertises to do, clean the air and humidify. My apartment is comfortable and I have noticed a marked difference in the air, and consequently, my breathing. I have asthma so the idea of breathing easier is huge for me. It does "glug" a little when the water refills but no worse than my old humidifier. I have found that the cap on the water tank can be a little hard to open but over all it is still a wonderful product.

I keep mine on a counter that has central access to my apartment and the whole apartment is comfortable and the air clean. I do use a hard water treatment in it but that has been the only item I have worried about. Overall, it is quiet, simple to take apart and care for, effective without the complications of humidity controls, and wonderful at cleaning the air in my home. I would recommend this product!

Was looking for a device that would humidify the air but not use filters that needed changing, which adds cost, plus filters provide a good medium for bacteria growth if not changed frequently. So, after doing a lot of research I found the Air-O-Swiss 1355 Air Washer, which by spec, should meet my criteria. Ordered through Amazon, which I must say was a great experience and fast service. The Air-O-Swiss 1355 met all of my expectations and more. It is not a light-weight in the field of air washers. It is very quiet and does a great job with what it was designed to do. The nice by-product is that it has minimized the allergies we all seem to suffer, must be the air washer part......Highly recommend the Air-O-Swiss 1355 and Amazon, a great combination.

I chose this unit because, although it costs a bit more initially and humidifies at a slower rate than other cool-mist technologies, it is easier and cheaper for me to maintain, and intrinsically cannot cause "white-dust" or a "falling cloud of cool mist" like the ultrasonic units might.

I've been very happy with it over the past few months. I use a liquid anti-microbial agent and do not use the ionic silver stick.

This technology is very similar to evaporative "wick" models. However, because many plastic discs are used instead of a wick, there is no wick to replace or get moldy. If the discs should ever get moldy, they can be cleaned in the dishwasher or by hand.

I added a humidistat to mine.

The product works fine but the fan jiggles and is not as quiet at night as I would prefer it to be.

Received the 1355 Air Washer / Humidfier 3 days ago. This machine works really well. I have a 740 square foot condo and it is now humidified. When I enter my home I can feel the air moisture, which is nice because I live in Tucson, AZ. It is quiet and moves a lot of water. My estimate is the reserve tank in depleted in about 30 hours running on high. Sometimes I can hear the air bubbles come up into the tank. This is not a bad sound and just reminds me that it is working away. My only complaints are with the seller Factory Direct. They required a signature from the UPS person. I could never meet the delivery person and had to pick the item up at the UPS warehouse. Factory Direct did not have a white model when I ordered. They called me and asked if a black and grey one would be ok. I agreed and I like the look of the black and grey better then the white in my house. For low energy consumption, quite operation, and good humidity output I recommend this unit.

WE felt that the air filter worked well, but the humidifier did not. We still had same symptoms of dryness after suing it for two weeks. As soon as we got a different humidifier (not a combo unit) we felt relief). We were just trying to save space by getting a combo unit but unfortunately, we did not get the results we hoed for.

Make sure this is the product you want. The cost to return this was 20% of original price plus shipping.