Customer Reviews

Bionaire BCM657-U Digital Cool-Mist Tower Humidifier with Permanent Filter

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

 

 

I dont usually post reviews but i have owned this product for a year now and since I'm buying a second, I have a few comments.
Pros. 1. Small foot pattern (obviously) 2. stylish those who notice admire those that don't notice it, well, thats even better. 3. humidity sensor is very accurate , hold it up to your mouth and slowly exhale to breath damp air onto the sensor and the unit will register the new humidity and shut off. Then once the sensor has dried (1-2min) the unit will register the rooms actual humidity and turn back on. (very neat) 4. The sizable tank will empty in under 24 hours if the air is dry and the fan is left on Hi. Quite impressive for the size of the unit compared to its tank. 5. Tank is easy in and out, and also the seal for the bottom of the tank actually gets tighter as the tank empties so no worries about leaks. 6. And Finally LCD controls cover any setting you could think of.
Cons. 1. As mentioned by others the fan is about as loud as a small fan. lol. 2. The tank is a good size so when filled is heavier than what some people are capable of carrying (elderly or small children) if this is a factor get a table top unit with a smaller tank. 3. I just noticed than Wal-mart has a honeywell tower with uv. So my only real complaint is just that, this unit could use a UV lamp in the back so the end user wouldn't have to buy bacteriostat.
Once again I'm giving this unit a 5 out of 5. but i expect an upgrade with UV to be coming out soon. ... Hopefully.

I am 58 years old and have purchased a dozen humidifiers over my lifetime. All of them have drawbacks..no exceptions. But this one is the best I have found for the money. I bought it for my grandson, and he is used to white noise in the room with an air cleaner going most of the time. The base is designed simply and is fool proof for putting the tank in when it is full of water..nothing to break off or go bad. It has an automatic setting which works, or you can just run it manually. It has a read out so you can tell what the humidity is in the room you are putting moisture in, though the humidistat is on the unit and it is always better to have a remote one across the room for accuracy. Still it is very close. On automatic you have 3 speeds and the low setting is no louder than a ceiling fan; if that noise is going to bother you...move the unit out of the bedroom and put it in the hall. It has a nice design though the cord could be about 2 feet longer to get exact placement, an extension cord can accomplish this. All and all the unit is easy to care for and works well. No sense in buying anything more expensive. If you need more capacity, buy a couple of them and put them around the house. I have given up on the furnace mounted units for all the problems they cause and downtime. This is the only way to go. I bought mine at sears and paid 80 bucks. I live in the midwest, and this is all you need for an average sized home on one floor. If you have a two story buy two of them. If you live in the desert, consider a bigger unit. 2 year warrantee.

I needed to replace our small Vick's humidifier which was going on the fritz. I found this one at our local big box warehouse store for a steal.

I love the humidity read out, and just to test it, as a previous reviewer suggested, I breathed on the sensor (which is attached to the power cord) and watched the number go up.

We started using the "Accuset" feature which allows you to put the humidifier on a mode that tries to keep the humidity at an exact number setting. We used the (A2) setting and aimed for a 45 humidity level target. We found that the stopping and starting as it got near its target level was too disruptive for night time use . So I returned it to the regular (2) (Medium) setting. I may try the (1) setting tomorrow night to see if we like the sound even better. (But with a geriatric snoring pug sharing the bed, one does need a LOT of white noise!)

The cleaning seems pretty straightforward, I probably won't be following the daily cleaning instructions (naughty but practical) but I will definitely use the weekly cleaning instructions. We seem to have a lot of minerals/hard water, so I have been using straight vinegar in my old humidifier weekly to clean the base buildup. It says dishwasher safe but I don't see that in the instructions. If I were to put the base in the dishwasher I would definitely use the top rack as the bottom rack often "melts" things. I also like that the filter is "permanent" and you don't have to buy new ones all the time. I am sure that it will eventually get too grody to clean, and I will buy a replacement but this is a good setup. It has a read out on the top of the unit that lets you know when you need to clean the filter. There are two "locks" that hold the base and filter in place, you just twist to "unlock" position to pop the base and/or filter out.

A neat trick I read in the instruction booklet is if you find you are filling the water too often you can fill the reservoir tank, put it in the base unit, then, after you hear it emptying into the base (when it stops gurgling) you can re-fill the reservoir in order to extend the fun time.

My husband is a light sleeper and he can sleep with the white noise, but like our last humidifier, I have to turn the lighted part away so the glow doesn't keep him awake. That's no problem as the unit looks nice either way.

Pros: permanent filter; easy to use
Cons: too loud; not enough moist

It has 3 automatic speeds and 3 manual speeds. Good feature but the fan makes even the slowest speed too loud to bear at night. I have used several kinds of humidifiers before and this one is the loudest.

Before buying this product, I read the reviews. Someone wrote that it leaked, and I though "Can't possibly be. Why would they sell it?"
Well, it DOES leak. A lot. All over my carpet. I put in a bucket, and let it run overnight. Now I have a full inch of water in the bucket.
Dangerous item, on its way back tomorrow morning.
Too bad, I liked the idea of the permanent filter.

Tomaso

First, my question: I have had this humidifier for a few months and have lost my instruction manual. Can anyone tell me how to clean the filters? They are really starting to smell! I thought I'd try small amounts of dishwashing soap mixed with water, but I don't want to ruin the filter. What do other reviewers instruction say, and what have you found that works?

Second, for the review: the humidifier seems to work fine. I am not overly-worried about an exact amount of humidity, so I don't care that much about the accuracy of the reading. I like that it takes up less space and really seems to pump humidity into the air. I am having to refill it every 24 hours, even with the setting on Low. And my son doesn't seem to mind the noise from the fan as long as we keep it on Low, but if I set it any higher, he says it is too loud. So far Low setting has worked great and like I mentioned, I am having to refill it every 24 hours anyway.

I do not know about longevity since I have only had this particular unit a couple months. I do know I have had two other Bionaire himidifiers for over 4 years, and only recently has one of them died. The other is actually still working, which is unheard of in humidifier-land! I had purchased many different drug-store and big-box store humidifiers, for much cheaper of course, and they all died after only a few months. So that's when I decided that maybe, just maybe, sometimes you get what you pay for. I believe this must be true with humidifiers, particularly the Bionaire ones.

Tank breaks way too easily. Filled in the tub and slipped and cracked in the tub. Called up Bionaire and now they don't make the tank anymore. Now left with a humidifier that doesn't really work with out the tank. I managed to make my own tank with a soda bottle and some drilling in the bottle. It was a great temporary solution until I found out that they don't make the tanks anymore. Now the whole thing looks like a upside down soda machine. But still works!

The humidifier leaks out all of the water in just a couple of hours. It must be a small leak because when filled with water I dould not find the leak....must be air leaking in allowing the water to leak out when the plunger is pressed up when it is in the base.

Product works as described. I don't think the clean filter dial is very accurate though. I soaked and cleaned the filter one evening and the dial still indicated it was not clean.

I broke the water container while trying to fill it just by letting it fall in the bathtub. Where can i find a replacement and is it worth replacing or just buying a new one? Also, where on earth is the filter located? When we bought the unit a month ago we did not see any filter spot? Please advise me someone. Thanks so much.