Customer Reviews

Holmes HM1230 Cool Mist Humidifier for 600 Square Foot Room

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I spent a lot of time in the store looking over humidifiers, and finally decided on the Holmes. I like the design and features. The good point is it works very well at humidifying a small room. The bad is that it is VERY noisy. There's no way you could have it on high - it sounds like a jet engine. On low it is still quite loud. I have it in my son's room, and the white noise actually helps him sleep, but I would never be able to have it in my own room. If the noise isn't an issue, then this is a great humidifier, but I believe most people would prefer a quieter unit.

I have had this unit for one week. I am returning it tomorrow because it is ridiculously loud. Forget sleeping--I can barely hear the TV over it! If noise is not an issue, then this item might still be a good deal for you. I paid $24.99, which I thought was a good price for it. The positives are that it holds 2.5 gallons, instead of the usual 2 gallons in this price range, and it has a built-in moniter to let you know when it's time to change the filter. It says it can run for 24 hours without having to refill the water. I did not test this aspect, as I only run it while I sleep (or at least that's my goal). Another negative is that it has a sticker attached that says to call an 800 number before using. Thinking it might be a safety issue, I called. It automatically records the number--with registered name--and address you call from and gives you a voice response sales pitch. That ticked me off. I just bought a Honeywell warm mist unit today. Hopefully that will be better for me!

I should have listened to other reviewers, this humidifier is so loud...and I live in Manhattan, and I thought it would never disturb me. But it disturbed the cat, the entire Upper East Side and me.

I didn't incur any less dry heat induced nosebleeds and wasn't always sure when the thing was working.

It was returned today.

I bought this humidifier for my 5 month old's room to help not only with adding moisture to our dry home, but to help drown out the noises of the busy street we live on as well as the sounds from within our house. It has made a world of difference! He has slept so well since I bought this. It works great. The high setting does have a louder hum, but I sleep in his room sometimes and have no problem getting to sleep. The only down side is having to buy filters. The cheapest I've found are $8.20 + shipping each and we need to probably buy a new one every 1-2 months. Great purchase otherwise!

I bought this humidifier because I was having trouble with my asthma this winter in the hot dry air of my home. I was desperate to try and add a little moisture to the air. I chose a "cool-air" product because the assumption was that I did not want to add any more "hot-air" than I already had, however, i have only used this product 2 or 3 times. It is way too noisy. The fan component of the humidifier makes it very difficult to sleep with it on, and my husband absolutely refuses to have it on when he is in the room. So whether or not the product can relieve the dryness in my bedroom is moot, since I can't use it!

This little bugger does the job very well but two things I must add, if you are in heated room; it will make the temperature go down fast since it is a cool mist humidifier...... 2nd on full speed it is too noisy to keep in bedroom.

It does look nice and I am using it without any powers because of above listed issues hence it is keeping my 14x13 room at 50% humidity, how? I just filled it up with tap water and I can see water level dropping day by day without turning it on, also I have a digital humidity monitor in my room and I can watch the humidity level with or without HM1230 in the room.

I got model HM 1280 (similar to 1230) on sale because we needed a second humidifier for another room on another floor of the house. The one I had, a Vicks brand "ultrasonic cool mist" kind, is superior, even though it is harder to clean and is not as well designed ergonomically as the Holmes 1280.
CONS: The Holmes is TOO NOISY. My husband hates it and although I use it ONLY when I'm not in the room, I never use it on high. Solution: use it in my office at night; in our bedroom during the day.
The FILTER IS ANNOYING. Hard to replace the motor section after checking to see if it is ready to be changed without, I discovered, squishing it down. And the filter needed to be changed too soon; it's an absurd expense to keep changing a filter.
Also, because of its design, the only way to know if it is working is to look at the level in the water tank. But that is minor.
PROS:
Nice ergonomic water tank. Great that the bottom section that the water goes into is NOT attached to the motor compartment, as in the Vicks. This makes it easier to clean.
I also love the hygrometer. Turns out I'd been keeping our steam-heated NYC rooms too moist.
The next humidifier I get will be the "ultra-sonic" type. Mostly because of the noise and the filter. I also suspect that the motor for the fan costs more to run than the motor for the ultrasonic one.

I wish I read the other reviews before I bought this. After a long night of dealing with a croupy kid, I went out and bought the first humidifier I found to replace the one that died last year. Even on the low setting, this unit is incredibly loud. My kids room is across the hall from mine and the noise kept ME awake. The turbo fans we use in the summer are less noisy. I'm taking it back today.

Even though I bought this thing at the discounted price of $22, it wasn't worth it.

First, the thing is very noisy. I used it as a white noise machine, which was nice for me, but it's probably not intended to be that.

Second, and it's an inexcusably silly design oversight, a screw in the machine that makes constant contact with the water is metal. It rusts very easily, making the filter very orange, the water orange and most likely emitting orange humidity.

The machine is built very cheaply, quickly and carelessly.

I love what this humidifier has done for me and my family. I have Holmes humidifiers and air cleaners in all the bedrooms, and everyone has benefited from the improvement in air quality. We have to turn up the heat so that our small kids do not feel too cold at night, and sometimes I am so dry and congested, I actually lean over and breathe the moist air from the humidifier to feel better! My only problem is with the cleaning. It is hard to get inside the container to clean it out, so I usually just rinse it out. I bought a cleaning pack and the instructions were not very thorough, so I did not realize that you cannot run the humidifier with the cleaner in the water. Maybe I am just gadget-impaired, but it did seem that the instructions should have mentioned that. Anyway, being gadget-impaired, I require absolute simplicity from most things, and my other problem is with the wick filter. I am quite squeamish and the wick is gross to look at and equally gross to touch. I know it sounds crazy, believe me, but I just cannot bring myself to touch it, so my husband ends up having to clean the base and since he is a busy person, he cannot get to it as often as the manual says we should be doing it. In any case, I am grateful for the fact that we are all breathing more easily. Children usually feel the dry air more quickly, and I can tell that our kids are feeling better.