Customer Reviews

Holmes HM5700 Warm Mist Humidifier

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

 

 

I have owned a Holmes automatic (digital) wharm air humidifier for about 5 years now, and when it started to "act up" recently, I felt that it was time to simply purchase another new unit-my experiences with small appliance have always led me to believe that after a reasonable lifespan, just throw it away and buy new. Was in a retailer nearby coincedentally, and saw a competitors' unit about [amt] cheaper. Most importantly, it also had a variable humidistat. (Do NOT ever buy one without a humidistat). Have had this unit now for about a week now, and if the retailer will not refund the purchase price, I will simply throw it away. Wheras my Holmes unit maintained near perfect humidity-in 5% increments-this new unit comes no closer than a 30(!) percent varience from when I set it manually, AND without a simple digital readout-only an unnumbered dial. Lesson learned: stick with what you know works. Will purchase this Holmes unit as soon as I can afford it. Only one minor complaint: Holmes unit is a bit difficult to clean BUT, if you fill the element channel with white vinegar (unit off/disconnected, of course) for about 10 hours, most scale simply rinses off.

We have been using this humidifier for over three(now 4) years.

I'll go through all others complaints.

1. Broken handle. All humidifiers are built a little flimsy; just be careful! Ours has never broken. When full don't be tough with the handles. This isn't a pickup truck people!!

2. Won't humidify room. This is not a whole house unit. We have used it regularly in bedrooms and small apartments and considering the size it works very well. If you have forced air do not leave the fan on continuoisly (although we do occasionally) and close the door to your bedroom. When the heat kicks in; ours turns on and recovers the humidity in the room easily.

3. Leaks. There is a built in resevoir area for leaking. Ours over three years has only done this a few times and never enough to actually leak on the floor or outside the machine.
If your unit leaks all the time use hot water. Cold water will expand on the machine as it heats a little; forcing extra water out. Hot water will cool and shrink as it sits on the machine.

4. Not accuate. You got me? Ours has been perfect.

5. Rotted seal. Duh! When done with the unit; store with cap off of the tank. This will avoid all humidity problems.

6. Hard to clean. All burner humidifiers are hard to clean. I clean ours about once a week. I wash out all the peices by hand and hot water to remove minerals. The burner area itself I usually use hot water and my fingers to loosen up the minerals. I don't think this is too bad. I leave some minerals on the burner itself to avoid damage but who cares? I've only used vinegar at the end of the seasons. We do however have soft water.

I hope this helps people. We've used ours every evening and night in Minnesota. We've never had any problems. It even heats up the room a little which the misses likes a great deal.

(...)

The seal below the burner started leaking into the machine.
This caused the machine to do some strange things.
So, I dried it out; and cleaned the inside of the machine.
It ends up that the single screw that holds the burner and seal down on machine came loose. This might explain all the problems with leaking and such others have had. Worked great since then.

Looks like we'll get another year out of it!!!

We have used warm mist humidifiers for many years. We have had from small 2 gallon ones up to 10 gallon ones. This may be the best one, so far, with a few qualifications. The unit is easy to fill and the carrying handle is comfortable and strong. The mist is good and even and comes up-to-speed fairly quickly. As with any warm mist unit, it must be cleaned out. This unit makes that very easy to do, although I am unsure about its use over many years. A drawback is that the rubber plunger on the screw-top rotted while in storage this summer. We have not had that happen with other comparable units. We are hoping to just replace that part, but we may end up having to buy a whole new unit. With that consideration, I would almost give three stars, but its performance is five stars, so an average is justified.

This humdifier is easy to fill, and makes it easy to monitor the humidity level for comfort. The handles on the fill tank top and bottom make it easily transportable. It is very simple to use, and the warm mist works better for us than a cool mist humdifier. We like it lots!

I bought this humidifier after returning another brand which didn't "humidify" at all. I am very pleased with the operation of this unit. It uses no filters thus you have no on-going added expenses to operate the unit. It is quiet enough that it will not disturb your sleep. What I like the most is the digital operation of the unit. It automatically reads the current room humidity level & it allows you to program it to the desired percentage. It is easy to operate & maitain. It is definately worth your money. (P.S. It raises the humidity level in a large open area by 100% in 2-2 1/2 hours. In a normal size bedroom in about 1 hour.)

We initially got this humidifier for out daughter's room when she was born, and loved it! It was pretty easy to fill and loved that we could set the humidity level. It worked really well in alleviating her occasional sniffles over the winter months, though we would notice the wallpaper starting to curl and steam marks on the walls! However, we weren't diligent with cleaning it, and found that cleaning was a real pain. We needed to use a harsh chemical and it would take us several hours of taking it apart, bringing it down to the basement, letting it soak, then scrubbing with a toothbrush, etc. It also meant taking it out of her room for the night, which was hard because she really needed it every night! By the end of the winter we had to throw the grungy thing out!

Nevertheless, when our son was born, we decided to get another one, vowing this time to be more diligent with cleaning it. Well, now being busy parents of 2, we were even more negligent! Pretty soon it stopped working well (e.g. would stop emiting mist and register "refill" when it was almost full), and we realized it was because it needed cleaning. Cleaning continued to be a HUGE pain, and now, well, let's just say we're looking to get a THIRD humidifier! We think we'll try another style!

The HM 5700 failed to produce any noticable mist, even on the HI setting. After waiting for twenty minutes at their "customer service" 800# (still no mist), I was told I should return it to Holmes with a ... check to cover their postage! Thank goodness for Amazon's excellent return policy.

Pick another. I will!

Love it...easy to use, always outlasts my nights sleep...what more could I ask for?

This worked well for one season then leaked water everywhere. The water shorted out the controls - was lucky there wasn't a fire. It never worked the same again. I gave it two stars because when it did work, it kept the humidity at a comfortable level. If I buy a digital humidifier, I'd look for one with the controls anywhere but under the water supply.

I was extremely disappointed with the Holmes HM5700 Warm Mist Humidifier. It initially provided enough humidity in my bedroom to bring the humidity level to over 50%, as indicated on a free-standing gauge. However, the accuset was useless. The gauge on the machine only indicated a humidity level of 23 - 30% while a separate hygrometer indicated the higher range. After only a matter of days, the unit could raise the humidity level to only 35% per the separate hygrometer. The machine's LCD readout indicated 23%. This was after leaving it running all day with the door closed!