Customer Reviews

Honeywell HCM-300T QuietCare 3-Gallon UV Tower Humidifier

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

We bought two of these in fall 06. After two months use, one of the units had a fan failure. It ran noisily for a few days prior to the failure, then ground to a halt. I called Kaz's customer service (the Honeywell name is licensed), and they agreed to send me a new one free. After five months use, the second unit failed in exactly the same way. This time, customer service required me to pay $20 for a new one to be shipped, and they required in each case the return of the defective one at my cost for shipping. They are simply NOT durable! We now have one in service, with the other as a backup since we anticipate a product failure this winter. One other thing: they are awkward to fill. The water chamber has a curved bottom so it will not sit flat in your sink. You have to balance it with one hand, and operate the faucet and put on the lid with the other. This design defect is SO obvious it makes you wonder how function followed form in product design. You also need a fairly deep sink or a tall spigot to fill it without tipping it and spilling. The filling problem is aggravating since you need to fill it at least twice daily. As far as ability to humidify, it works reasonably well, and is fairly quiet. But I wouldn't recommend this unit at all after living with it.

When I first started looking for a humidifier (my wife's asthma tended to flare up in coughing fits when the humidity dropped), I realized that there seemed to be no such thing as a "perfect humidifier"! After reading through as many reviews as possible, I realized that I wanted one that needed minimal cleaning, was pretty easy to fill, wasn't too loud and did a job of raising the humidity for a fairly large area (about 1200 sq.ft) without leading to other side effects (micro dust, mold and bacteria proliferation etc.). After ruling out "warm mist humidifiers" due to the heavy cleaning needs, "ultrasonic humidifiers" due to the micro dust generation, and "in line humidifiers" due to the intensive upfront installation labor requirements, I settled on the "cool mist" HCM-300T. It promised quiet operation, cleaning needs of only once a month (the UV light is supposed to reduce 99% of bacteria growth) and the capability to humidify "medium to large" areas - as for the filling, I had come to the conclusion that no portable humidifier would help that daily chore!
The HCM-300T worked pretty well for the first 3 weeks - wife loved it since her sleep was much better, without any coughing whatsoever. However, given the absence of a built-in hygrometer, I could never figure out exactly how much of the work was being done by the HCM and how much by Mother Nature. Also, filling the water container every night turned out to be quite the juggling experience since it hasn't been designed to stand upright on its own ....in other words, you are going to have to be standing right beside it, holding it in position! On the positive side, the water seemed to stay fresh without any mold/bacteria, even though I didn't engage in any cleaning during the 3 weeks. However, during Week 4, while carrying the water container back after a refill, the lid came off (unfortunately it has been designed such that the handle of the water container is on the lid!) and the container fell down into the tub with a thud, waking up my worried wife! On further inspection, I didn't notice any leaks, so having reassured my wife that I hadn't broken any bones, I refilled the container, gingerly carrying it back to the base unit. To my dismay, when the unit was switched on, water started spraying out of the bottom of the unit through the slots that normally cool moist air flows through and soon I had water all over the carpeting. Not sure whether this was triggered by the fall, but the water leakage never stopped from then on. Needless to say I had to return the unit!!

Based on this experience, I have added three more items to my "must-have" list: a built in hygrometer (that way I can actually judge performance on those really dry days), a rugged water container (so it can outlast the tumbles that I am certain it will be taking!) and a unit that has its air outflow from the top rather than the bottom, making sure that water doesn't leak out due to gravity. Wish me luck!!

The only positive thing I can say about this humidifier is that it looks better than those big boxy ones. Oh, and I guess the fact that ours hasn't leaked on the floor (like some other reviewers have had) could be considered a positive. It usually doesn't even last a whole night before running out of water - and it's not like I live in the desert...our house can't be THAT dry. Yet, the room is still dry and we still wake up with sore throats and dry skin. We've had other humidifiers that worked fine, and I'm noticing that those usually shot the humidified air out the top (you know...into the air!). This one shoots the humidified air out near the floor, so it would take 3 days for the room to fill with humid air. The thing rarely shuts off unless the outside air is more humid on that particular day. Speaking of shutting off...doesn't this thing have an automatic shut off when it runs out of water?? Ours NEVER shuts off, so when it runs out of water the fan dries up the filter (which you aren't supposed to do). So every night I have to refill the tank and re-soak the filter (which you're also not supposed to do, but I'm not putting in a new $10 filter every night). We haven't been bothered by the noise...it's what you'd expect from any other fan. It's just a constant hum that we kind of like since it drowns out other outside noises.

We have had to send this humidifier back to the supplier because every once in awhile it empties the entire tank onto the floor. Hopefully, this problem can be fixed because it really did a good job of humidifying our house and it was relatively quiet.

After reading the previous reviewer's comments I was quite surprised. This humidifier changed the humidity in my entire 1 bedroom apartment from 48% to 60% in less than 1 hour. It only uses 1/2 of the tank of water over a 15-hr period. I didn't experience a browning tank or filter, although I filled the tank with filtered water purposefully so it wouldn't have to be cleaned as often. I hardly notice it when it cycles on because it is so quiet. It does cycle on and off but usually stays on for about 60-90 min and then off for the same amount of time. Perhaps the last reviewer didn't notice a change in humidity because his room was already at 60% - this is the upper limit the humidifier can reach according to the manufacturer. There are no wet spots on my floor, no condensation on the windows, and no white dust from metals in the water vapor. The only thing I was a little disappointed about is that if the fan is facing you, it can make you a little chilly, but not enough to really bother me. It was very easy to set up, and I love that it doesn't look like an awkward box sitting in the middle of the room. Would definitely recommend it without reservation.

I have gone through number of different make and models of humidifier last year that ranged from 10-80$ without satisfaction.
My wife and I had severe problem of sore-throats and skin dryness due to heat without humidity in my apartment complex.
This year I saw this unit at a retail shop and purchased it to give it a try. And it works great. It humidifies our room of 14X13 well enough. If you are looking for large town home or apartment humidifier look for the kenmore in sears. This one is good for single large size room
It does make some noise but not that much to bother our sleep. My wife is 8 month pregnant and she loves this thing. Sore throats are gone and our skins dont get infected so often.
The tank has to be refilled every day..so I agree with earlier reviewer about false information on going three nights without filling water. But no leakage. I like the way it looks and stands. It is important to follow instructions on the product- do not move the product with filled tank..the weight of water tank can cause problems and leakage from seals.
It has been 3 weeks and we are enjoying it so far...

Pros
Humidity increased 10% all over the room
Big tank.
Large hole to fill tank.
Small footprint
No dust
Looks good compared to most.
Great price for such a big improvement.

Cons
Filter needed changing within 1 month.
Breeze from fan is quite chilly, but we have it facing a direction away from seating area.
Putting the tank back can be a little cumbersome. It's easier if it is on a low surface.
Awkward to fill tank because it has a slanted top, you either have to prop it up or hold it the whole time.

We have tried 10+ humidifiers and nothing could compete with this, even a $200+ humidifier. Considering how much better the house feels it was worth every penny plus more.

We just purchased this humidifier from a retail store, since Amazon was out of stock on it. We debated back and forth from the cool to the warm, but finally settled on the cool. The first thing I noticed is that the instructions clearly state that this doesn't wash or filter the water of impurities. Sure the UV bulb is there to help keep bacteria, mold and mildew from vaporizing into the air, but what about lead? Mercury? PCBs? I have no idea what the big filter is for, but it's not for that. Therefore when we fill up, we use our Pur water filter on the faucet. There are ultraviolet humidifiers with particulate filters out there. But they are more expensive.

Secondly, for an $80 humidifier, it should tell you the humidity levels at all time. The instructions say to "run it for about an hour or so until desired humidity level is reached, then slowly turn knob counter clockwise to activate the sensor." We had no idea if our desired humidity levels were reached.

Lastly, this thing is not quiet! It's seriously louder than our dishwasher. Maybe we have one with a bad fan or something, but it's pretty loud.

Anyway, we'll see how it goes. The water does tend to go fast when you have it on constantly, but supposedly the ideal is to have the sensor activate it on and off automatically. We haven't seen that yet.

Good luck!

Excellent product!! Features that I especiallly liked were: 3 fan speeds; humidity "thermostat" that shuts the system off when desired level of humidity is reached; UV to kill germs and other polutants; clean air filter (both help with my asthma condition); no vapor mist - humidity is invisibly added; quiet fan; easy fill and replace 3 gal. container; replacement filters economical and easily found.

To date (after sigificant use) I have found nothing negative about this product.

We searched and searched for a humidifier that doesn't take up much space, doesn't darken the room by being a black/gray unit, and has UV light to retard mold---this is it. It works wonderfully.