Customer Reviews

Hunter 33202 Carefree Humidifier Plus

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

I thought this humidifier sounded perfect--no filters, low noise, yearly cleaning. What a disappointment. It sounds like a constant running faucet and on any setting other than low, it sounds like industrial equipment. After one month, there was slime and mildew all over the inside. I would never recommend it.

Despite the expense of this item, I bought it because of the brand name I trust and the claims of low maintenance. Boy was I disappointed!

After one day of use, the water in the base was yellow with what appeared to be algae floating with it. I have had to empty out and scrub this unit every day to keep it clean (note that I use only filtered water to begin with!). Plus its awkward design makes it more difficult to clean than the cheaper models!

Also, even on low it is noisier than I expected with what I consider a "harsh" noise, and it doesn't humidify as big of an area as it claims (although it is adequate for a medium size bedroom).

Add to this poor customer service and you have one truly disappointing experience.

The unit makes a very loud, very annoying whiny noise. Even on the lowest fan speed, I can't sleep with it on, and if I am watching tv, I have to turn the tv volume up to hear over it. I have tolerated the noise for a full two days now, and the humidity has only increased 2%. It took about 36 hours to empty its water tank, so it's obviously not very effective at getting the moisture into the air. And as others have indicated, the water in the base of the unit is getting a little grungy looking. One more thing I wish I had considered when shopping for a humidifier, is that some put out warm mist while others put out cold mist. If you are cold natured like me, avoid the cold mist ones! I shiver every time I walk past it. Maybe if you plan to use it in the summer this would be refreshing, but in the winter this is not only unpleasant, but it doesn't make sense to have something that blows cold air into a house you are trying to heat. The one positive thing I can say is that the night light looks pretty cool.

I just got this humidifier yesterday and used it in my bedroom for the first night. I was able to sleep over the sound of the fan, but then at 6:00 AM I started hearing a lot of noise. At first I thought that the neighbors were playing the stereo. Then, I thought that someone was warming up a Harley in the parking lot. It turned out to be the humidifier. It was making a very loud vibration noise, which was even worse in the room below. I put it on a milk crate to get it off the carpet and put some padding underneath it. That helped, but if it doesn't any better in the next few nights, it is going back.

I have the yellow stuff in the water too, but it is just the anti-bacteria coating from the filters so it is not a problem.

This unit is swampy in a short period of time. It starts with the yellow debris from the filters and quickly grows into orange slime. This happens in about a week. To make the problem worse, this humidifier has parts that cannot be cleaned without taking it apart. I am going to have to throw it away and get another one.

I'm so tired of these false advertisements on product packages and commercials. Like the ionic breeze air purifier that claims to be good, but just falls extremely short in all tests. This humidifier is very loud...continuos water gurgle noises are very annoying when trying to sleep. This is caused by the air bubble release in the tank. Like the other reviewers claim; a yellow slime takes no time to form. Night light feature on mine broke after a month or so. I still use this humidifier because i cant afford to spend 40 bucks on another just yet...so until then i'll have to just turn my tv way up to hear over this damn thing. When will these companies make good products and actually listen to reviews like these. The box to this product mentions something to the effect of it having mildew or algae buildup protection...this is a lie. I'll never buy another hunter product again.

Because I have had adult asthma for years, I watch the humidity level in our home during the winter months. I have been from A to Z with various humidifier models over the years. Some lasting many, many years and others working for a season only. This one ranks right up there with one of the worst, if not the worst, model I've ever had the displeasure to own and operate. First it's loud. Plain and simple. But the worst is the cleaning and trying to re assemble...Nothing ever seems to fit properly and it takes me f-o-r-e-v-e-r to perform cleaning maintenance. I'd rather buy filters than go thru what this model requires. Don't buy this ! I absolutly promise you there are far better and less expensive models out there. I'd tell you what I think they are, if I was allowed to.

I purchased this humidifier in December. Less than two months later it has stopped working. Dealing with customer support has been a waste of time. They provided some instructions that did not even apply to the model I purchased. Lots of run around in email chains also, appearing that they have techinical support, but when it comes down to it, they'll ask you to lug it back to wherever you purcahsed it. If I could rate it a negative star, on a one to five scale, this one would get a -5 and their customer support a -5. Oh forget the 5 year warranty. With all the run around, I doubt it will be honored.

I purchased this humidifier 5 years ago and it has run every winter from December till March nearly 24 hours a day. I like this unit because it humidifies my bedroom well and is easy to disinfect. I see people complaining about how they have to clean this unit so often.... I can tell you if you're using ANY humidifier for weeks on end without disinfecting you're going to be spreading pathogens. This is not based on hearsay, but from my college education in pathogens. You cant disinfect other humidifiers like you can with this one.

I disinfect this Hunter Humidifier once a day with Peroxide and every once in awhile with Vinegar. It takes ten minutes and I do it while getting ready to go to bed....not a big deal. The vinegar is a weak disinfectant but does remove the scale. I'm in the midwest with hard water. The permawick filter lasted 3 years. The motor just went out after a calculated 3000 hours of use.

I think the reason why so many people have burnt out motors is because they let the unit run dry or dont let the lower resevoir fill completely before turning the unit on to high. Running it dry spins up the fan and probably burns out the motor

Needless to say I will be purchasing another one.

I have had three of these because I got good deals on them; however, I now have none. All have failed.

First of all, my ears ring constantly from exposure to loud noises throughout my life. I welcome the background "white noise" they provided. I also recognize though that they were pretty loud on higher speeds. Low is fine, but it doesn't humidify much. Medium or high both give off substantial noise.

Like others noted, the first thing to go is the night light. It was a very cool light while it worked because it shined through the water tank and gave "wavy" images on the walls. Looking at it gave me the calming feeling like watching a fish tank. They were much less fun without the cool lighted walls and ceilings. It really was pretty cool while it lasted.

The assembly after cleaning is kind of tricky, but it can be done. Depending on your water, the procedure might have to be done often. If you can put in distilled water, I highly recommend it. Much of the decline of mine was due to water deposits. It's easy to soak the screens in vinegar, but a little more difficult for the assembly itself.

As noted above, you cannot soak all of the parts to clean them. The resultant water deposits eventually clog the holes that the water is supposed to fall through. The cool mist is then replaced by random water droplets spraying out of the top. Selecting the "high" setting is then no longer an option. "Medium" still gets the job done but not as well.

The last problems I encountered were the motors binding up. I was able to free them with a little bit of oil. The downside of that is that the "cool mist" smelled like a hobby shop because of the oil. I don't mind the smell of WD40, but I don't imagine I represent a majority on that note.

Conclusion: If I could get a VERY GOOD deal on this item I would buy it again for the noise (which I like) and the lighting provided. If you read this and the price is kind of high, look elsewhere.