Customer Reviews

Hunter 33257 Carefree Humidifier Plus with Permawick

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(28)

 

 

We bought this Hunter 34357 and had it for a month. Note: Amazon's return policy is incredible. So, read my review with the qualifier that you should probably try it yourself.

Out of the box: All the parts and components arrived intact, and everything worked.

Setup: Easy to set up, instructions were clear, up and running within about 15 mins.

Operation: This humidifer runs using a fan to disperse the moist air. We had this unit in our livingroom, which is about 25' x 15'. From a humidifier standpoint, it covered this room well. However, it couldn't cover an adjoining office or guest bedroom effectively, even though it was rated for 1600 square feet. I would give it an effective coverage of maybe 1/2 that. In addition, the unit fan was noisy. When I say noisy, I mean louder than the microwave in the kitchen. I mean so loud that we had to turn up the TV. In my opinion, too loud.

We returned it and bought an Air-O-Swiss ultrasonic. (Actually, two of them.) We've been happier with those.

I rated this a 3 because of the noise. Based on noise, it's a 2, based on humification capability, I'd give it a 4. 3 seemed appropriate.

Ours ran for less than a month.The company says it will replace but we have been through this before with another Hunter humidifier.They replaced it and then that one died quickly.

Thinking it was a fluke we tried again with this one, and here we go again! Not only do we have to wait for the replacement to come but we have no confidence that it will last either. I'd rather have my money back.

I've had mine for 3 months. Works fine and does a good job. On low speed it's quiet enough, although I have it in the hallway to humidify a 3 bedroom area. Love the fact that I don't have to replace the wicks ($$$ saver). That's what made me buy this in spite of the other noise complaints I'd seen.

Very easy to fill the tank and the tank is sturdy and easy to carry. No problems with water leakage. Sometimes the gurgling sound as water is being drained is a little annoying, but not overly so.

Overall, I'm satisfied.

Update (1/12/05) Cleaned it last spring easily with vinegar/water as instructed in the manual and packed it away. Got it back out and started using it in December (12/04). Once in awhile it vibrates a little more than I recall last season, but it's still bearable. It's a bummer others have reported problems with this model. I'm satisfied.

Bought the unit Oct. 2004 and use it only during the heating season. It needs monthly cleaning with a gallon of vinegar and a soak time of approx. 3 hours. The unit is very noisy and gets noisier by the day. It now makes a ticking noise, which is becoming very loud. It seems as if the unit will self-destruct any day. I called customer svc. and as soon as I mentioned the ticking noise they told me a new humidifier will be sent to me. I need to send the old one back prepaid after receipt of the new one. When I receive the new unit (7 to 10 days) we will see if it is better. Kudos to Hunter for honoring the warranty 2 mos. out of date.

I agree with the previous review, that this humidifier was fine at first but grew louder by the second week of use. The fan rattles like a garbage disposal. I tried running it only in the daytime but that defeated the purpose since I need it while sleeping.

Went and purchased the Hamilton Beach 05519 from J&R Music World and it is quieter but still also loud. But I'll take a loud HUM over a loud RATTLE any day!

I'm mad that I have to change filters now, but supposedly only every 2 mos. with the Hamilton Beach. I will stay away from all Hunter products in the future because now I've done some research on the Web and it seems that quite a few people are having the same noise problem. There is a defect. Not only that, one model of Hunter's was recalled due to a fire hazard!

I purchased mine December 7, 2004. By March the motor stopped. Total waste of money...

This is the third Hunter we've owned (our mistake). All of ours end up spewing water after just a few months and even dump the entire contents onto our floor in the middle of the night. Nice to have to clean up first thing in the morning. We've grown worried that either our floor is going to soon rot out or the thing is going to cause an electrical fire. No thanks on another one. Spend more money for something that WORKS.

The motor quit after one season, and I took the best care of it. I am not sure if it was just a lemon or if they are all junk...but for 60+ dollars, try something else first!

although this unit kept the room at a constant set humidity, it grew noisier each day I had it. By the seventh day it sounded like the fan was so loose it would detach and fly spinning into the room. I bought two units at the same time, and both had the same problem, so I don't think this was a defect. Guests that came over thought I had a space heater in the room making the noise--they couldn't believe it was the humidifier. I had forgotten how peaceful the house was without them (and I live in manhattan).

As a contractor who uses Hunter ceiling fans and Quiet-Flo purifiers in the new homes that we build, the next step was to start trying out the Hunter care-free humidifiers in the houses we build in desert areas, Arizona/So Cal mostly.

The first model we tried was a space-saver version that was taller, had two resoivors and a pump section. First, that one was too big, though it was taller than wide, I would imagine the mostly elderly people that live in the desert areas wouldn't enjoy picking up a 2+ gallon tank of water and sitting it on top of a 3 foot high or so stand, that would be sitting on top of a table.

The good thing, when we hooked the first one up, it made a noise that sounded like a chainsaw that had encountered a piece of steel and just died right there. First time ever turning it on and the motor was gone.

So, this 33257 was the one we picked up upon returning the other one. I don't know about you all, but I want to see something coming out of the machine. Instead, I see nothing except the water disappearing from the tank and I hear plenty.

The crew that I was working with had a good laugh when we first hooked this unit up. One of the guys was outside the room we were in and yelled, "What are you all cooking? Where did you all get a microwave?" Yeah, leave it to a bunch of men in the desert to think one of us snuck a microwave in to cook with. I walked into the other room where he was and sure enough, it sounded like a microwave running in the next room.

As a loyal Hunter customer, I wanted to give the humidifier the benefit of a doubt and tried the lower speed setting. Now, I could barely hear it and could barely feel any air coming from it.

On the positive side, they at least made this one easy to fill, which is important since we ran it on high for around 12 hours and it was needing filled already.

Overall, I wouldn't rate it above a 3 at tops at anything that it is supposed to do. Their Quiet-Flo purifiers are great for the price, so it really shocks me that these humidifiers are so bad.

I guess the permanent filter is a plus, but on the other hand, I have a hard time believing that the filter will last forever, which is what the box claims, "Filter NEVER needs replacing". I've worked in construction as a construction engineer for around 15 years now and figured out a long time ago that never never means never!

A very disappointing product from a company that I will still trust with ceiling fans and purifiers, but no more of these humidifiers. Terrible.

On a side note, since I usually buy these products for my own home after seeing how they work in the ones we build, it is kind of like using other homes as guinea pigs! Hey, not to worry, no one usually moves into them until a year after they are finished.

The model humidifier that we are now using is the Air-O-Swiss that is $139.99. It does have a little cartridge that you have to replace every 3-4 months as well, but it seems to do the trick when it comes to keeping the air moist.

The only real problems that I personally have that a humidifier would help is dry skin (In the sun all day)and occasional bloody nose (breathing moisture-less air and sawdust)I've only had the Air-O-Swiss for about a month in my house, so I can't say that it is going to be that great, but so far I haven't had any bloody noses since using it. This used to a be a once a week or once every two weeks problem.

Maybe Hunter will read these reviews which sound like to be from customers like myself who KNOW that Hunter is a very good company when it comes to home products to help us breath better and improve air quality around us. One last interesting part. I called the number I have for Hunter as a contractor who was thinking of buying a bulk amount of these. They returned my call within 10 minutes. After explaining that I would be putting these in homes of elderly, some disabled as well, the person I spoke with said that they maybe hadn't perfected humidifiers yet.

Which if nothing else, at least lets me know that Hunter has a little conscious. Hopefully, they will go back and start over with some knowledge of past mistakes with this 33257 model being eliminated.