Customer Reviews

VENTA AIRWASHER LLC #5014436 LW14 GRY Airwasher

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

 

 

After reading the reviews and seeing several advertisements, I decided to purchase the Venta LW14 for my bedroom. Venta products are German made and considering the 200.00 price tag, you might say they are the Mercedes of Humidifier/Air cleaners. Besides, Venta's advertising claims that Siegfried & Roy as well as Jose` Carreras are customers, so it's got to be good right?

The LW14 uses a very simple and efficient design of a small 2-speed fan that blows across a housing which holds 1.2 gallons of water. In the water housing lies a molded stack of 40 discs. (Picture a stack of your old '45' records all spaced about one tenth of an inch apart.) This 'disc stack' is slowly turned by a plastic gear set which is attached to the bottom of the fan shaft. As the turning wet discs are exposed to the blown fan air, the theory is that, the water will evaporate off the discs into the air and dust particles in the air are attracted to the wet discs and then deposited in the water basin. As dry, dirty air is drawn in through the top, clean and humidified air is blown out the sides of the unit. It is a great yet simple design idea.

The unit does not require any filter pads but instead requires the Venta Treatment Additive every 10-14 days. Each packet contains 1.5 fl oz. and you get two packets in the box to start. Replacements come in a box of 10 packets for about 17.00 and can be purchased at Bed & Bath or on-line through Venta or other sources. I can state from experience, that the unit will hardly evaporate any water without using this additive. According to Venta's user guide, the additive contains `wetting' and `softening' agents that make the water 'sheet' off the discs instead of 'bead' off. They also state that the additive prevents calcium and lime build up making the unit easier to clean and that it helps eliminate odors and bacteria in the water basin as well. You should refill the basin daily and then rinse it out completely and refill every 10-14 days with fresh water and an additive packet. Venta states that every six months the unit should get a through cleaning with another chemical the sell, Venta Cleaner(15.00 per bottle, one bottle needed per cleaning). Venta adds that a solution of vinegar and water can be used in place of the special cleaner.

I purchased the LW14 several weeks ago from a local Bed Bath & Beyond Store. During unpacking, I noticed a small black piece of broken plastic. I could not find anything broken at first so I took this as a piece of assembly 'flash' as found when building plastic models. I ran the unit from 7PM to 7AM in my bedroom for three nights. On the third night, I heard a clicking noise that I found emanated from the plastic gear set that turns the disc stack. I called Venta directly and the representative advised me to swap the unit out at Bed & Bath so I did so.

Oddly, the second new unit had the same mysterious plastic piece in the bottom of the box. I ran the second unit, and after a few days, I again noticed the clicking noise. Further inspection also revealed a broken plastic top latch. This was the mysterious plastic `piece' but did not explain the recurrence of the click noise. This latch is a part of Venta's '1 Click' design that makes the top motor housing easy to open for cleaning. I called Venta and they were great. They stated that this latch was part of the fan motor so they sent me out a new fan motor as well as a new gear set to cure the click noise.

Now I installed the replacement fan motor, but strangely, I found that it was much louder and spun much faster, on both speeds, as the initial two units. With this new faster replacement fan, I found it was too loud to have in my bedroom, even on the low speed setting. I called Venta again to inquire. The Venta representative was surprised and did not realize that the replacement fans were faster and louder than the fans that the units are shipped with right out of the box.

In any event, I decided to reinstall the initial fan with the broken latch, that came with the second unit, and I paired it up with the replacement gear set which eliminated the click noise.

I have an expensive humidity monitor in my bedroom and I have seen an increase in humidity from 40% to 52% with the LW14 running on low speed all night. Oddly, the unit is only losing about an inch of water in this time period. (Venta claims that the LW14 can use all 1.2 gallons of water in a 24-hour period in dry rooms.)

To Summarize: The LW14 does humidify well and I believe it is also cleaning the air as advertised. Gear noise, inferior plastic pieces are an issue as well as inconsistent replacement parts. I don't believe these problems should exist on a 200.00 German made humidifier. The customer service is very professional and the unit has a 10-year warranty. I have decided to keep the unit even with these service issues.

I have read reviews of the larger Venta models and decided to purchase one. However, this smaller model was sufficient for the room I placed it in.

Yes, the Venta products are a wee bit pricey. However, if it lasts only half of the 10-year warranty, it will be well worth the price. I have, in the past, purchase lesser-priced products of this type and they did not last.

I like the Venta LW14-- it does its job well, as both an air purifier and humidifier.

It is fairly quiet; the only annoyance is the slight sound of the plastic gear that moves the wheel around in the unit's water tank. (Hence, I gave the product only 4 stars, instead of 5). So, if you place it in a bedroom-- the noise might bother some people who are light sleepers.

The product does not have a water level indicator; therefore, you should periodically check the water level-- I check at least once each day.

I plan to purchase a second unit, to place in my study.

I bought one of these for my wife for Christmas. We used it in our bedroom and found that after a few days it developed a harmonic rattle that was loud enough to disrupt our sleep. i called Venta and they suggested some things which helped, initially, but that rattle kept coming back. I exchanged the airwasher for another thinking it might just be the unit, but the second one developed a similar noise in just a few days. I returned it for a cheaper ultrasonic Venta humidifier and we've been happy ever since.

I purchased this unit over a month ago, because I live in the valley (PHX AZ) and there is a problem with air polution during the fall to spring each year. I also quit smoking a couple of years ago and go figure I now have a bit of asthma. I've tried a few cheaper air cleaners that just did not seem to do anything for me.

Like the enclosed brochures say, you must use the water treatment and it can go through a gallon in a day. Mine does exactly that, and I do notice a difference each morning when I wake up that it helps make my breathing a bit easier.

As far an annoying clicking, there is a very light clicking when it runs, but come on, if you need absolute complete silence to sleep try a library. I appreciate just a light bit of background noise when I sleep anyway.

When I clean it every 2 weeks as suggested, I do also notice some dirt/dust residue in the reservoir.

As far as the price not being so nice, I purchased mine at Bed Bath and Beyond and used one of the 20% coupons which knocks it down a bit ($40). It's like anything else in life-- you get what you pay for. I'm glad I made this great investment.

Love this humidifier. We have two, they are quiet, easy to clean and effective.

This is a great device! air cleaner and humidifier in one. This has cut down on the dust and carpet dust in my home, I am only sad that there is no longer a US vendor to supply this as I would like to purchase another one.

This is the best humidifier on the market. The price is tall but Venta has a 10 year warranty. The design is so simple and easy to maintain.

This airwasher is great in northern climates. It humidifies and cleans the air. The LW14 is just the right size for a bedroom.

Like the others, I was attracted by the simplicity of the unit. It made sense on many levels: an easy to fill tank, rotating disks with a large surface area for evaporative efficiency, and a fan to disperse the water. I was also wooed by the possibility of minimal cleaning. After purchasing the unit from BBB, I put it to the test.

I placed the unit on the floor, at the base of my queen-sized bed. At the head of the bed, I placed a digital hygrometer. After a week of testing (using the humidifier only at night), I found that the humidity near my head went from 29% to 29%. Wow, what an amazing rise in humidity! I found that if I placed the hygrometer a few feet away from the unit, the reading jumped to 40%. But, there's no way I'm gonna sleep with this thing on my face. For the second week, I placed the unit on a chest at the base of my bed. This time the humidity went from 29% to 33%. Simply astounding! What a superior product!

As you can tell, I'm not exactly a satisfied customer. This thing doesn't fulfill the sole purpose I bought it for, to humidify. I have returned the unit and am now testing an Air-o-Swiss 7142.

I loved the concept, but it does not do much to humidify the air at maximum speed. My dry skin is still as dry as ever! I put my hand in front of the air outlet and feel no humidity coming out. My dry hand is still very dry. Is it the air or the dark green fluid that "keeps the container and water bacteria-free" that causes the sticky green slimy substance in the water and on the container?

I wish I'd gotten a real humidifier.