Customer Reviews

Vicks V4500 FilterFree Humidifier

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(24)
1 star:		(86)

 

 

I am suprised by all the negative reviews. We bought 1 for my oldest daughter last year (end 2006) as she had croup and it worked just fine. A few months ago my youngest daughter had also a cold and cough at the same time as my oldest so we went back to buy a second one.

We don't have mold issues (even though very often if it is not in use we forget to take the water out...and to take the water out is recommended)

It makes the room humid enough (windows are wet the next morning) the best thing for cold/coughing instead of dry air.

Yes it makes quit a lot of noise when it is running but it doesn't cause a problem for my 2 girls to feel or stay in sleep.

And yes we had the first time we used also the waterproblem as we didn't put it back right. But after that never had a problem again...

They are both still working!

Having a filterless machine appealed to me so I tried this one. After using it for 4 months with my newborn, I threw it out. It's extremely noisy and the noise varies unpredictably. It vibrates so much photos hung on the other side of the wall vibrate. It's impossible to clean. I replaced the protec beads often and used vinegar regularly but still got buildup and grime. You can't get the interior cavity clean at all. I went back and got the most basic model with a filter and am thrilled with it.

I've had this unit for five months and dropped the Protect cartridge in there every month on the 12th to keep it clean. Despite these efforts, it has developed a pink film along with black mold that you can smell when it operates. I'm having trouble breathing. The area that is affected is IMPOSSIBLE to get to in order to clean it even with pressurized air. My unit has also flooded on two occassions destroying everything on my dresser.

I contacted Kaz who makes the unit. They said they would replace it but I'd be out of a unit for 6-8 weeks and I'd have to pay shipping costs. They will not replace it with another unit so I'm sure the same problem will reoccur. I decided to clean the unit the best that I can (this took 2 hours) and use liquid bacteriostatic water treatment instead of the worthless Protect cartridges. I hope this works.

Sadly, this consumer reports high-rated unit died around the 5-6 week mark. I called the manufacturer (which is not Vicks) and they will replace it, but it will take 6 weeks to ship and we have to ship the old one back at our expense. FAIL! Our allergy-laden 6 month old can't wait that long for them to make it right. BIG THUMBS DOWN.

P.S. My first AMAZON review, but thought other parents should be aware.

As so many others have stated, this product is a complete waste of money, and, I believe, a health hazard. If I could give it "0" stars I would. Despite my best efforts to use filtered water, a ProTec cartridge, and disinfect all reachable parts on a weekly basis with vinegar and/or bleach, mold has grown in the motor housing that is impossible to reach in order to properly sanitize this product. After contacting Kaz, I was told the same thing as so many others (I was hoping maybe they had changed their policy), that I would have to send the item back on my own dime, just to receive the same piece of junk as a replacement. Then, once I received the new one, I should "empty all the water from the tank and base (daily). Then run the unit without any water in it for at least 1 hour to dry the fan housing. If you do not want to run the unit without any water I would just remove the fan housing and unscrew the bottom cover and lay the fan housing on its side so it can air dry." Yeah, like I have the time to do that every day with two small children and one on the way. So this humidifier will probably end up in the trash, a waste of $45 + tax.
FYI, in the last couple of weeks I have purchased a Crane humidifier which doesn't require a filter either (unless you have hard water), for less money, and so far I haven't had any issues with it. It does its job perfectly! From now on, I will not be purchasing any more Vicks/Kaz products due to their complete lack of concern that they have sold a health hazard and aren't taking any responsibility to rectify the situation.

For me this has worked perfectly for months now, keeping the air in the room with my guitar at just the right humidity. I bought mine elsewhere but have had others and this one works just fine if you know what you are doing and take precautions. Not for every one, but for most, the red / orange is not mold but iron in your water. For most but not all, the white powder is lime in your water. This is a fact of life for many areas of the country and why people use water filters and water softeners. If you are in a problem area, use a Brita pitcher to filter the water you fill it with. I have tried it with our softened water with no problems but we recently got rid of the softener and will soon be switching to truly filtered water for the entire house. Until then I use a filtered water pitcher. All humidifiers have this problem. Even Consumers gave none more then an average rating for this problem. Baking soda, light bleach mixture, special cleaner, or just let it completely dry out once in a while and you, as I am, will probably be happy with the unit. Mine is still running clear and clean. For the money, this one ca't be beaten.

I would not buy this product. While the thought of not having to replace the filters every six weeks may be attractive, the truth is it is impossible to keep clean. I followed the manufacturers instructions and still could not keep it clean. The fan housing is inaccessible and this is where the mold problem exist. I am returning the two I have. Do not buy this product, you will be disappointed.

I read all of the reviews about this product before purchasing. I took a chance. The humidifier works OK, and so far is easy to clean. It is noisy. If you are looking for something really quiet, get an ultrasonic humidifier! This was too loud for my kids bedroom at night, but it work well in the living room during the day. If I had to do over, I would not have purchased.

I have owned three of these humidifiers.

The first one has worked just fine, for years. I run it in my children's room when they are sick. It seems to help them a lot. I have had two more that just stopped working (more on that later).

A few points to remember (if you have a unit that actually works):
#1 You have to use purified water or (as others have mentioned) it will deposit "white powder" in your room or develop scale on the unit (and the scale provides a foothold for the mold to grow). This will happen if you use tap water. Cycling through vinegar and swabbing with a hydrogen peroxide solution will help, but you can't reach the interior of the unit. Use purified water and avoid this whole mess.
#2 It generates a lot of white noise. This is a positive for me. I can't sleep without white noise in the room (white noise also calms my children at night). It does occasionally "gurgle" quietly when water drains into the lower chamber. The "gurgle" has never bothered me.

I bought another V4500 unit for my own bedroom. It worked for about an hour, and then it just stopped. I turned the humidity dial up all the way, but it never came on. I sat the first, identical humidifier right beside it and verified that it would run just fine in the same room (it wasn't "too" humid).

I took the new humidifier back and got another one. This third humidifier ran just fine for a few weeks, and then it just stopped. This is getting ridiculous. It is quite frustrating that the original unit is still running to this day, while (in under a month) two more of the exact same model have simply failed for no reason.

I wouldn't have bought another V4500 if I hadn't liked the first one so much, but I suspect that they are making these units out of cheaper parts these days.

Stay away. Don't waste your time or money on this product.

This is such a waste of money! We bought this for our baby to ease his breathing at night and 1 month later found mold growing inside the tank and all over. We cleaned it out and used the "purifier ball" but the mold still grew EVERYWHERE in it. The worst part is you can't even take the machine apart to properly clean it. So we are stuck with a moldy humidifier that you can NOT clean... whats the point??