65 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Product - but understand its limitations, May 13, 2006
This review is from: Vornado HU1-0013-11 Standard 4-Gallon Vortex Humidifier (Kitchen)
We have found this to be the best humidifier we have owned.
It is simple to operate and easy to clean. Even at full output, the tanks hold more than a day's water supply.
Note the following:
-This not an air filter or an air washer. It picks up water with wicks and evaporates the water into the air with a fan. It you need an air filter because of allergies, etc, you should probably get an additional unit with a hepa filter that just filters the air.
-The unit doesn't boil water and release steam (We had one of those...it added a significant amount to our electric bill).
-This is not a "mist" humidifier that breaks water into little droplets and sprays them into the air. Those units have filters which, if not changed, created a "white dust" problem.
But nothing is absolutely perfect so note the following regarding the Vornado:
-Wicks (they are NOT filters) need to be changed about every three months depending on usage and scale in the water.
-You MUST use chemicals - water softener if needed; and definitely an anti bacteria solution. Both of these will substantially extend the wick life and prevent bad things from being released into the air.
-No humidifier is free of operating costs. Wicks and chemicals (plus electricity) are part of the annual operating expense of this particularf humidifier.
-The unit CANNOT be picked up and moved when the tanks are full. The tanks have to be removed first.
-Because of possible dripping, the unit should NOT be placed directly on a rug, wood floor or piece of furniture. It requires a pad, tray or similar.
-It is not possible to clean inside the water tanks, a weakness. Also, because of their size, tanks need to be filled either in a bath tub or in the kitchen sink with a "detachable" faucet.
-There is a gurgling sound but we didn't find it a problem.
-There is a motor/fan noise, but again, not excessive.
-The mechanism that determines whether a pre-set humidity level has been reached and then shuts off the machine seems to have some accuracy issues. We just leave it on maximum.
Notwithstanding the above, this is a good product and we recommend it.
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97 of 104 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quiet, solidly built, November 29, 2000
This review is from: Vornado HU1-0013-11 Standard 4-Gallon Vortex Humidifier (Kitchen)
I wanted a quiet cool-mist humidifier with humidistat (no white dust as ultrasonics, more energy efficient than warm-mist types).
This Vornado has all these. The fan is indeed very quiet at low speed - the most quiet of any other type (I checked about 6 or 7 others, including models from Bionaire, Holmes, Honeywell, Kenmore and some other less-well-known brands). So far the humidistat seems to work - turns the unit on and off periodically....
I would have rated this unit 5 stars if not for one small glitch. As air periodically enters the tank when water evaporates it makes a quite disturbing sound. Several times per hour, not too often, but it is loud... I think it can be fixed by plugging a suitable piece of rubber with a small hole after the tank is full - this way only small amounts of air will enter and it will be quiet. Other humidifiers don't suffer this small problem.
Overall the Vornado is an excellent, well-bilt product, due mainly to its quiet and strong fan and its simple construction.
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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
better idea for replacement wicks, December 22, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Vornado HU1-0013-11 Standard 4-Gallon Vortex Humidifier (Kitchen)
Replaced 2 hunter humidifiers with 2 vornado 4gal. Benefits: 2 low profile bottles, much easier to fill in kitchen sink; much quieter fan than the hunter; price was a little better. Negatives: some people complain of 'knocking' as bottles equalize - as they empty the water, bubbles create a knocking sound. I heard a few 'glug glug' sounds, but nothing like others have complained about. Other complaints are replacement wicks. An alternative is to buy the Hunter humidifier wicks - these are metal instead of paper, and can be cleaned and reused indefinitely. They are approximately the same size as the vornado paper wicks - Cost is about 3x the paper wicks, but they don't have to be replaced.
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