humidifiers...

[amye01]

Does anyone have any good recommendations on a Cool-Mist Humidifier? We've been through at least 3 of the Vicks and it just gets too dirty even with every day cleaning (we have hard water). I can't even get inside the thing to clean the fan, but can see the dirt just sitting there! It's disgusting and I refuse to run it in my son's room, but the noise soothes him to sleep and the mist keeps his skin from drying out and his lips from chapping.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!! :)

[knaidel]

i just bought a holmes humidifier at Bed bath and beyond- the holmes models and honeywell ones received high ratings in consumer reports (october or nov. 2004-you can get it at the library).

[hubie]

we did a lot of research since we live in an old house and have allergies too...we now own 2 Venta-air purifier/humidifiers. They are great! They are the cleanest, least amount of maintenance but are pricey. But-they have a ten year warranty bersus others with a one or so..wBedBatha nd Beyond sells them actually too. I bought one there and the other online direct from Ventaair.

[masblooms]

A few months ago, we brought a Slant/Fin warm-mist humidifier that I love. It's supposed to be 99.99% bacteria/allergy free. I debated buying it for quite awhile because it was so pricey, but now I'm actually thinking about buying a second one.

[amp]

We recently bought the Hunter Care Free cool mist humidifier and so far I'm pretty happy with it. It does seem fairly care free, although we do rinse it out thouroughly (it can be done very quickly in the tub) every couple of days and put fresh water in daily. We have only used it for a couple of weeks at at time when DS was congested. My biggest complaint is that it's fan makes quite a bit of noise, but DS didn't sleep any worse for it. I'd recommend it. Oh, and we bought it at Walmart.

[8isenough]

Amy...I have gone through more junky humidifiers than I care to admit. We built a home last year and we integrated the humidifier unit into our actual heating units. I LOVE it! It uses ultraviolet light to kill all bacteria, and viruses before the water is dispensed through the unit and out through our vents and into the homes.
Anyhow...you can now purchase humidifiers (stand alone units) with the same technology. I saw two units at Brookstone. I was always so put out by the time it took to clean all of the humidifers parts and then I always worried if I was doing more harm than good if I didn't get them sjust clean enough. Then on top of that you have the expense of filters. Also, if you google allergy sufferer websites, they may have better suggestions for you. Good luck.


Sterling

[daisy1234]

AHi...I have a few questions about the slant fin...
are the warm mist ones better that the cool mist ones? Also...is it easy to clean? Does the unit get too hot that it is a burn risk?

Thank you!

Also...which one did you buy...any suggestions on the place to get the best price???

[amye01]

Hi Sterling,

I've actually seen two on the Brookstone website like you describe and have been considering it. Do you have to use distilled water with these humidifiers? How about filters and other replacement parts...what if any and how much and where to find?

I want as little maintenance as possible. I see that must be a priority to you too with 8 children!!! :o Did I read that right?! :)

Thanks all for the advice...keep it coming! :)

[masblooms]

It is very easy to clean. The steam coming out is warm, but not extremely hot--I don't know if it would cause a burn. I have ours sitting on the top of a high dresser.

I purchased it at One Step Ahead. There price was cheaper than the allergy sites I also saw it listed on. I'll try to attach a link.

http://www.onestepahead.com/jump.jsp?lGen=detail&itemID=185759&itemType=PRODUCT&iProductID=185759&change=117

[daisy1234]

Thank you Mary Ann!

Laura

[WooChx]

I too have a Hunter Cool Mist - we like to refer to it as SWAMP THING. First of all because of our hard water the perma wick filter turned into a rock after 1 month. I clean the whole thing regularly in the dishwasher (none of the cleaning instructions given would remove the disgusting orange slime). It is now 3 months old. Recently while trying to clean slime out of the motorized housing section with a scrub sponge, I noticed that the plastic tubing had turned orange or at least thats what I thought. It was actually FILLED solid with orange slime. It took over and hour of soaking in hydrogen perioxide and hot water rinses to get the junk out. I HATE THAT HUMIDIFIER.

On the other hand, we own 2 Honeywell Warm Mist humidifiers that are not affected at all by our hard water and never get slimy.

[whittyanne]

I'm glad you posted this b/c we have the Vick's cool Mist. We go through a new filter about once a month and I thought that was normal! I might be looking into purchasing a new unit all together.

[8isenough]

>Hi Sterling,
>
>I've actually seen two on the Brookstone website like you
>describe and have been considering it. Do you have to use
>distilled water with these humidifiers? How about filters and
>other replacement parts...what if any and how much and where
>to find?
>
>I want as little maintenance as possible. I see that must be
>a priority to you too with 8 children!!! :o Did I read that
>right?! :)
>
>Thanks all for the advice...keep it coming! :)
>
>

Hi Amy..sorry to just be getting back to you late. You have probably already gotten something. I do not believe you need to use distilled water, but I am not certain. No filters, however you will have to buy a replacement ultraviolet bulb once in a awhile (I think every 6 months?). The ultraviolet light kills the bacteria, prevents mold, and kills the viruses in the water before it comes out. Hospitals use this practice to disenfect things. I do believe it is a warm mist so that may not be for you.
We have a humidifier unit that works in conjunction with our heating unit in the attic. It uses the ultraviolet technology. After we moved into the new house..I could finally throw away the 6 different humidifiers we had collected over time! :)

~Sterling