A great little humidifier. Well worth the money for its functionality...the cute appearance is a bonus. It is not loud at all and really cranks out serious humidity.
I got the penguin humidifier a week ago after researching multiple brands, some expensive ones, filter ones, big ones, warm ones, etc. And I read the reviews about it leaking or breaking on this one, and essentially there was some complaint on just about every brand out there--always a few problems. So for the $30 this one cost (and the fact that it is ridiculously adorable!) it seemed to cover what I needed: something that was not expensive, not too large and bulky, smaller reservoir so more fresh water going through it (and less water sitting around getting ookey) and would add humidity where ever it was.
It has been running almost non-stop for a week, minus filling times or when we were out, and has worked perfectly. The body reservoir, even when running on high, has lasted at least 16 hours. I haven't had problems with white dust on everything like my old-fashioned gigantic noisy one (I use tap water), and it doesn't spray water drops out with the mist either. It definitely made a difference running at night in the bedroom--no noses and throats feeling 'dry as dust' in the AM. The penguin has a small footprint, about 9" diameter and 12.75" tall. It runs almost silently BUT it does make a trickling noise and actually sounds like our tabletop fountain. It's a nice sound during the day but wore on me during the night; I wasn't used the sound and I kept thinking it's leaking when it wasn't. So now I run it for a while before bed and I sleep much better all around.
Things to watch out for though... the reservoir opening where you fill it, there is a screw-on cap with a spring-valve (like what's at the bottom of your coffee maker basket). There should be a silicone O-ring that fits in the top of the cap. Our O-ring was inside the opening, and since it was clear-ish could be easily missed. The O-ring could cause the cap to leak if not seated properly and the cap needs to be tightened snuggly. When filled and righted (there's even a little handle to carry it by) it should only drip slightly out of the spring-valve. Check that nothing is clogging the spring-valve by pressing it in (before filling) and that the flap is not folded. Only use COLD water in the reservoir, and if you boiled water WAIT for it to be room temp before using. Using hot water could definitely cause this plastic to crackle and crack. The body must sit squarely on the 'butt' or it can dribble over the side a tiny bit.
We have had absolutely no problems with this little cutie, and if I do I'll update my posting. It has a nice rocker on-off switch on his 'left butt cheek'. It has a dial on the front (I'll call it his bellybutton) to adjust the amount of mist; even on high he doesn't drip. The mist dial doesn't seem to affect the fountain noise at all; i.e. the lesser misting does not lessen any gurgling it does. A great little design and it does the job!
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This frog humidifier is wonderful. I'm so glad I finally decided to get one after reading reviews on it since last winter. Unlike this picture, the actual product is a true Granny Smith apple green, or some might call it lime green.
PROS
-quiet
-no expensive filter required. (my Holmes humidifier requires a new $13 filter about every 6 weeks)
-shuts off automatically when it runs out of water
-easy to refil water
-simple and easy to use
-cute!
CONS
-tiny green light is on when humidifier is in use and I persoanlly like a very dark bedroom at night. I just tape a dark piece of paper over it and problem solved. But it can also be a night light for a child's room.
-must be on a nightstand or some sort of elevated surface. Some people might not have that room to spare.
-it may be TOO cute and irresitible for little ones to keep their hands off it at first. But the newness wears off.
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I purchased a Hello Kitty humidifier for my daughter on October 28th. It's been run and well-maintained in a the few weeks we've had it. Unfortunately, tonight the motor caught on fire. Thankfully, the smoke alarms alerted us and the fire department before a tragedy happened my seven year old was asleep in the room. I will be alerting the manufacturer and amazon of the safety concerns, but in the meantime, you might want to skip this purchase until it's deemed safe. I will not forget the haze in my daughter's room when the door was opened tonight for a long time.
The fire department confirmed that the problem was with the humidifier, although it was being used correctly. Hopefully this was an isolated incident, but please be wary of this product.
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After my steam humidifier got REALLY hot & seemed to be dangerous, I decided to shop for a cool humidifier for my kids. The doctor recommended that I switch anyways, she says the cool ones are more effective for colds, the hot ones work better for asthma...
So, upon falling in love with this penguin, I ordered one. It arrived looking adorable & then I plugged it in nothing no light no steam...ok, that one definately didn't work so I sent it back. Amazon was great & sent me a replacement immediately. Got that one today, it WORKS wonderfully BUT it has a crack in the base hubby said to send it back because it might leak into the wiring. So, I proceeded to get the return label, etc & Amazon said they won't send me another because the problem with the item is more widespread than originally thought. I am downright depressed so my husband said he could seal the crack with silicon & we should just keep it instead of sending it back.
It does make the most wonderful 'steam', so light & airy like a cloud it feels good to breathe the mist & I know it will be very helpful when the kids are sick!
I hope you have better luck than I, it would be worth a return or two to get one!
I would give the working humidifier 5 stars but with all the problems, I comprimised at a 3
