Pros:
1. It actually turns on. I got this unit after my Crane Adorable Humidifier (Penguin shape) refused to turn on.
2. It just works. I have a 10x13 room and this humidifier took my room's humidity from 21% to 42% in about 3 hours.
3. I really like the form factor. The unit is only 5.31 inches deep so it can easily fit on top of a short bookcase that also has a small depth. Few other humidifiers would fit where I have this humidifier right now.
4. It is fairly easy to fill. The top of the tank is flat so that when you turn the tank upsidedown to fill it, it can lie flat.
5. I'm pretty happy with the mist quality. Even on the highest setting, you're not going to see fat droplet sizes coming out. You are not going to end up with a puddle on the floor as long as you put it on a surface at least 2 feet above the floor.
Cons:
1. Some reviewers have complained about water leaking out of the tank. I noticed that on my unit, the washer (or o-ring) for the tank cap is a little bit too big. If you turn the cap shut too tightly, the o-ring will roll on itself, and the next time you unscrew the cap and screw it back on, the washer may not provide a good seal because it is out of place. Even the manual tells you to make sure the washer is in place when screwing on the cap. As long as the washer is in place, it won't leak. This is just a slight annoyance.
2. If you are blowing warm mist and you want to change it back to cool mist, it'll take awhile for it to become cold again because the unit does not actively cool the water. You'll have to either pour out the existing warm water in the base or wait until all the warm water in the base gets sent out. I am not a big fan of warm mist so it's a non-issue.
3. The unit is fairly quiet and I am pretty sure most people can sleep with the unit on without a problem. However, I am an ultra-sensitive sleeper and anything louder than completely silent is too much for me. If it was the just the humming noise, I think I would be able to take it, but what bothers me the most is the inevitable random water sounds caused by the ultrasonic plate generating large droplets of water and those droplets of water coming back down. Almost every humidifier will do that. The water noise is fairly low, it is just the randomness of the noise that annoys me when I try to sleep. When I am awake and my computer is on, I barely notice the humidifier because my computer is many times noisier than the humidifier and my computer is already pretty quiet.
Tradeoffs:
1. Yes, the tank is only 4 liters, but do you want a humidifier that fits on a bookcase or not?
2. Sure, the tank only last 12 hours on the maximum setting, but isn't that the point of a humidifier? If you desperately want humidity, wouldn't you want the humidifier to empty the tank as quickly as possible?
Other thoughts:
It is nice that this unit comes with a water filter, but of course the manual will recommend that you fill it with distilled water rather than tap water. Considering that I'll be breathing the water I put into the humidifier, I've been filling my tank with water that I've passed through a Brita filter in a water pitcher. However, doing that is somewhat a pain because it takes multiple pitchers to fill up the tank. I am thinking about getting a faucet filter so that I can fill the tank quickly.
UPDATE: My 10x13 room just hit 50% relative humidity and I'm loving it. My windows are starting to fog up, maybe I should turn it off.
I got this for my son and it is the best humidifier yet.
I've tried a bunch of inexpensive ultrasonic, evaporation, and heating element based units but this one is the first that actually went ALL night.
It has a output volume knob that actually works: High is as thick as pea-soup fog and low is merely mouth breathing.
There is a built-in filter on the water supply so that may extend the life a bit but I don't know yet.
The light's aren't the super annoying injection laser diodes that I've seen on other models.
The vapor direction nozzle is nice because you can point the power and water alarm lights away from your bed.
Buy SPT SU-4010 Ultrasonic Dual-Mist Warm/Cool Humidifier with Ion Exchange Filter Now
I really like this humidifier. Last year I tried to use the "Honeywell HCM-6009 QuietCare 9-Gallon Console Humidifier with Air Washing Technology" and was disgusted by the poor quality of it. The thing started to smell like mildew after one week, so I cleaned the filter and it was okay for only one day. We returned it.
The sunpentown humidifier has an ion exchange filter, so it doesn't smell at all. Plus, it is SILENT!! Even on high, you cannot hear it AT ALL.
We use it in a large living room (twice the size of the recommended area) and it works just fine. Also, you can actually see the mist coming out. In the words of a previous reviewer, it really is like pea soup.
We use it on medium and the water tank lasts for about 12-14 hours. If you use it in a smaller room, the low setting would work just fine, so it would last much longer.
The reason I only gave it four stars is because when the setting is on high, the water vapor coming out of the humidifier is so thick and heavy that most of it falls to the ground, getting everything damp and wet, and getting less moisture into the air. In fact, even on the medium setting, we have it set up on a countertop to maximize evaporation. This humidifier does not work well when placed on the floor.
We have had this humidifier for a few months now, and are very happy with it. Also, it looks very nice. It is not bulky and ugly like other humidifiers.
Read Best Reviews of SPT SU-4010 Ultrasonic Dual-Mist Warm/Cool Humidifier with Ion Exchange Filter Here
This is the best of the humidifiers I've purchased so far. The mist is extremely fine and the dual direction spout is handy. No irritating mineral deposit pads either. The litmus test will be how long the ionic filter actually lasts.
I've found that I only have to refill the unit once daily if I keep the humidity dial on a lower setting. If you want to raise the humidity, just be prepared to refill more frequently. Of interest is that the warm vapor setting results in vapor that isn't hot so much as luke warm. Still, it's better than cold vapor.
One special notation is that Amazon recommends combining this product purchase with the Protec Antimicrobial Cleaning Cartridges. However, the Protec instruction sheet contained in the package clearly instructs users to never use the product with ultrasonic humidifiers. Heads-up...
Want SPT SU-4010 Ultrasonic Dual-Mist Warm/Cool Humidifier with Ion Exchange Filter Discount?
This unit got me through some very dry winter days. I'll list the pros and cons:
PROS:
1. It is thin and compact and can fit on a bedstand, unlike some of its big ugly hulking competitors.
2. It is almost completely silent!
3. The steam nozzle swivels so you can direct where it goes.
4. The translucent blue water chamber is nice for seeing the water level at a glance.
5. Finely adjustable mist levels, and hot/cold mist.
CONS:
1. The blue water chamber fills up from the bottom. So you have to take it off, turn it upside down and unscrew a cap in order to fill it up. Not a huge deal, but not the most convenient method either.
2. The entire unit has to be carried from the bottom since the blue water chamber merely sits on the top of the white section. Again, not a big deal once you have the unit where you want it.
3. The hot/cold mist didn't work for me. Maybe the heat element in mine is broken, but I didn't really feel the difference between the hot and cold settings. I didn't really care; cold mist was fine.
4. It's a little pricey as these devices go. But worth it, in my opinion.
Overall, a very nice unit.
UPDATE 2011: This unit is still going strong. It did start making some annoying gurgling noises, so I ran steaming hot water through both the top reservoir and the bottom piece (unplugged first, of course). This fixed the gurgling problem and also gave me a nice surprise: the hot mist feature, which never did anything before, started working! I clean it a little more often now in order to prevent future gurgling, and I put a ProTec antimicrobial cleaning cartridge in there monthly.
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This is an affordable humidifier. It is not perfectly quiet as are some humidifiers. It uses a fan to evaporate the water. Advantages: it uses tap water and does not spread white dust around the areas being humidified. The filters are reasonably cheap and trap the dissolved minerals in the unit. Other than the noise it makes, this is a great product. If you like it quiet to sleep, put it in another room. If you put it on a low setting, its noise is not annoying where you are active in the daytime. I don't recommend it for use in the bedroom unless you don't mind some noise while you sleep or are trying to go to sleep. I own two of these units and use them to keep the air moist in my home. They really do help.
