The humidifier works really well and produces great vapor with a good quality mineral filter and ionic silver to inhibit bacterial growth. For function alone, I would give this 5 starts. But I gave it two stars because of the obnoxious, ultra-bright internal LED lights that cannot be turned off. The lights are so bright that it lights up the entire room at night. It's not an ambient glow, it's BRIGHT. I received this as a gift for my son's nursery, and the only way I can use it is to rig pen caps as "covers" for the LED lights (I can't use tape because they're located IN the water reservoir) and then wrap the tank in black fabric. Even then, it still puts off a glow that's about equivalent to a bright night light. It's such a pain in the neck to get this thing set up with the pen caps and the fabric that I avoid using it. This would be a great product if not for the internal lights. What a horrible design flaw.
I knew from other reviews that this humidifier had lights that you cannot turn off when it is functioning. This is 100 percent true. The blue LEDs are beneath the tank and while you can dim them, you cannot turn the lights off while the unit is functioning. This is a drawback, but shouldn't completely discourage you. The light is not that bright when dimmed and I agree with another reviewer that it is no more disruptive than a fishtank light.
There are TWO really AWESOME things about this humidifier that are unique and great. I own two other brands, so I know what I'm talking about.
1. The humidity comes out like a 'smoke' and not wet. Everyone who has seen this operate has commented on how they want one like this with the super fine 'smoke' and not just misting wet air and ruining everything within a few feet. This really does look like it's smoking rather than misting and surfaces within its proximity do not get wet. It doesn't have a fan to push the humidity in a certain direction, but it does have the ability to aim the nozzle on the top to different directions. The humidity 'smoke' will be going straight up though and you will see it sink and roll across the surface, just like smoke. It's actually rather cool to watch.
2. The footprint of this is so small. I am renting an apt while my home is being renovated and my apt is really small. It's so great that this takes up no more space on the counter than a ballet slipper. My other humidifiers take a lot of counter space, so this being so small is a big plus. The downside is that you will have to refill the tank if you intend to run it all day. It doesn't hold as much water as my other units.
One concern I have is with the calcium/anti-bac filter in the middle of the tank. We had a few warm days, so I emptied everything to let it dry out and the calc/anti-bac filter never did dry out and when you'd shake it, it clearly still had water in it. It has some sort of microbeads in it and is impossible to dry out. I just put it all back together and refilled the tank because it turned cold again. I question where you can buy a replacement for this filter, since it is obviously meant to be thrown away after a couple months use and there's no way to dry it out. Doesn't look like Amazon carries the filters yet. If someone knows how I can obtain more filters, please let me know.
All-in all, this is a cool little unit and raised the humidity in my 600sq ft apt without problems. Just don't expect much if you are using this in a large house. You'll need to close it off in a room for the best effectiveness.
Buy Swizz Style EMS-164 "Aquila" Ultrasonic Humidifier Now
We typically use humidifiers for our two daughters this time of year, and this "Aquila" Ultrasonic Humidifier arrived just a day or two after three out of four members of the family were diagnosed with sinus infections. This was perfectly easy to set up right out of the box. Literally taking it from my porch to pressing the on button took, at most, seven or eight minutes. This is a compact, well-made unit that really packs a punch. It works better than the humidifier we had been using, despite only being half its size.
Alas, there is a drawback and it borders on being significant. As another reviewer pointed out, the blue glow produced by this tiny device can be quite powerful and distracting in a dark room. I read through the instructions carefully, and even though the booklet gave the impression that the LED light could be dimmed or turned off completely, I found only three settings total regular, dim light, and off. Indeed, there is no option to completely turn off the light and still use this unit. The "dim" setting is slightly less irritating but does not make a huge difference.
So, will I stop using it because of the light? No. No one had any real difficulty falling asleep. The light is comparable to a fish tank or small reading lamp. Just be aware before you make your purchase that this unit will light up and stay lit as long as the humidifier is working.
Read Best Reviews of Swizz Style EMS-164 "Aquila" Ultrasonic Humidifier Here
This little humidifier accomplishes a lot in a little footprint. It won't humidify a huge room, but it's perfect for on a bedside stand, on a chairside stand in a living room or family room, or on a desk in a larger office, to keep those in the immediate vicinity comfortable. It's easy to fill and keep clean, and runs quietly. It's the ticket for dry winter months inside, and it's just stylish enough, without calling attention to itself.
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The Swizz Style humidifier looks great and has many good design points. It's thin enough to stand on my windowsill. I think $80 is far too much to pay for a humidifier; even one with features as this one.
It consumes about 1 gallon (1 tankful) per day. There is no option to adjust the (light) rate of mist production --which is fine for me. The various blue LED lights (on the AC adapter, next to the on/off switch, and under the water tank) are too bright to sleep with, so I have covered them with black electrical tape.
Since the tank capacity is only one gallon, it doesn't get too heavy or unwieldy to bring from the faucet. Like other humidifiers where the mist stack goes through the water tank, there will be a few drops of condensation clinging to the stack that will fall out as you bring the tank to be filled; but it's not as bad as the Crane drop-shaped humidifiers that will essentially drip on the entire path.
I like the idea of the filter and the ionic silver; however, after two months of use, the reddish-brown algae or mildew that comes out of my faucets has taken up residence in this machine. (Better than the one month it took for the Crane.) This is easier to clean than the Crane drop-shaped humidifier: the vent at the top of the mist stack pops out, providing access to clean the inside surfaces.
I like that the LEDs turn red when the tank needs to be refilled. Simply refilling the tank won't resume mist production, though --you need to press the on/off button for the machine to reset.
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I've had mine about a year, it was given to me as a gift, and it's stopped working. It didn't exactly get a hard workout, used it in the evenings 3 or 4 times a week. Plus it had the downside of having to be placed on either a waterproof surface or putting an absorbent terry towel under it as it got everything very wet! It did, however, work well when it was working and looked very pretty when it was lit. I think the price is really much too high though.
