I bought this unit because it gets really dry downstairs especially with the fireplace being on. I can already tell a difference in the air. I noticed the poor reviews given with the UVC light and also read in the manual that if on it indicated that it needed replacing. So, upon calling Hunter, the CSR explained that the blue light indicated that the machine was on and working and that the light would turn red when the UVC light needed replacing. That being said, the machine is indeed working properly, it is very quite, and IMO gives out pretty good humidity at the mid-way mark.
The only cons that I would make mention is the really BRIGHT blue light as I had to cut a piece of cardboard and tape over it to tone it down a notch. Also, the replacement of the demineraliztion filters on a monthly basis.
Thanks for reading and I hope this helped.
-S
Used it every night for a week since it arrived. Visible stream of mist straight up into the air, but nothing around it gets wet or moist. Have right near the bed and feel no mist whatsoever. Just better breathing and less dry throat. Water tank lasts far more than eight hours. Have yet to get to the automatic turn-off when the tank gets empty. Sleep a full night with higher humidity from a cool stream of vapor. Nothing leaks. No big drops anywhere. Little need for a towel underneath it, but aftr reading all of the horrendouse reviews about other models, I did not want to take a chance. Getting very comfortable about its safety. Also uses tap water and no signs of chemical build-up. Would recommend spending a little more to get quality like this. Absolutely silent. I like a little white noise in the room, but this is so quiet, if you like white noise, you almost have to run an air purifier in the same room. The only thing is the extra bright blue LED on the front indicating that the humidifier is working. Wow! Lights up the whole room. Easily remedied though by taping a small piece of cardboard to hang over the light. I don't know how it works, but it sure does work well. Watch the video from QVC on YouTube. It looks just like that when operating, and practically right out of the box. And the product is solidly made and the tank holds more than a gallon. I would trust running this in my baby granddaughter's room when she gets stuffy. This product is as good, if not better, than advertised.
Buy Hunter 31206 Ultrasonic UV Medium/Large Room Humidifier Now
I received one as a gift about a month ago after talking to my doctor about being prone to dry skin (winter, NE weather), sore throats and overall sinus issues due to allergens in the house ( its an old house).
It is awesome, its sooooo silent and easy to maintain. it comes with a 3 yr warranty. Mine is the 31207 which is the model in Black. It also came with a vapor pad that you can add, which I did this week since I have some sort of cold/flu/virus right now... which works great in my small bedroom as the odor is not over powering.
Without the vapor pad it works well too, it neutralizes odors in the room, and its so silent. I was worried that after a week it would get noisy, but no. Amazing, best gift everrrr.
I logged on to the Hunter website to order my replacement vapor pads and also some other ones and the price for parts ( wear and tear exchanges of course not malfunction) are fairly decent.
****UPDATE 1/29/12**** turns out the vapor pads are discontinued for this humidifier, but no worries, you can use VICKS vapor refill pads Model vsp-19 ( avg $5.99 or so for a box of 5 ) which you can find at any pharmacy :)
Love it, if you have sensitive sinuses, this is item is for you. YOu can use it any time and again its so easy to clean and the parts you hardly replace. [they do recommend the filter 1/month] Im going into 2 months of ownership yet, using it every night and weekends --I think replacement every 2 should suffice :)
Read Best Reviews of Hunter 31206 Ultrasonic UV Medium/Large Room Humidifier Here
Works, no troubles. Have put about 10 gallons of distilled h2o through it over the past few months and have had no problems. The bottom of the top piece does make contact w/ the water in the bottom piece, so stuff gets wet when you need to refill, which there is really no excuse for. And as far as the led is concerned, some electric tape over it solves the problem of it being a second sun.
Want Hunter 31206 Ultrasonic UV Medium/Large Room Humidifier Discount?
I read many of the positive and negative reviews on a variety of humidifiers and air cleaners, and if they are all to be believed, every product out there is garbage, and yet at the same time, way better than that other one. It became nearly impossible to find a product that didn't have a scathingly negative review, but I ultimately decided to pull the trigger on this unit, as even if it really was junk, I'd only be out $50 instead of potentially $200 (Air-o-Swiss). Ultimately I am very happy with this unit, and find that most, if not all the negative comments here are either incorrect, expecting waaaay too much from the unit, or are overly critical of ridiculous nuances, and therefore likely to be disingenuous.
Noise: One of the negative reviews I saw stated that this unit was too noisy to have in the same room as them when they slept. I find this absolutely ludicrous as this is one of the quietest humidifiers I have owned (a variety of KAZ re-brands plus a few other wicking types) The fan is virtually silent (more on this in a minute) and although you can hear the gentle trickle of water, as you can on EVERY ultrasonic humidifier, it is by far the quietest unit I have ever encountered. If the sound of a second hand ticking on a clock is enough to keep you awake, I suggest no humidifier will be quiet enough. For the rest of us, this unit is fine. If you really do have noise issues, then I suggest your unit is broken, and should be returned.
Filler Tank: Every single humidifier I have used has an awkward tank design, including this one, and I really don't understand why it has to be so bad. The tank does not sit flat which makes filling difficult, the tank has to be flipped upside down to fill, meaning when you flip it back over you end up with a few stray water drops. These criticisms are shared by EVERY humidifier I've seen, so although I find them annoying, it is no different from any other device. I have yet to experience any strange leaking problems associated with the filler cap/o-ring, and I'd guess that the negative reviewer stating the filler cap leaked everywhere either had a defective, damaged or missing o-ring, Again, no different here than on any other humidifier which all seem to use the same cap/o-ring design without significant issues. Whomever had issues with the unit dumping its entire payload all over the floor probably forgot the o-ring.
LED's: Negative reviews stating the UV LED lit on startup indicating the bulb was bad are incorrect. There may be a misprint in the manual, as the light has to not only be On, but it has to be on Red. Note a red LED also indicates the tank is empty. Nothing to see here, move along. BTW, that blue LED is ridiculously bright, tape is necessary!
Output: This unit does a good job putting out the vapor for sure! The fact that I have to constantly keep refilling it is evidence of that! In fact, you can literally see a dense stream of vapor leaving the (unfortunately nonadjustable) nozzle when on its highest setting. One drawback here is that at the max setting that dense vapor is not really adequately dispersed by the fan, and I think the unit has played it too safe on the noise front to the detriment of proper dispersal at max. Left sitting on a hardwood floor at max setting, the ground did indeed feel a little sticky after a while. Either find a way to elevate the unit, place something underneath it, or probably the most practical, just turn it down a little bit. Yes, the adjustment knob does indeed vary the volume of vapor being put out. I can't say if it functions to maintain a specific humidity level, and to be honest I'd be surprised if it did, but it was fully functional to control output level.
I purchased this evaporative cooler to take the edge off of my child's play room. We have a couple other evaporative coolers in the house that work well for larger areas, but wanted something smaller and that used less electrical power for that application. I bought based on price, the 65 watt usage and the louvers. It arrived in good condition and completely assembled. Entirely plastic, but seems well made. Smaller than expected. Likes: the controls work well, nice to have the water level window, does what it should (cools a small room as can be expected from an evaporative cooler). Dislikes: feeding water is time consuming due to small intake hole, louvers dont really do much it rotates and could be a nice feature, but I think the pitch is too low or non existant, so the air mostly goes straight.
