Pure Guardian H4500 144 Hour Ultrasonic Humidifier

When I first moved to the high mountains (8400') of Colorado, I used a wick-type humidifier constantly. I also had a nasty little cough that stayed with me for 18 months. Finally, I took my doctor's advice and junked the humidifier. End of cough, due to things growing in the unit. I have been shopping for humidifiers again for a while, and found them all to be lacking severely. Either they were the same type of filter construction that had caused my illness, or they were cheaply made, or low-capacity. This unit may have a tippy storage tank when turned upside-down to fill, but it is well made. The screw-on cap for the reservoir is sturdy and has a rubber gasket. There are carrying handles on the top and bottom of the water container to make it easy to manage, and it puts out a LOT of humidity. At 2/3 setting, it ran the humidity in my bedroom from 22 to 35% the first night, all while being completely silent. The (silent) piezo-electric ultrasonic element is the same as is used in the tweeters of my big PA speakers, and these are practically indestructible if kept clean. The huge water reservoir does mean that it is big, and the styling is retro, which is OK, I guess. More expensive units from the same manufacturer have useless and noisy digital features with the same overall construction. Overall, a solid five.

Update on 22Mar2012: This thing is great. The silver (yes, they impregnate the plastic with silver) added to the water chamber means that there is virtually no scum build-up inside. I did clean it once in the time I have had it. The little metal diaphragm of the ultrasonic element is brass not silver, so I do wipe that off every now and then, but this thing is fantastic. I always run filtered water in it. If you don't, you are either leaving the unfiltered residue in the tank, or blowing it out into your room! Give your sinuses, musical instruments and wood furniture a nice gift.

I bought this humidifier because it seemed perfect:

1, Large capacity 2 gallons or so lasts about 24 hours and isn't too heavy to re-fill

2, Cool mist OR warm mist capability I prefer warm mist, but the heating elements usually take too much cleaning

3, Virtually silent operation no loud fans, just the occasional bubble from the reservoir

4, Nice design

5, Great reviews durability and performance were both praised

6, Germ prevention not sure this is strictly necessary with a warm mist humidifier (boiling water, etc), but apparently a nice to have for cold mist humidifiers.

Believing this justified the cost, which is 2.5 times more than any other humidifier I've ever bought, I bought one. It worked pretty well for just less than 2 weeks. Then there was a loud popping noise and now it doesn't work anymore.

I will bother to exchange it for a new one, but I won't be buying any others from this maker. At the price, I would expect much greater durability (even the forty dollar humidifiers last a couple of years or so) and there should be an electronic humidistat so that you can regulate the humidity. This model only has a dial that seems to govern output. The model with a humidistat is twice the price (daylight robbery, instead of this one, which is merely standard burglary).

I'm upset with this product, but I'm even more upset with humidifier manufacturers in general. I know water and electronics don't mix, but what I'm discovering is that the only genuinely bulletproof humidifiers on the market are the buckets of water with fans ("evaporative"). Really?? That's state of the art for you guys? Can you at least hook up with Dyson and make the fans quieter?

--UPDATE--

I've now got a replacement and I've noticed a couple of differences: Firstly, the dial on the new machine does much more to regulate the amount of visible mist than the dial on my original machine. Second, the tank now lasts for at least three days instead of one or less. I already knew the original machine was faulty (it broke within 2 weeks), but based on this new information it looks like it was running at maximum, regardless of what the dial was set to. This leaves me with two important takeaways:

1, If you just bought the machine and want to know whether it's working properly, you should see a substantial change when you turn the dial, from almost no mist to lots.

2, Can the machine handle being left on maximum output continuously? I don't know, and after last time, I dare not risk it.

--UPDATE II: The sequel--

Well, the second unit that I received lasted the season and is now in storage, clean and dry. Cleaning is simpler than some of the humidifiers I've had in the past. There are no exposed tea-kettle elements, so it's just a case of washing in a weak vinegar solution. If it doesn't successfully start up again next season, I'll update this again. I will re-iterate that this humidifier is expensive. I expected it to work first time and it didn't. However, if it had I would have been as happy with this device as everyone else seems to be, so feel free to take my star rating with a grain of salt.

By the way, to partially address the comment I've had so far, this review only represents an n of 2 (not 1, smartypants). I think it's useful to tot up the star scores from all the reviews to get a reasonable proxy for the failure rate. For instance, if you do this for Samsung LCD televisions you get a 10% failure rate for a sample size that's approaching 1000. That compares pretty unfavorably with the other major marques like Sony and Sharp... but is borne out by what I've heard from sales people at electronic retail stores (ie, quasi-independent experts). Anyway, for this humidifier it's unclear because of the small sample size. At the time of writing, the failure rate looked like it was hovering around 20%, which doesn't sound great until you compare that to the failure rates of other humidifiers!

Bottom line: if I need another humidifier, this is my benchmark and I'd definitely consider buying it again ... from a store with a great return policy.

--UPDATE III: Comparison with SPT SU-4010--

I recently purchased the SPT SU-4010 from Amazon, which is another highly rated cold/warm mist humidifier. I like it for many of the same reasons that I now love the Germ Guardian. The chief difference is the SPT model is quieter (virtually silent) but puts out less mist over the same time period and has a smaller tank. If your [bedroom] is under 500 square feet and you need a silent humidifier, I'd recommend the SPT SU-4010. The ion exchange filter in that model even minimizes the "glugging" that is often the loudest noise from these type of humidifiers. If you have a larger room, or are aiming to maximize the volume of water you can get into the air over a given time, I still recommend the Germ Guardian. Note that I cannot yet speak to the reliability of the SPT SU-4010, but Consumer Reports rated it very highly. Please refer to my review of that model on this website if you'd like to progress updates for that model.

--UPDATE IV: Just bought another--

Saw a refurbished version of this Germ Guardian on an Amazon-affiliated website for half the price of a big warehouse store and bought it. Everything seems fine, although I've noticed a slightly disturbing difference in output from this one, which is now the third one of these I've owned. This one has to be cranked much higher to achieve the same mist in identical conditions. That could be because it's refurbished or it could be because there is a great deal of variability... Either way, something to bear in mind. I'm putting both away for the summer now so there won't be any more updates until next winter. I did a quick clean with a dilute solution of standard household vinegar and that should leave these ready to go then.

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This is our second humidifier we've purchased from this manufacturer. We originally bought the one with the alarm clock, which is a great product and now we decided to buy this one. It is much more powerful & keeps our house very comfortable. (the original one we bought is in our bedroom). It's definitely a benefit that you don't have to constantly buy new filters.

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As reported in other reviews, this humidifier will leave a while film if the water used is not filtered or distilled. This film is not as benign as described in some other reviews (explanation below). If I had easy and/or inexpensive access to filtered water I would give this product 5 stars it works great, virtully noiseless as advertized, and virtually maintenance free with there being no filters to replace.

I've got one at home and one at the office. The tap water I have access to at work is treated (clorine), but not softened, and it's likley rather hard considering all of the minerals in the water here. After a few days running in the office the white film appeared on nearly every dark surface in the room (especially computer keyboard, printer, phone). Then my printer in my office started malfunctioning, then our copier. The copier repairman discovered the white film inside the copier, fouling up sensors and causing malfunction. He told us we'd have to stop using the humidifier or it would continue to cause problems. I now know why I had to just spend $400 on a new office printer as well. This dust that is emitted from the humidifier can float through the tiniest of cracks and holes and can deposit on nooks and crannies everywhere plenty of places you can't reach with a dust rag, much less a Q-tip. Pressurized air dusting spray does not seem to remove the dust effectively either.

I've got another at my home, 35 miles away, where our tap water is well water, which is untreated hard water. Here I've only noticed a small bit of the white film, on only a few of the darkest, shiniest surfaces. What appears on this humidifier that does not appear in the humidifier in the office, however, is a pinkish amber colored slime mold / mildew on the bottom side of the reservior (visible only when you refill the reservoir). This is probably becasue this water is not treated with clorine, and this part of the humidifier is creating a perfect breeding ground for bacterias, mold, mildew, etc. I'm not sure exactly what this slimy substance is, or if it's presence in the humidifier raises any health concerns. So I'm going to deduce that my water at home has less minerals in it that can turn into this white dust. I'm not sure if clorine in city water could also cause this white dust as well.

The bottom line is, if your water is perfect, this humidifier is close to perfect. If your water is not perfect, you may have some serious problems with this unit, and I would not reccomend it. I would strongly warn anybody against using this in a room with electronic devices if they are not totally sure their water is filtered properly.

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We wondered a bit about this product after reading a lot of reviews, but decided to buy it because we needed a humidifier and the price was right. We've had it running for several days now, and we are very pleased with it. The mist output is variable in quantity, and it can be either cool or warm. Some of the reviews we read said the warm didn't work, but I think they must have been expecting steam (which it doesn't do). The temperature of the warm is not a whole lot different from the cool, and you have to allow it 10-15 minutes in a closed room to take effect. The other comment that people had made was that the vents were at 180° from each other. Fact is, that you can turn the small one as well as the large one, so they can be adjusted to any direction you want. The tank has to be filled at the kitchen sink, but that's not bad because it sits upside down nicely supported by the walls of a double sink. The tank is heavy when filled, because it holds 2-½ gallons. With fairly high volume of mist, one tank lasted us about 48 hours. The mist from this is good enough that I have been able to sleep very comfortably without my nasal passages clogging up due to extreme dryness. I would highly recommend this product. It does what it is supposed to do. Don't forget to read the instruction manual!

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Honeywell Germ Free Cool Mist Humidifier, HCM-350

I have had this humidifier for a few months now and use it in MY bedroom as well as my 15 month old twins' bedroom. I had an Ultrasonic humidifier (filter-less) but discovered the 'white powder' effect after using one (google it).

PROS:

(1) It's quiet! Yay!

(2) It doesn't change the temperature of the room even though it's a cool mist humidifier

(3) I use one of those gadges to see if it's humid enough in the room and this machine definitely works

(4) The filter doesn't need replacing THAT often (maybe every 6-7 months or so)

(5) The tank can sit in the sink to be filled and doesn't topple over

(6) Super easy to set up and use

CONS:

(1) It's pretty big and bulky

(2) I hope the UV light to kill germs is working because I don't see it anywhere

I would definitely recommend this cool mist humidifier though!

I live on the East Coast so dry winter air is a MAJOR problem for me. I have my humidifier running 24/7. I have tried many different ones, but this one is by far the best I've found so far. It's extremely quiet even on the highest speed, I can run it for 16 hours on the highest setting without having refill the tank, and the best part for me is NO WHITE DUST!!! I have very hard water but even with that there is never any white dust. If I need another humidifier in the future I would buy another one of these.

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This unit is comprised of four parts that are elegant in their simplicity and optimization. Part 1, the base "platter", is merely a simple piece of tough plastic (no motor, no switches, nothing electrical, no mounted parts at all) embossed to provide channels that conduct water from one end (where Part 2, the reservoir "jug", sits) to the other end where the water is absorbed up into the cylindrical wick "filter" cylinder (Part 3) where the powerful fan in the upper main unit (Part 4) pulls air through the moist filter perimeter and ejects it upward into the room. In my moderately large house (3600 sq ft) I have 4 of these units running, and the reservoirs (1+ gallons) have to be refilled every 12 hours (8+ gallons per day total) to maintain reasonable humidity in house. These work much better than my furnace-mounted humidifier.

Reservoir refill process is, take a 2 gallon plastic bucket of water to humidifier, lift out reservoir, lift off main unit, put wick filter in bucket to soak, make a trip to sink to refill reservoir jug, put wick filter back in place, put main unit back in place, drop reservoir jug into main unit, move on to next humidifier. In a 4-month heavy heating season, you'll need new throw-away wick filters ($9) at the outset, and half-way through. (The manufacturer-supplied wick filters are the only item that can be improved on. Don't buy Honeywell's replacement. Get Sunbeam SWF-227. They're 5-1/2" instead of 5" tall, but after they're soaked, you can easily squish them down.)

At end of season, clean platter and reservoir in the dishwasher if you like, and wipe down underside of main unit surfaces with a damp cloth. Not absolutely necessary, the surfaces don't accumulate deposits that much. The only other thing you'll need to replace periodically is the special UV lamp that shines down from the main unit into the water channel to kill any stray incoming bacteria/virus.

Get humidified, and stop the itching.

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I've been through about a dozen different humidifiers over the years. It gets extremely dry here in the winter so we run these all the time.

Sound: For those of you that appreciate white noise to help you sleep, this probably won't be enough for you. This is the quietest humidifier I've found.

Refills: On the highest setting this will last around 18 hours so I can easily run it for two nights without refills. On a lower setting, running only at night, I'd imagine you could get away with refills only every 4 nights or so. The handle design is the most comfortable and well balanced of any humidifier I've ever owned so trips to and from the sink aren't so awkward. The lid is extremely easy to get off/on and my husband never over tightens this one. The fill tank opening is not only easy to get into but very large so a gushing flow from the tub can fill it up very quickly.

Air Quality: I don't know how it does it, but it does the best job of any humidifier I've ever owned. You will never have water condensation around the base (or anywhere else for that matter). The air never gets too heavy with moisture that it feels muggy (although I've never tried it on high in a room smaller than 10x10). But it makes a very noticeable difference to my comfort and breath-ability during colds. Because the air output is straight up, you don't have to worry about having it too near dressers or bed linens or anything else getting too wet.

The only downfalls are the price (most expensive in a lot of stores) and the size. It is pretty large. But I think the size is worth it as it is used for a more powerful fan and a large water tank leaving refills less frequent.

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"THIS UNIT DOES NOT PRODUCE A MIST."

This is not a "Cool Mist" system, it is a cheap (fiber) wick humidifier with a variable speed (3 position) fan. The wick sits in a pool of water, and a fan draws air over the saturated wick.

Our physician's orders strictly specified a cool mist system, and not a wick humidifier and the owner's manual even states "...unit does not produce a mist." The wick will become contaminated, and will grow mold on it over time even with the UV sterilizer in the water tray.

I cannot and would not recommend this unit to anyone. Certainly not someone with small children who need a "cool misting" system.

Am returning it as soon as I can get an RMA from Amazon.

If I could give negative stars for false advertizing by Honeywell, I would.

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Warm Mist Humidifier, 2 1/2 Gal

I would have rated this a 5 star if the cleaning was easier, but I do not know if such a humidifier exists.

We have hard water and the build up of scale was becoming a problem, even with daily cleaning (yes, you should clean this unit daily). I came up with a solution to reduce and almost eliminate the scale I add a teaspoon of baking soda to the tank when I refill it. The scale is drastically reduced and the unit runs at a whisper quiet. I originally ran the unit without the baking soda and there was some noise, mainly gurgling, that was too loud for me since I am a light sleeper.

There is a black covered heating element that requires cleaning to remove scale. This can be very difficult to remove. I solved this as part of the weekly maintenance when you use vinegar to clean the base. The part with the heating element rests on the base. By adding enough vinegar to fill the well where the heating element engages with the base, and allowing it to soak for 10 or 15 minutes, the scale is easily removed.

I like the warm mist because it helps warm up the room.

Overall, I believe this unit is a great value.

I bought one for the office and liked it so much I bought another one for home. I like the warm mist, it heats the water and kills the germs before sending out mist. You have to be so careful with cool mist humidifiers especially ones with a filter, because if you get sick the germs lodge in the filter and just multiply and you wind up re-circulating germs through the mist. I've read about the gurgling noise and yes baking soda does get rid of it I'm a light sleeper and I have mine right next to my bed. It keeps the sinus moist which prevents sinus infections. The vinegar is great for cleaning the unit as well. And I love the fact that I don't have to deal with filters. I HATE filters. This is like plug and go! I've had mine over 2 years and it's still going strong. Hope they never discontinue it.

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It produces upto 2.5 gallons per day, but the tank is only 1 gallon so you have to refill it a lot to get this. The instructions say DO NOT use detergents on any part but then it says to put the bottom section in the dishwasher. It takes a lot of time and effort to clean the scaling off, partly because you have to wait 15 minutes after turning it off since the heating element remains hot for a long time and could send out random steam to burn you as you pick it up. In terms of cost vs time it's probably a better deal for many people to just buy new wicks for an evaporating humidifier. But the worst thing is a metal plate on the bottom maybe 1/3" from the ground that's there to prevent the plastic from melting under the heating element. That's pretty close to the floor to have a metal plate that's nearly boiling hot and is probably the real reason why the manual says to keep it off rugs or finished floors. It also had a pretty bad plastic outgas smell; maybe this will go away in time though. All considered I don't really even feel safe leaving this on when I'm not in the room (although there's probably no rational reason behind it).

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great value for the money. no filter was the reason for the purchase and thank goodness. can be hard to clean, but i haven't tried the baking soda yet. can be heavy when full of water, and the tank is so big that i have to use the bathtub to fill it because it doesn't fit under my sink. it is very quiet and would recommend it to anyone.

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We bought this humidifier last year and my son used it in his smaller room and it worked very well. The gurgling sound was no louder than a tranquility fountain. It only lasted about 10 minutes and then it was silent throughout the night. The water tank was just right, one fill is all it took. (Any larger capacity tank would cause it be too heavy to carry. I can't imagine that.) We tried it in our master bedroom and since it is large we would rather have two of these humidifiers than to try another brand. We save a lot of money since we don't need to buy filters. We have had no issues with cleaning.

Bionaire Ultrasonic Humidifier BUL8000-UM

I'll start off with the negative and then move on from there. I had the humidifier for about 4 months and then it broke. Wow, then...'why the 5 star review?' you may ask. Firstly, I'm not entirely sure it was the product's fault. There is a sleeve that you fill up with water, and my wife didn't necessarily set it in 'gently' one night. In any case, I contacted the company and wanted a replacement part and was even willing to pay for it. They asked for the serial number (and other things) and said it was out of warrenty (I threw away the receipt so I had no proof)... nevertheless, they said that they were going to replace it with a brand new unit. They sent me a new unit as well as a pre-paid return label to send back the old unit so that they can better develop the product and troubleshoot the issue. This is un-heard of service unless you are shopping at Williams and Sonoma. The new unit has worked fine ever since. The issue here is that, if you purchase this product and something does go awry, you are in good hands. The other benefit is that we purchased 2 other very expensive units from Germany, and although they're nice, they do not touch the ability to humidify the air like this unit does.

I have no problems with this product. It has a light dripping sound while it works but it sounds like water dripping after a heavy rain. I can't imagine a world where that would wake me up or bother me. Outside that it is super quiet.

It seems to be pumping out tons of water vapor.

Appearance wise, I think its the best option out there. Every other device I have seen is just ugly, and look like a humidifier.

The design keeps the it very low profile and I am not worried about my cats knocking it over.

It is really easy to fill.

I have not gotten to the point where I have to clean it yet.

The only thing I don't like is that it beeps pretty loud when you change the settings. If my wife is asleep while I am adjusting something, it can wake her up.

***********Review Update*******************

Humidifier stopped working after a month or two.

returned it to bed bath and beyond. Got an air-o-swiss.

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We bought this humidifier two years ago and were extremely happy with it. It was quiet, efficient, and got the room to a comfortable humidity (around 40%). Also, extremely stylish. Loved the look. We specifically spent a little more, hoping to get a humidifier we wouldn't have to replace after one or two seasons (our last one, a Crane penguin-shaped humidifier, started leaking after 3 years).

HOWEVER, the maintenance on this humidifier is a total pain. Nowhere before buying does it detail what you're supposed to do. If we'd known, I would have gone for a less needy unit! To summarize:

Daily maintenance:

Turn off and unplug it. Remove the tank. Take the housing to the sink and drain it. Wipe it clean and dry it. Drain the tank and rinse it. Refill the tank, drag the whole mess back to its shelf and set it up again.

Weekly maintenance:

Do the daily maintenance. Before you refill and put it all away, fill the base with vinegar and the tank with a bleach solution and let both soak. Scrub the base with the way too small brush they provide. Rinse THOROUGHLY, then reassemble.

Seriously? First of all, they boast of a memory feature, so you don't have to reprogram your settings... unless you unplug it. Which you're supposed to do daily. Real helpful. Second, I stopped keeping fish because I didn't want to spend an hour a week wrist deep in water.

As if all that weren't enough, after performing the excruciating maintenance routine, and then carefully putting it away for the summer, halfway through this winter it started making a whining noise when first turned on. If I turn it off and on about 20-30 times, it eventually will make that quiet whisper. Which would be fine, except that the machine has a very loud high-pitched beep every time you turn it on and off. And you better like that beep, because when the machine runs empty (or, as mine has decided to do lately, DECIDE that it's empty when the tank is completely full and there's water in the base), it beeps TEN TIMES. And then the light flashes UNTIL YOU TURN IT OFF. So if it suddenly decides to no longer be friends with the tank at say, 4am, you need to drag yourself out of bed and turn it off unless you like a glowing flashy light all night.

I contacted support, and they told me that it's out of warranty, which means they can't do anything for me. They were extremely polite and extremely unhelpful. Consider this a very expensive disposable humidifier, with care and maintenance like a family pet.

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Worked well for a while then started to make noise. It only got worse in time. We can only use it during the day.

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I have had this humidifier for about 4 weeks. I clean it daily and change the water every day since I want it to last more than this season. I started having problems with it making LOUD noises after changing the water or after turning it off for a second and turning it back on 2 weeks ago. For this price, I expected that it would last longer than this. AVOID this product.

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Honeywell Charcoal Prefilter 32002, 2 pk

I placed my order and had to contact the company to see why it had not arrived after a couple weeks of waiting. They emailed me back that it was currently not available but I had recieved no notice prior to my making contact with them. It was frustrating. I cancelled the order & re-ordered from someone else.

These where not the actual complete filter, they are the strips left over from wrapping a larger hepa filter like mine. So they are unable unless your hepa filter is only 6 in tall!

Contact them as well with Zero response. I guess the price was too good to be true.

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Ordered one for the big unit and one for the smaller. The smaller filter was a few inches too high and just cut it off. The large one fit just right. Don't know what to say about the filter except I needed new ones and now I have them!

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I've been using the Honeywell prefilter for over ten years and have found it does the job, and is easy to replace.

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I was disappointed to see that this was not an authentic Honeywell prefilter, but a generic knockoff. Nowhere in the product description does it say that this isn't an OEM product. Terrible.

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