Vicks Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier

I've read all of the reviews for this model, V-5100-NS and most of the reviews of its sister model, V-5100-N.

I think it's clear that without at least once weekly maintenance -IE, a full cleaning, probably with diluted white vinegar to help remove buildup this unit will eventually fail.

Is that the manufacturer's error?? No way!

A basic understanding of an atomizer, otherwise known as a nebulizer, actually functions will explain this.

The little metal plate at the bottom of this humidifier agitates the molecules of the water, along with... ALL OF THE DISSOLVED AND SUSPENDED SOLIDS IN THE WATER!

By contrast, a hot humidifier uses a heating element to raise the water's temperature high enough to cause the water to switch phases and become steam.

Since steam is really bad at carrying dissolved or suspended particles of anything it, all the minerals in your water are left behind on the heating element.

That is the white or colored gunk you will see on a typical hot steam generating humidifier.

This does not occur with ultrasonic humidifiers like the V-5100-NS because everything in the water is atomized. Everything it is agitated so much that it rips away from its adjacent molecules and becomes an ultra-fine mist.

Any and all contaminates in your tap water will be atomized and sprayed all over the place -this is how the humidifier works. It is not a design flaw.

It's important to note that in some cities, the PPM or parts-per-million of dissolved solids can be has high as 500 PPM or more -this might not seem like much, but at those levels you will be atomizing a lot of interesting minerals, with unknown effects.

So, if you want to use this product you are pretty much stuck using very filtered water (NOT just a Brita, I would recommend a decent reverse-osmosis system to really help lower the PPM) or just buying distilled water, which is actually very inexpensive if you buy in bulk. Do not buy distilled water at the grocery story -it'll likely be marked up a lot.

No humidifier is perfect, and all methods of creating a mist for use in raising the relative humidity of a space will have problems with water contaminants, unless you are using absolutely pure distilled water. This is a matter of physics and solubility, not some problem with the technology being used to generate the water mist.

Lastly, I've been using the model V-5100-NS for a while now and I have been very satisfied with it. It generates a very consistent stream of cool mist, and the fan is indeed very quiet. I've owned many other models of humidifiers, and this is absolutely the quietest by far. Could I sleep in the same room with it?

While this humidifier is spendy, it is quite worth it.

I have two of these humidifiers.

Pros:

1. High mist output very clearly visible. It's like a fog machine! 'WOW!'

2. Mist volume control many mist levels

3. Large water tank (20 hours of operation)

4. Direction control

5. Comes with it's own filter but if you use distilled water you won't need to use the filter.

It's not silent but it is NOT loud by any means. I can sleep uninterrupted with it. My older humidifier produces the same noise level but my older humidifier produces a different frequency which disturbs my sleep. The Vick's is far superior to my old one.

Cons:

Like any humidifiers you must keep it clean.

You have to keep the sonic agitator clean and free of dust/lint. A small bit of lint will negatively impact it's ability to produce high levels of mist. You don't even have to see the lint or dust.

Keeping the agitator clean is easy, don't touch it with bare hands I only have to use running tap water on the agitator and it's dust/link free and it works like new every time.

I have used this unit for weeks at a time when I'm ill and I have not seen any kind of 'white dust' that other people are reporting. I use tap water, I live in the NW so perhaps it the quality of water we have?

Great product.

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I agree with both most of the positive and negative comments about this humidifier. It is the best, but that doesn't mean it is good!

It is a total nuisance to clean, and even to fill. It is hard to turn a filled tank upside down to place on the bottom. What was anyone thinking? Did the designer of this thing ever use it? Pink slime develops in places impossible to clean, such as in the cylinder the mist flows through from the tank to the nozzle. The pink slime elsewhere can be cleaned more easily, but the base has narrow areas difficult to clean even with a Q-tip.

All complaints granted, mine and others, this is, unfortunately, still the best humidifier I have used. I've had mine for a couple of years, having given up looking for one that fills from the top or is easier to clean.

My advice: buy this one and also buy a large bottle of white vinegar, along with a supply of Q tips. It is a major PIA to clean, but worth it for the excellent mist. Dry it out completely after cleaning, at least once a week.

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After reading several reviews of humidifiers that all gave mixed opinions I ignored all of them and picked up this humidifier at a local drug store for $32. This humidifier is small, approximately 11"Wx6"Dx13"H, making it suitable to put on the floor or on a counter. It consists of two main parts, a white plastic base and a clear blue plastic container. The base has two sliding switches. One turns the unit on/off and the other adjusts the amount of water vapor being released in to the air. The blue container sits on top of the base and has a handle on top and a round screw-on part on the bottom to fill the container. It also comes with a filter that goes in the base. There is a round piece on top of the container that turns to adjust and direct the stream of water vapor. Pros: 1. In my opinion it is quiet, much quieter than the Bemis wicking humidifier I previously had. The sound level is comparable to a table top fan. It does make water noises though which I find soothing but could be an annoyance. 2. It runs for a long time without refilling. On the lowest setting 1 container full of water will last a couple days of continous run time. On the highest setting, it needs to be refilled once a day. 3. It has no wick, which would start to smell in the old humidifier I had. 4. No chemicals need to be added to keep scum from growing in it. 5. You can see the water vapor being released in to the air (so you know its working). 6. See through container. You don't have to open anything to see how much water is left. 7. Container fits in kitchen sink to be refilled. 8. Relatively easy to clean. Cons: 1. It has no automatic shut off when the water runs out or when the air has reached the desired humidity. 2. When the container is picked up to be refilled it drips so you need a towel with you. When the unit is running, the water empties out of the container into the base where it is turned into water vapor. So when you remove the container the base is still full of water. 3. It needs to be cleaned regularly, once a week at least unless you don't mind the scum that grows on it. The base has corners that you need a Q-tip to clean. It is recommended that it be cleaned with a damp cloth and a bleach and water solution and then rinsed well. We have extremely soft water so I don't know how long the filter that comes with the humidifier will last or how well it works in places with hard water. I would recommend this humidifier.

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I have had an older model for probably 7 years and was just looking to see if I could another one. I remember when I bought it I had a problem getting it to work. It's water sensor can be touchy. I took it back and got a new one. I have had absolutely no problem with it in seven years! It is still working to this day. I have a small crack in the Water Tank but it is not leaking yet. It runs so quiet and humidifies the air nicely. When the kids are sick I lug it from room to room because the other three humifiers I have stuck under my bathroom sink are loud and do not put out as much mist. I don't use the Demineralization Cartridge, but I do use distilled water or softened water. I don't have any white dust. Jackie

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Graco Pack 'n Play Element Playard

This was our first pack n play purchased for our 3 month old after much research and deliberation. We intended to use it as a crib when traveling. I picked the Graco Pack'N'Play Element with Stages because of the 'stages' which I hoped would mean that our daughter could sleep higher for longer this pack and play offers three levels, the first supports up to 15lb, the second up to 20lb, once your child weighs more than 20lb you have to use the lowest level.

PROS:

Overall impression is of a very nice and sturdy item.

It was relatively straightforward to assemble and dismantle.

CONS:

BEWARE SAFETY ISSUE I carefully checked all weight bearing seams holding the bassinet together after reading another reviewer's comments that their Graco pack n play had torn at the seams. I found a seam which had not been effectively sewn and as a result was coming undone. This seam was one of the main weight bearing seams that formed the fabric channel for one of the metal rods which held up the bassinet meaning that if this seam continued to come undone (which it did with the slightest pressure) the bassinet and your child could fall. This fault is clearly a manufacturing defect and I am in the process of getting a refund from amazon.

IF YOU BUY THIS ITEM, CHECK ALL SEAMS CAREFULLY!

Aside from that, it was not clear to me why one bassinet level could support 15lb and the other 20lb as the 20lb stage is merely an extension of the 15lb setting, it is not further reinforced in any way. The only thing I could think was that a larger child may be more able to climb out of the first stage, rather than the bassinet not being able to support their weight. Although since mine was already falling apart before we used it, who knows what weight can actually be supported.

I like this graco play pen it's sturdy enough for my energetic 7month baby. My only problem with it is folding it up to take it on the go. Its great for keeping open at home, when he falls he doesn't hurt himself, when sleeping or playing he can see everything and everyone around him. The mattress it came with is very thin and hard so I bought the Dream on me MAttress, it fits perfect in the Graco play pen. He doesn't like to sleep in the crib anymore he mainly sleeps in the playpen especially after buying the Dream on me mattress, he mainly likes being able to see around when he wakes up he will start to look and cry for someone and a bottle.

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Very nice and comfortable. Junior is three months using the second stage bassinet and loves it. The padded mat is comfy and nicely quilted. It was easy for me to put together (im pretty savvy when it comes to that). The colors are pretty nice, wished there were more options, but hey, I'm very content, and happy with my purchase. :-)

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This pack and play is perfect for what we need it for. Our baby is four months old and almost 16 pounds. We wanted her to sleep in our room still. We are using the second phase setting and she seems to like it. The mattress is hard so we put a more padded sheet over it.

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We enjoy this Pack 'N Play...very easy to put together and transition from each "stage". Everything fits together perfectly and it is easy to put it all away and get it back into the carry bag. I just wish there was a way to store the mobile in the travel bag/case. The changing table is sturdy and makes it easy to have more than one changing area set up. We also like the gender neutral pattern!

Review update (June 2013): After lots of use, this Pack 'N Play is holding up nicely. I keep a play yard mattress pad and sheet on it to protect the mat from drooling babies. It continues to be easy to change between the stages and to pack up and travel.

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Friedrich D50AP Dehumidifier

I just got the word from Friedrich that there are two options for this thing.

Leave the fan on 24/7 (which is great if you like a breezy, noisy basement), or use the timer to turn it on and off.

The timer works like this:

When it's off, you set the # of hours to stay off until it turns on.

When it's on, you set the # of hours to stay on until it turns off.

Then you do it again.

And again.

And again.

And over and over until either you, or the dehumidifier, dies, because it WON'T KEEP THE SETTING!

The old units would remember the setting and if you get a salesman, like I did, who has an old one, he will assume that Friedrich had more sense than to redesign the feature to it's present worthless, uselessness. But he would be wrong.

They did do that.

Otherwise, it looks very nice. The fan is only noisy when you realize it will never turn off on its own, unless you're willing to become its timer slave.

What a waste. Very disappointed.

This applies to their present D series, D25, D50 and D70.

Brilliant move, Freddy.

This bugger does the job I have a small house 1200 square feet and I live in a swamp so its hot nasty and humid 80% of the year it reduces the humidity in my house down to 30% if i put it on that setting usually its on 45% so nobody gets a nosebleed and headaches for being too dry and it takes 12 hours to fill the bucket mind you the humidity here is about 80% or more most days it is a godsend. The built in pump hose makes it easy if i will be out for days I run the hose to my sink and it wont shut off because it drains not filling the bucket. The only downside to this is that the timer does suck and you can set it to turn off in ?? hours and then when you want it back on you have to set the timer to turn on in so many hours unless you just want it on right away which is a pain because I would forget it turned off. Most of the time I don't bother with the timer I just let it run and check it every 8 or so hours if the hose isn't connected. The humidity is so high here that if it isn't running the humidity starts to creep up so its pointless to not let it run and its an energy star rated so it doesn't use much electricity. It comes with a 1 year limited warranty and 5 years on the cooling fan refrigerant etc all the parts that make it run so i find that for the money it was a great deal and does the job nicely. It is a noisy as a regular box fan but this does not bother me although it may bother others just fyi about the noise.Ive had this for one month so far so good.

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Second one I purchased in 2 weeks. First one was returned since it simply did not remove much moisture (coil fins were barely cold.) Store gave me a new replacement which will remove moisture, but constantly recycles every few minutes, but for very short periods of time sometimes only a few seconds. This happens at any humidity setting, but is worse at higher settings. Timer is a joke and a useless feature. Emailed company and they said these units sometimes do this, but if I felt it was defective to take it in to an authorized service facility for repair. So I am faced with this solution or to try to get the store to accept this one back.

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I first purchased this unit Friedrich D50D in late July 2011 within 2 months it was leaking. I found a large puddle on my basement floor and could not determine where it was leaking from. I called the store where I purchased it and they gave me a new unit. Now this was the end of Sept 2011--summer was over and I had little use for the unit, however I had my doubts it. Starting early June of 2012 I turned it on watching it carefully. I would shut it off mid day and definitely at night since I did not trust it. Lo and behold it once again has started to leak. Almost two months to the date of use. It was suggested I try cleaning the drip hole--it might be clogged--did this. Checked the bucket--actually was completely dry on the bottom--so no leak there--check all over and cannot find any source of a leak. Turned it on again and within 1 hour there was another puddle under the unit. Two units back to back that leak--this product is worthless. I have owned at least 5 or 6 dehumidifiers over a period of 35 years and presently I am using 2 others in conjunction with this leaking one and NO other dehumidifier has ever leaked on me. The fans gave out or they stopped removing the humidity but they never leaked and they all lasted 10 plus years. My advice--do not buy it.

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I ignored the other reviews and purchased this unit because of the built in pump. I just received it today and the pump does not work. While there are many products I don't mind as much hand-holding the manufacturer through the process of delivering an adequate product, this is definitely not one of them. If not for the principal, I'd prefer doing the manual bailing on this thing rather than going through the process of returning it. All the best to the folks at fredrick! Thanks for the lesson!

Air-O-Swiss Refurbished U650 Ultrasonic Humidifier - Warm and Cool Mist

It was the first time I bought a refurbished item so I was hesitant ay first. Luckily the item held up to the expectations. I've had it for more than 3 months and continues to perform well.

Was worried about spending this kind of money for a humidifier, especially a refurbished one. So far I haven't had any issues, works great, no white dust or soaked floors. I was a little proactive though, using my PUR water filter to filter the water, even though the water here is very good. Also I placed a small fan right next to the humidifier pointed up, to help disperse the water vapor better.

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