I live in Chicago where the winters get very cold and very dry. I finally decided to do something about it a year ago and bought a humidifier. I went through a series of 5 humidifiers before I finally came across the Vornado Ultrasonic, which has been the best by far.I started with a cheap Holmes humidifier that basically boils water and creates steam. The problem is that the heating element gets caked with residue and needs to be cleaned just about every other day and it's very difficult to clean. It also tends to give off a rather bad odor.
After returning the holmes, I purchased a Vornado evaporative humidifier. What I've found is that evaporative humidifiers simply don't create enough moisture. The first Vornado was a bust.
My next attempt was a Sharper Image Ultrasonic humidifier, which is very simple to use, easy to clean and provides a good deal of moisture. Unfortunately, much of the moisture simply falls to the ground right around the machine. I wasn't 100% sold.
I returned the Sharper Image unit to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and found two typically expensive ultrasonic humidifiers on sale for half off. One was the Air-O-Swiss Ultrasonic Humidifier http://www.amazon.com/Air-O-Swiss-32838-Ultrasonic-Humidifier/dp/B000J4I4RI/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1262363031&sr=1-7 The other was the Vornado. I decided to get them both with the intention of returning the one that I did not like as much. The Air-O-Swiss is a very elegant looking machine with lots of controls and settings. At the top, it has a plastic piece which lets you control the direction the moisture flows (it can go two directions at once). I found that it had the same problem as the Sharper Image unit, but I placed it on a 2' plant stand, directed the moisture to either side and that seemed to keep the moisture from settling on the floor.
The Vornado Unit's settings were slightly more complicated for me to figure out, but we're talking the difference between 2 minutes and 5 minutes here. The Vornado uses a fan to push the moisture further up so that it evaporates in the air BEFORE it hits the ground. PERFECT! I don't have to put it on a stand or worry that I'll find water seaping into my hardwood floors. Where the Air-O-Swiss is super quiet, the Vornado has a fan (that pushes the moisture up) and thus makes a bit more noise. I personally don't find the noise distracting at all and neither does my wife. Noise aside, it is the fan that really makes this the perfect humidifier because this is the ONLY humidifier of the many I tested that actually seems to get more moisture into the air than on the ground. I wound up getting two Vornado Ultrasonic Humidifiers for my 1800 square foot condo and have noticed a substantial improvement. I highly recommend this product.
One last thing... both the Vornado and the Air-O-Swiss have filters, which is nice because you want to be filling your home with clean moisture.
Buy Vornado Ultrasonic Whole Room Humidifier Now
I bought the Vornado humidifier last week and after reading the review on Amazon was fearful that I had made a mistake. Much to my relief, I am quite pleased with the Vornado equipment. Although I am noise sensitive I do not find it noisy, indeed, it is less noisy than any humidifier I have had in the past. It uses about two gallons of water a day and has made a marked improvement in the quality of the air in my apt. Having woken up looking like the old woman in the shoe, I know just am old but have lost the withered effect of dry air. Since I havent cleaned it yet I cannot comment on its maintenance, but it is easy to show, not unattractive, and does not leave a puddle of water or other deposits of water anywhere (as did my other humidifiers). I would recommend it.Read Best Reviews of Vornado Ultrasonic Whole Room Humidifier Here
We've had this unit for just over a year now and it stays in constant use all winter. Overall we are happy with it but we'll probably look for different model when this one needs replacing. I have sinus problems and it really helps to have the ability to set the percentage of humidity and the unit just maintains that level automatically. Some might consider the number of options and buttons to be a bit excessive but you get used to it after a while, maybe its better suited for slightly nerdy types like me. I've had a cheap ultrasonic before that just didn't have the capacity I needed, this one has a larger tank and a small footprint which I like as our living room is small. I don't clean it as often as they suggest and it is a pain to clean for certain. You have to buy mineral cartriges for it which aren't cheap, I don't replace them as often as they suggest, only when I start to notice white powder building up on the mist nozzle or around the ultrasonic diaphram. You need to have a vacuum with a brush attachment for the hose to clean the various air channels as well, not a great design for maintenance purposes. I've never experienced any leaking on the floor as others have noted. For the money it's an acceptable product but I can't give it a ringing endorsement. We have a Vornado fan which is a fantastic product, this one leaves room for improvement.Want Vornado Ultrasonic Whole Room Humidifier Discount?
We've tried a few different humidifiers and found that most of them break quickly, are loud, or have some other problem. This Vornado unit at first seemed perfect. It was quiet, did a good job of humidifying a large area and had a good filter that prevented mineral dust from building up in the room. However, after about a month it would randomly start leaking all of its water out. Vornado replaced that unit under warranty with a new unit and the same thing started happening after a month or two.Save 14% Off
