Air-O-Swiss AOS 7144 Ultrasonic Humidifier

My family and I moved from Southern California (where we slept with the windows open nearly year round for wonderful, well rested sleep) to Phoenix, Arizona (where the humidity hovers at most to 15% in my house according to my hygrometer.) After a month (and before we got the humidifier), my kids (3 and 1) were absolutely suffering. During the night, they were choking and hacking, wheezing and just plugged up. I was no different. Needless to say, our sleep was badly affected. I knew it was the air situation. After 3 nights of researching the different types of humidifiers, I finally settled on buying two Air O Swiss 7144 units (one for each kid's room). Although it was expensive, I buy things for the long haul and figured better to spend up front then have problems with cheaper models down the road. I have since turned it on absolutely every single night for them and the difference is short of miraculous. Here are some points:

1a full tank lasts two nights running at 8 hours a night with the windows closed and the door nearly shut (about an inch ajar at most)

2tank is not difficult to fill. I use one 3 gallon water bottle

(normally used for my drinking water dispense) to completely fill up both humidifier units

3to maximize space and thus get the most water into the humidifier, I removed the demineralization cartridge and use only reverse osmosis drinking water for my unit. I have had ZERO WHITE DUST. The R.O. water is purified enough that there are no remaining minerals to be churned out as white dust. This trick also saves me from having to replace the cartridge. (BTW, our tap water is VERY hard so I didn't want to use it even with the demineralization cartridge because why make the machine work harder than it has to?) R.O. water is perfect and again, NO WHITE DUST AT ALL!!!!

4It's so quiet, it's ridiculous. I LOVE that.

5The warm mist feature is perfect. It does not raise the temperature of the room so it's never like a sauna. The air leaving the machine even at warm mist feels somewhat cool (and the first night I kept checking in on the kids to make sure I wasn't freezing them) but the unit actually heats the water to 104 degrees which is just the right temp at maintaining room temp (no moist saunas!!) and/or preventing steam burn to your finger in case a curious little one chooses to wave his/her hand in the mist.

6I've religiously used the units each night for the last 3 months with absolutely no problem.

7The buttons don't light up or create distracting glows. Important for me because I wanted the kids' rooms to remain relatively dark as that's what they're used to.

8There is no leaking or condensation on the unit. The mist is so fine that it evaporates before it touches the little folding dinner tray table that I have each unit placed on. The carpet underneath doesn't feel soggy or anything. It truly produces an ultrafine mist that dissipates almost immediately.

9I can adjust the flow and humidity to my liking (to get 2 nights' worth of output from one tank, I set it on warm mist at the lowest air flow at 55% humidity)

10It automatically shuts off when it runs out of water. There is a blinking light that indicates that the machine is on "On" but there's no water. I usually press the off button the after the second night's use. If I forget to press off and fill the tank up on the third night, I noticed that since the machine is technically "on" (even though there's no sound or movement indicating that), as soon as I put the filled tank back on the unit, it immediately starts working on the settings I last set it on.

11I have yet to use the cool mist (since it's still winter) but I read that it actually helps to maintain (at the very least) or slightly lower the room temp which is convenient in summer months.

All in all, I love this machine. By the way, on a few occasions when my older child needed me to sleep next to him until he fell back asleep (usually a nightmare woke him up), I noticed within 10-15 minutes that my breathing was VERY different in his room where the unit had been running for several hours into the night. No clogged sinuses or difficult inhalation. Once he was appropriately tucked in and I would go back to my room, within 5-10 minutes, my breathing would get adversely affected. That's how dry the air is in our house. So, that's why after 3 months of enjoying how well it's worked in the kids' rooms, my husband and I are looking forward to our own good sleep after just purchasing our 3rd machine.

I searched long and hard to find a humidifier that would meet my needs. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one, so this is what I ended up with. Kind of harsh to start out with, I know, but I'm just being honest. I wanted a humidifer, first and foremost that was quiet, so I started looking at Ultrasonic Humidifiers. Ultrasonic humidifers are notorious for emitting a white dust as they work which is actually dissolved minerals in the water. I did not see this as an issue as I will be using RO (Reverse Osmosis) water to fill it. Next, a Humidistat. Suprisingly few humidifers actually come with humidistats, even among the higher priced units. A unit with a humidistat will control the the humidity level of a room by constantly measuring the humidity and turning the unit on or off based upon the preset user selectable setting, much like a thermostat does for heating and cooling. Many units simply have Low Medium and High settings, or some variation thereof which makes it difficlult to control the humidity level with any precision.

I chose the 7144 for a few reasons, the Primary of which were the features talked about above combined with the minimal footprint and elegant modern look. The unit is fairly quiet, although even when not working the fan runs. A fan is used to propel the mist into the room making for a more efficient introduction of moisture to the environment, however when the unit is at rest and not calling for humidity, I see no reason this fan needs to be running. This is both a waste issue as it is using energy and a noise issue as, although the unit is fairly quiet, the fan can still be heard when it is running.

The Water tank is undersized for the the unit. This humidifer is capable of outputting a generous amount of moisture, however if left to run at maximum output at constant interval the tank will need to be refilled about every 8 hours. The tank is also awkward to handle and difficult to refill. While the tank conforms nicely to the asthetics of the unit, once removed, it has an odd shape to it which makes it difficult to refill. One can't simply place it under the sink and leave it to fill, it requires some kind of shim, or assistance to keep it from tilting over, or even to keep the opening close enough to the edge of the sink in order to reach the faucet. I have overcome this issue by refilling it in the Kitchen sink and using a funnel to reach the faucet.

The last issue I have with the water tank is that it is a bit messy to remove. It is impossible to remove this tank without dripping water all over the floor. When installed in the unit, the base of the tank actually sits in a pool of water making it wet. Once removed, the wet tank drips everywhere unless it is wiped down immediatly, or some such.

I've given the unit 3 stars for its' elegant look, attractive fine mist, humidistat, and quiet operation, and dropped the 2 stars for its wasteful fan and numerous water tank issues.

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This is my 2nd purchase of this same unit...we needed another one for the living room. I have not had a single issue with either of them. One has been running for ~8 straight months with no need for cleaning (because there's nothing to clean off it). My newest one is only 2 weeks old. They both work flawlessly.

You need to realize that this humidifier is ultrasonic, which has many advantages over "swamp cooler" style humidifiers, but they have a few things to keep in mind. If you didn't know, an ultrasonic humidifier uses a piezoelectric transducer element that vibrates at ultrasonic speeds. This causes water molecules to break off from the rest of the pool and it becomes vapor. In doing so, it also rips the mineral deposits apart from the water. This is that "white dust" you hear about. It's bad. It will accumulate pretty much everywhere in, on, and around the humidifier...including the ultrasonic element. Minerals are abrasive...and they *could* essentially "sand" away the finish on the element over time. That's bad, but it's not the manufacturer's fault by any means...it's *your* fault for using hard water.

Now, with that elementary stuff out of the way, RO water good enough for daily use with the demineralization cartridge. The "white dust" may be non-existent to your eyes, but there are still trace minerals in RO water and the cartridge in the tank can't remove everything, so they'll build up over time. That's why you have to clean it every few months. I removed the cartridge and use a mix of distilled water (from the store) and free de-ionized water from my work. I get the best performance this way. If I ever get my reverse osmosis system fixed, I might us a mix of RO water and DI water to save some $$$.

So how about some features to consider:

1. Mist control There are 3 levels: "barely any", "a good amount", and "old faithful." I keep both units set at 50% humidity and on the highest vapor setting. This is able to keep my living room and master bedroom at an optimal humidity. The tank will last 1.5 to 2 days depending on usage and relative humidity.

2. Near silent When it's on, the little fan (that you don't have access to) is always on. It's only there to help the vapor get up and out of the unit. It's about the same volume as a single low-speed computer fan. You can only hear it if it's dead silent in the room. When the unit is producing vapor, you can hear the hum of the ultrasonic element doing its thing, and there's the occasional "blurp" sound of air bubbles in the tank. Total noise level is less than 25% of a typical house fan on the "low" setting. In fact, when my fan is on, you cannot hear the unit at all.

3. Pre-Heating It has a pre-heat function that *warms* the vapor. By the time the vapor leaves the unit, it's slightly above body temperature. It adds the same energy usage as a light bulb, so don't be scared off by it...it's by no means a steam humidifier. If you put your hand 3" away from the nozzle, the vapor will be cool already. Speaking of nozzles...

4. Dual adjustable output nozzles Great for putting the vapor where you want it. If you line up the thumb tabs, the nozzle comes out for cleaning...snazzy.

5. Buttons/Display The buttons have a nice feel to them, and the display is big and bright...it's slightly brighter than my alarm clock's display. If it's too bright for you, leave the protective film on the display and color it in with a sharpie marker. You'll still be able to see the display...just a little darker.

Now for the drawbacks...

1. No rubber feet. I like things to stay where I put them. Because it has plastic feet it will move if you bump it.

2. It does drip a bit when you remove the tank. Now understand me: this is impossible to avoid. Warm vapor + cool water tank = condensation in the vapor tube. Also, the bottom of the case comes in contact with the water that's about to be pre-heated/vaporized. Pick the tank up, let it drip for 2 seconds, tip it at a slight angle, let it drip for another 2 seconds...no spilled water. Or you can be quick and flip the tank upside down in one swift motion like I do. The tank itself does not leak.

3. The only way to fill it is to flip the tank over and unscrew the cap. I've thought about drilling/tapping a 1" hole in the top that's big enough for a funnel...but I've never got around to it. Having to flip the tank over to fill it isn't worth the effort/time.

So that's it. The 3 "cons" are so minor they don't even matter, but I thought I'd still bring them up.

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This unit is much better than the evaporative type. I owned an evaporator for 2 years but it had problems with mold in the wicks and filter. Air-O-Swiss uses ionization, not evaporization, to put mist in your air. Ionization is faster and more efficient. It doesn't require a fan to do it's work, as all evaporitive types do, so it is quiet. For compairison, see the Essick Air 336-500 3-Speed Tabletop Evaporative Humidifier, this is an evaporitive type that I owned before buying the Air-O-Swiss.

The Air-O-Swiss is easier to clean, more efficient and it looks pretty cool too! It seems that most air cleaner/humidifier makers don't care much about how the product looks in a room, but this one is sleek and subtle, blending well with my modern taste (I hate taupe/beige appliances, but that's me). Whatever it looks like, it needs to be effective, as this unit is. The higher price seems justified by the very useful controls (which are completely absent in cheaper models), the superior design and efficiency.

The unit has many settings and digital controls that allow timed use, heated or cool mist, and humidity control. It flashes a symbol to let me know when to fill more water. No need to keep logbooks about cleaning, a different flashing signal tells me whenever I need to do the simple descaling. It's easy to loose track of cleanings without this feature (who has time to keep notes on such a thing?).

All humidifiers need some cleaning and filter replacement. The Air-O-Swiss replacement filters (for cleaning the water, replace about 4 times a year), the silver stick (needs replacement rarely, maybe once a year or less) and descaling packets for cleaning the tank (cheap and must be used once every week or two). The costs for all of these are reasonable, perhaps somewhat lower that the costs of the extra things needed for other units I have owned/checked out.

Do not neglect the replacement/cleaning processes. This unit, or any other brand, will begin to fail quickly if you do not keep up the maintenance. This is true with any humidifier, but the Air-O-Swiss manages to make these steps easy and relatively hassle-free.

I would never go back to the evaporative type, the filters for them are much more expensive, they seem to mold no matter how carefully maintained (a big problem for sensitive people) and they use more electricity than the Air-O-Swiss. The Air-O-Swiss costs more to start, but consider having to buy the other, cheaper type, 2 years worth of replacement wicks, filters and descalers, then scrapping it all to buy this one anyway. This one is a pleasure to use and own. My advice is to consider my experience and buy the more expensive, but much better, Air-O-Swiss.

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I have been using this humidifier for about a month. I live in the mountains of Idaho and our only heat is from our woodstove. Burning wood dries the air out horribly. We have always had trouble with our sinus' in the winter because of the dry heat.

This humidifier brought our humidity level up from 34% to 50% in a little over two hours. Even though it is only meant to work in a single room we have noticed a higher humidity in our breakfast room (two rooms away) while this little machine is running.

We are looking forward to a much more comfortable winter this year.

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BestAir L115 Lasko Replacement Wick Filter

I love my humidifier and these filters last for quite a while and do the trick. They are hard to find in my area stores.

I run my humidifier for probably 8 months out of the year and have used these as replacement filters. Work well.

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I couldn't tell you if this product works well or not as the humidifier. We ordered to try and use with this one wasn't showing up so we canceled it. Because springs here so I just have a filter sitting in its box probably going off to goodwill

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These filters got an odor after a couple weeks. The OEM and OEM replacement filters from LASKO last longer and don't get an odor.

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SIMPLE AND EASY, STOPPED WORKING AFTER ONE MONTH. WAS NOT GOING TO WASTE ANYMORE MONEY SHIPPING IT BACK. THE ITEM SUCKS. AND IS NOW AT THE DUMP. DONT THINK ITS SELLERS FAULT ITS THE MAKER.

Kenmore Dehumidifier 35 Pint Energy Star

My girlfriend and I live in oregon. Its rainy from fall through spring. Humidity is constantly at 90+% even with average temperatures between 50 and 30 degrees F. Our windows and toilet tank sweat. Mold is a constant problem. Towels don't dry and life can be pretty miserable.

We decided to try out a dehumidifier and this one is performing great. I haven't had any of the problems that other reviewers have pointed out. No leaks, no overflow (despite relying on the auto shutoff on a daily basis), and no compressor failure.

The tank on this unit holds roughly 10 pints of water so if you don't use the gravity drain and it runs continuously you'll have to empty it at least 3 times a day. We tend to run it just during the day while we're at work. In that 8 hours it takes the humidity down to roughly 65%. At that level the windows and toilet don't sweat and the air tastes noticeably fresher when I come in from out side.

The main reason that we only run it while we're out is that it can be a little loud. We live in a small two bedroom apartment (roughly 700 square feet) and we have the dehumidifier in the main living area. The unit is essentially a mini-fridge compressor attached to a small fan, so when you put it on hardwood it can make a fair bit of noise. It's not so much that putting a door between you and it wouldn't hide it, but it's enough that having it 8 feet away while watching TV or enjoying dinner isn't a good option.

The digital controls on the unit are really nice. You can set a target humidity or set it to run continuously (or until the tank fills). I have humidity gauges for my reptiles and based on their readings I would say that the target humidity control does a decent job (+/5%). The fan speed can be set to low or high. At high speed I can see a noticeably faster rate of water collection (the tank tends to fill in 6-8 hours instead of 10-12), but the high speed is slightly louder than the low speed so we tend to set it to low if we use it while we're home.

All that said we've only had it about two months, but after reading many glowingly positive reviews of fridgidaire dehumidifiers from reviewers that have only owned their unit a few days I decided to throw my review in the ring. I'll certainly update this review should anything on the unit fail, but for now I cannot recommend it enough. The noise is no worse than most humidifiers, the unit easily handles the humidity in our apartment, and the price is nearly 30% less than many similar capacity humidifiers.

I bought a kenmore in june this year . It worked fine for 2 months then quit. I sent it to be repaired in Sept. but after a month, they said they could not find the part they needed anywhere. This tells me that could be because sears is not making this model anymore. Also now I am being call by a sears survey service asking how I rated the repair . I took their survey thinking that would be the end of it. It isn't . I have been called every day for a month to take the same survey. Sometimes multiple calls. I called the # back but didn't get a person of course, but was told to go to their website to stop the calls. Once there I had to type in my e-mail address. No way! If I did they would probably e-mail me 100's of times a day. Don't buy a sears product.

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We bought this model from a Sears' store last April. Initially, it worked and ran fine.. kept the basement cool and odor-free. A few months ago, however, it became so noisy we could hear it all over the house. In order to sleep, we had to shut it off (in the basement... we sleep on the first floor). This past week, husband went into the basement to leave for work and found water all over the place. The bucket itself was dry. When he went to move it outside, he heard water sloshing around inside the dehumidifier. When he got home that night, he found that the drainage hose was completely clogged. He unclogged it and it seems to be running, but it still extremely noisy to the point where we have to shut the basement door to watch TV in the family room. We're not optimistic that this is going to last. If we do need to buy another unit, it will NOT be Kenmore.

My suggestion is to read the reviews on Amazon and base your purchase on that. Even if you have to invest a little more money, it will be worth it. I've been shopping on Amazon since the first year they went online and normally base all our appliance purchases on customer reviews, but this was an impulse purchase that I did not research first. My mistake!

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Bought this for a single basement room. It ran well for about a year and a half. Then it the compressor died. The fan etc. would work but the compressor never turned on. Will not buy another one again.

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One on each level of my 3 story house. They work great. The only complaint I have at all is that the compartment that holds the water is kind of annoying to put back into the unit after you have emptied it. One of them I have had for two years, and the other two I just bought. Would definitely recommend.

Summer Infant SwaddleMe Microfleece

I never really write reviews on here but I had to review this product after reading some of the reviews.

First let me say that my daughter is 5 months old and WILL NOT sleep without being swaddled. We've tried...she is good for like 30 minutes and then she moves her arms and forgetaboutit. So, we used receiving blankets, graduated to the miracle blanket, to the aden and anais blankets, to the halo swaddle sack and now to these.

I loved the halo one because she could not kick out of it, but I am finding that it cannot get it tight enough around her after about a month or so of repeated use. My mom found these, and I was thrilled because it comes in a large size! At first I did not like it because I thought it wasnt not as "giving" as the halo ones but then I saw that the area where you can velcro is huge! I can wrap her SO tight in this thing, her arms did not get out for the first time in months! It was great!

One person mentioned the velcro was wearing off after 3 months of use. I mean, come on guysits like $10. Youve used it every day for 3 months and youre mad its wearing off? Its $10! Im sure we have all spent more than that on an outfit which I am SURE would wear out after wearing repeatidly for 3 months.

Someone also complained that its too hot. Um, its fleece. Have you worn a fleece before? They are warm. Purpose served. I will say that my little girl gets hot in the jersey one, let alone the fleece onebut its a blanket that they are all bundled in...it gets hot!

Overall I think its a great product for the price, i dread the day she cannot fit into them anymore. WHY are there not bigger ones out there?!?

I bought a blue fleece swaddle me early on in my pregnancy at a local big chain store.My daughter was then born 10 weeks premature.She was an angel in the NICU and I very rarely ever heard her cry.They kept he swaddled 90% of the time and she slept happily in her isolette and then bed.40 days in the hospital and she was finally released.This baby was not the baby I knew from the NICU once I got her home.Shed cry and cry.It increasingly got worse to where she would cry the moment you put her down.She has colic on top of this so sometimes holding her wouldnt even help.Swings,bouncers?Not a chance.I couldnt get things done.I was tired and cranky and not very patient at that point.Id literally have to leave her bawling in her basinet to take a breather.To eat.To pee.It broke my heart and I cried almost daily.

I tried to swaddle her from the beginning and very rarely did that help.Shes a strong 11 week old 8 pounder now and she can easily get out of any swaddleand Ive tried them all.I tried the expensive ones,the stretchy ones-every material,every size.Arms in,arms outshe is an escape artist.

I had to sleep with her cuddled next to me to get her to sleep for a couple of hours and I by no means advise sleeping with a baby like this.I didnt sleep well and even though I never forgot she was there,Id worry in my sleep that I would.She in turn wouldnt sleep any other way.Wouldnt settle down unless you held her.

Night before last during one of her fits,I was moments away from leaving her in her screaming basinet and going to sleep on the couch.I have to sleep to function and to deal with another day of crying.I couldnt do that,just let her cry alone.My mommy mind raced with thoughts of her crying until she couldnt breathe.So I returned and remembered the swaddleme.

I swaddled her in it,she struggled for a moment to get free but couldnt as before.She settled down and for the first time in weeks,slept soundly,alone in her basinet for 6 1/2 hours.Fluke? No way.I had to wake this kid to eat.She slept a god majority of yesterday and even slept well last night too.

I feel I can breathe again and she looks so peaceful once she settles down to sleep.You'd think by the way she struggles at first that she hates it,but once she realizes she snug and safe and confined she sleeps like an angel.

I just ordered another and am very happy with it.

Dont know how it will wash but it saved me for a day(and hopefully many more) and Ill buy a new one every day if I have to just to get some peace of mind.

VERY HAPPY with this product.

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The Summer Infant SwaddleMe Microfleece apparently runs small. I purchased it for a child within the stated weight range and it was too small for her. MORE frustrating was that when the company FrogsPond requested my feedback and I gave it, they then sent me 3 emails asking that I remove my feedback. This feedback was NOT negative toward the company, just a comment about the item they sold (which they do not make). I wrote an email to Amazon to see if this was normal practice for a company to request removal of "negative" feedback. Amazon assured me it was not and promised to investigate. AFTER I received the assurance from Amazon I received another request from FrogsPond to remove my feedback. I do not know whether this was actually investigated. I know that the return request supposedly processed through Amazon to the company was NOT completed.

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The size large fit great for a 15 pounder with room to grow. I really like it. Keeps him warm too.

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The regular cotton swaddleme's stretch out so much we felt like we had to wash them every day to keep baby from pulling a houdini. This one had just the right amount of give without being too stretchy. Unfortunately it was pretty warm, nothing that would make baby overheat but it is definitely a winter and early spring swaddle.

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Woodeze 5CN-HK-B 2 Quart Black Half Kettle - Brass Handle

We needed an item to humidify our very, very dry wood stove heated home. This seemed like the right tool for the job even though it was a bit pricey. It has been somewhat effective with respect to adding some moisture to the air. Well made, but would be more enthusiastic if hadn't cost quite so much.

Fits perfect on my Hearthstone Clydesdale insert. Blends in well also. My shelf dimension is five & a quarter inches & it fits perfectly, no overhang. A little expensive but Made in America providing jobs for Americans, I like that. The only thing that surprised me was that you're advised to not use the water for consumption, strictly for putting humidity in the air. Guess I'll have to stick with the microwave for my tea.

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Would totally recommend this to anyone who has a small stove. Works really good......Doesn't look like a half kettle when it's on the stove.

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The Woodeze 2 quart half kettle is perfect for fireplace inserts. It has a large water capacity and sits perfectly on my Quadrafire Insert.

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germguardian LW18 UV-C Light Wand

The first one we bought wasn't working correctly. We returned it and Amazon fed-exed another one. Thank you Amazon! Germ Guardian wasn't helpful at all. I called their help center to check if we were using it right and the return policy, and never got a call back, which was very odd. They don't have live people answering the phone, you just leave a message.

We got this for the mattress because we think there may be some mold in there. My boyfriend still has his cough, but that's probably because it's cold. So I can't say if it's effective or not.

If you are going to buy this, make sure you can buy it from a place that is very easy to exchange and return, seeing as our first one didn't work.

1. Feels cheaper than it looks. Don't let the shiny gray color in the picture fool you, it's plastic and not metal. I had bigger expectations because I already had the big brother to this wand, the beautiful stainless steel uv-c room sanitizer. If the wand was a nice white plastic, I would not care, but making it the gray color makes it look and feel like a cheap knock-off.

2. The wand can only be used 'face down'. I understand this is a safety feature, but I wish I had known about this before I bought it. I was going to wave the wand over part of a wall that I cleaned some mold off of, but positioning this wand so that the light faces anywhere but down turns the light off.

3. It's kind of big. It's such a lightweight unit, I dont' know why they didn't make the body tighter.

The wand has good points to it (check out the other reviews), but I personally was disappointed with what I paid for it. NOTE: Prices on these things have dropped a lot since I bought mine, and they seem to be getting more in line with what I think I should have paid for it.

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I am very impressed with the effectiveness of the Germ Guardian 18" wand. I didn't give it 5 stars because it is a little back breaking to use if you are sanitizing a low area.

When I took it to a hotel on vacation, I used it in the shower and could smell it killing the who knows what that was there. My pet toys, beds, personal hygiene items, computer, cell phones, remote controllers, cutting boards, countertops and many more surfaces are sanitized without the use of chemicals, YAH! I can now use pretty smelling surface cleaners and use the wand to get the down and dirty.

When I use the wand over areas that always harvest smells (basement drains) I can smell the burn of the elimination of germs.

I'm unsure what the other reviewers are so upset about, the wand does exactly what it was intended to do, kill germs. This technology is not new just not advertised as much as money making cleaning products. I have a personal unit that uses uv-c light to sanitize water had over 5 years.

The cord is convenient if using in the kitchen or bathroom, it's not very long so I do't use it much. Rechargeable batteries (4AA) get about 2 hours before needing to be changed. The battery cover was difficult to remove use a Metric 3.0. The cover that supports the uv light uses a different sized screwdriver. No accidental removal of the wrong cover.

The built-in safety feature turns the light off if you tilt the wand too much. Exposure to skin and eyes is a no-no.

Of course, I purchased mine from Costco.com so no worries about malfunctioning unit or return policy.

Now with the outbreak of Swiine Flu, I use it even more!

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I bought this for a single purpose, for which it exceeded my expectations.

I'm allergic to mold. In 2009 I moved into a new apartment and found I was allergic to the fridge/freezer. There was no visible mold but every time I opened the door I got a face full of allergens that left me feeling nauseous and made my eyes sting. I tried cleaning the whole thing with a bleach solution : no change. I tried running a small HEPA filter in the fridge : no effect. So what to do? Buy a new fridge/freezer, or give UVC a whirl?

The following is one of those "don't try this at home folks" things, but I'll tell you what I did. First I unplugged the fridge/freezer from the wall. Then I removed the cover plate at the back of the freezer to expose the cooling fins. Then I masked all visible wiring because I was afraid the UVC light might cause the insulation to go brittle and crack, which could be dangerous. Then I set up the germ guardian to shine on the cooling fins. I used the one hour timer, set it going, and left the room. After an hour I came back and moved the wand to shine on a different section of the cooling fins. I repeated this 5 times until I'd covered them all. By the time I'd finished the whole house smelled of refrigerator mold. I put it back together, plugged it in, opened all the windows and went to bed assuming I'd just wasted my money on the wand...

By next morning, the mold smell had dissipated from the house. I opened the freezer door, and ... no mold smell! None. Nada. I've used the HEPA filter I mentioned inside the fridge compartment ever since in an effort to prevent a regrowth, and here we are almost two years later and ... no mold.

Fantastic.

Since then I've used the germ guardian on clothes I've bought which have turned out to be moldy right from the store (again, not visible mold, but enough to set off my allergies). Washing has had no effect, but a few minutes under the germ guardian has transformed unwearable clothes into wearable clothes.

If it's so wonderful, why only 4 stars? Because the device has an annoying tilt switch which kills the light if you turn the germ guardian to shine upwards. This makes it virtually impossible to disinfect upwards, and, even more annoyingly, very difficult to disinfect horizontally too : the switch tends to trip even when the light is pointing sideways. I understand that this is a safety feature, but I also wish there was a way to disable it, because not everything can be placed below the wand.

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The holding time is really boring... I suggest a attachment of a 2 inch holder from the wand to the object, so we could just place it there 2 inches away without holding it!!

I can tell this lamp really works because you can smell a tiny bit of "burn" after you scan it on carpet, but it won't heat up anything so I dont think it'll actually set something on fire. It's really light weight so I didn't have a problem on scanning stuff with it on a extended period of time. You can always just leave it facing down and let it "burn the bacteria" and move it say once every 10 seconds, doesn't really have to hold on to it. And the auto shout off system is when u are really trying to make the UV light facing to u, It'll still work as long as u move less then 90 degree. So UV lighting the wall was no problem too (although it's impossible to do the ceiling...oh well)

4/5stars

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2-Pack: Boveda Humidifier 69%

I was referred to Boveda by a trusted cigar enthusiast who swore by them. I was excited to try them out in my three rack home humidor. After being patient for several days the humidity level dropped significantly, however on the positive has held steady, just not at the expected range based on the product specs. I enjoy the premise of the product however it just isnt for me and my cabinet. I may not purchase these again unless someone can prove me its a worthy year round investment.

Boveda is a very reliable source of keeping a perfect environment in your humidor . I have been using them for years. Just toss them in and let them do the work.

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I was a little disapointed with these when I got them. I thought they would finally cure my humidor of me having to baby sit it with distilled water and sponges. I got the 68% ones and pulled everything except them out. The humidor dropped to 64%. I finally did a little more reserach on them and it says with a wood humidor you can lose 1-4%, thus explaining the 64%.Next order will be the 75% and then see if they last 2 months as the mfg says.

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This item is convenient and simple to use. Just place in humidor and you are good for months. I have a travel bag that I use the other one in. Keeps cigars from drying out like it is intended to do.

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