WHEN it works it is OK. It has all of the defects described by the other reviewers. But they make up for the defects with rotten customer service. I bought this unit on January 31 07. Used it until the end of March, at which time I cleaned it and replaced all of the consumables per the instructions. I put it back in service two weeks ago. Six days ago it stopped working. I called their customer service. They use an out-sourced customer service group that will NOT talk to you, but rather, insists on taking your number and calling you back in the evening. Of course, they called back when I was out and left a message that they would call the following evening. They did not. I called back the next day and went through the same thing. That evening, since thay had not called by 8:30, I called them. This time, they insisted that I go through some trouble-shooting (all of which I had done previously). They then told me to leave it unplugged for a 1/2 hour (by which time they would be gone) and then "reset" the unit by pressing a button combination. I did this. The next day I called them again and got the same "wait until tonight" pitch. I insisted on an RMA number, which I received. HOWEVER, before they will tell you where to ship the unit, you need to FAX them a proof-of-purchase (their email address bounces back). The you have to wait for them to call. It is now 6:30PM on a Friday night and no call. So I called them and got their voice mail, where I was instructed to leave a message. So It will not get shipped to them this week. Next week I am traveling, so it won't get shipped until the following week, which means that they will not get it until after Christmas, which means it will be mid-January before I get a repaired unit. These people are total idiots. For a $200 humidifier, I would expect some sort of real customer assistance. Be warned before you buy.
UPDATE: Well, a month after I sent the defective unit in, I received a TOTALLY DIFFERENT AND MUCH CHEAPER UNIT in return. I am now on my THIRD phone call with these idiots and have yet to talk to someone who can resolve this problem. The right person is "not in the office" and will "call me back." HAH!! They NEVER call back. I wish I had never heard of these people.
I've owned this humidifier for a couple of months now. The features that I like best about it are: it regulates the ambient humidity (i.e. the unit has a humidity sensor for the room) when it reaches the desired level it automatically stops the mist; also it gives you an indication when the unit needs to be cleaned (pretty simple process); and most important the unit stops when there's not enough water (again a little indicator flashes for your attention) furthermore, the unit is very well designed and has a very contemporary look highly recommended!
Buy Air-O-Swiss 32838 Ultrasonic Humidifier Now
I have been using wick-based humidifiers for the past few years in the bedroom. Last year I noticed every morning when I woke and I used the humidifier, I was constantly congested. I stopped using it and looked for another type, leery of vaporizer types because of past experience with white dust.
I found this AOS 7142....pricey, and I was worried about white dust...but I liked the concept of the silver bar to inhibit bacteria growth and the demineralization cartridge to minimize dust.
I have been very impressed so far. No lung congestion. No white dust....I live in the Dallas area.
Pros: effective, silent, maintained 600 ft bedroom at 50%; choice of warm mist (I think this setting works better, but more $$ to operate) or cold mist, styling, controls, full tank at full blast lasted about 14 hours.
Cons: filling water tank; it has a handle to carry water container back to unit, but none on the other side to hold the container when filling it....and it gets heavy. Plus the container cannot stand by itself upside down and tips over.
If it wasn't for this latter design flaw, I would give it 5 stars, but good enough to make me buy another one for my home office.
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A very good humidifier, but with a couple of flaws. Very quiet, pumps out lots of warm mist at close to the 3.5 gal/day quoted rate. As such, the tank needs to be filled 2x daily if used full bore in a larger room. As with any ultrasonic humidifier that I've used, filling the tank can be cumbersome and, as some have pointed out, this tank has no flat surface to rest it on, making it unstable. But ignore comments about leaking, placement, etc. because they have NOTHING to do with the model, but more the style of humidifier (ultrasonic). Flaws: more white dust than usual with hard water because the filter has a design flaw. The washer seal on the tank plunger is supposed to double as a filter "anti-bypass" seal, but allows water to bypass the filter (it's undersized). Also, the humidity controller "hunts" on and off when the setpoint is reached, rapidly turning the mist on and off very annoying in the middle of the night. (For you engineers, there is no "hysteresis" in the control loop.) To avoid this, you need to raise the humidity setpoint higher than desired and lower the fan speed to keep the room level fairly constant, essentially turning the humidifier into a manual control model. (So why spend $200 for the fancy controls?) All in all, it pumps out humidity, it's easy to clean, it's very quiet, it's relatively easy to fill, the humidity is nice and warm (and doesn't freeze out the room), my throat no longer croaks in the morning, and my eyes aren't fused shut. BTW, we live in bone dry Colorado with forced hot air, and the unit is in a ~600 sq. ft BR with a 15' ceiling and adjoining master bath. It does the job nicely if run constantly. I would imagine that the reports about hard water being a big problem are right on. Still, for us: 4 stars.
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This humidifier is great for programing humidity, fan speed, sleep mode, etc.
BUT IF YOU HAVE HARD WATER DO NOT BUY IT. It puts out white dust that will go all over your house. I have three Sharper Image Ionic breezes, on two floors of my house. I had to clean them every day and they were covered with white dust. Besides that; my furnature , TV screen, etc.were covered with white dust within two days. I buought a Honeywell with a exchangable filter that uses vapor rather than mist to humidify the air. This works great. Very little white dust. Half the cost.
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GREAT: Germ-free! Great humidity level! Helps sinuses!
