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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Surround Air SonicAire Humidifier Ionizer CLA4

I've been using my new humidifier for about a week now and might send it back. I bought it for a number of reasonsit's supposed to clean the air, it never needs filters (a huge plus and money saver), it's very quiet, and it's supposed to humidify 1000 ft. From the short time I've had it, I can say that it is the perfect one or two room humidifier. I love it, except that I have had it running on high 24 hours a day in my upstairs (that's less than 1000 ft) and it can't reach the comfort zone on my separate humidity meter and I can feel it with a constant dry throat. Another down side might be that since it doesn't have a fan (that's why it's quiet by the way), the water vapor stays pretty close to the area where the humidifier sits and tends to fall around it getting the carpet and furniture wetwhich could eventually ruin it. It needs to be off the floor, but don't put it on good furniture. I have noticed that I have stopped sneezing so much since I removed the old humidifier. So, I guess one option would be to buy another one for the same area and reap the benefits of having two.

We have this purifier and I can say It's very quiet and effective in humidifying the room plus it has also negative ions which clean and make the air smell fresh.They said that negative ions also help in depression or SAD during winter times..Before bedtime I turn this on and run it in low as per instruction said when you are about to sleep...Our sleep seems better and we feel good the moment we wake up in the morning...No more runny nose and sneezing...It helps a lot specially during winter months and if you have a toddler or infant...This is a very wise investment...I highly recommend this one....

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The humidifier seems to be good enough. my son keeps it by his bedside, but broke the plastic 2 gal. tank. can't find one because it seems the manufacturer is China.

Going to replace with German-made, 10 year warranted Venta. Bed Bath & Beyond carry them & you can use a coupon. a little pricey, but easier to use, quiet, no white powder, and no filters. based on the old water cooler principle. search on Venta-Sonic.

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I like the nice cool ionized mist it produces, but there is a faulty float-based shutoff switch which is supposed to shut it off when the water level drops below the critical level. The problem is that it shuts it off long before the water level even approaches the critical level. I can get it going again by taking it apart and moving the float up and down until it starts again. But that's obviously inconvenient. I'm sure they would replace it if I were to send it back, but that's also a nuisance. I like things to work right out of the box.

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Do not buy this humidifier. Water tank cap leaks. Poor design. Looks like company sent me a used product. Tank was discolored.

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Hunter Humidifier Wick Filter

I don't have anything negative to say about this product. Works great/as advertised no issues form me. Will buy again!

We can never find these in the store, this was exactly what we needed. Works well and lasts for several months.

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MushPonic Kit - Plug n Play Hydroponic Mushroom Grow Kit

We received this product and it had no instructions with it we called the company they said they would send by email. It was a cartoon character with no pertinent information to our kit. We called the company received another email with different directions and Guess what, still not for our kit. Different parts and extra parts in box .Called the company again and they said the redesigned the box that's why all the parts weren't the same go ahead and assemble it and use it. I told them I did not believe it was a submersible pump they assured me it was.

You can't check it if it's under water with the pebbles over it ,you can't turn the knob either. It never got up to temperature and smelled up our back room with smoke.

This company is not helpful and obviously do not know there product very well. Total waste of money!

LED had a poor soldering job, I spent way too much time taking it apart and manipulating the wires getting it to light... for a while, finally the soldering broke altogether. Instructions show that the tank contains a hole to insert the heating element although my tanks contains no such hole. So far 1/3 growth, one molded jar and 2 without growth, although that might be the spore supplier. I've done this before just buying jars from another supplier and keeping in a dark closet and have had less hassle. I'm sure that if everything worked correctly I'd have a better yield but I bought from you to make life easier and you had the opposite affect, very disappointed :(.

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Thought it was bigger, but its ok little much for the price though.. Used the components and got bigger tub.

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I bought this kit with some spores from bestspores.com. Grew 2 grows with the same kit and had great results. Wish I could share with you some of my crazy experiences first time with mushies ;)

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Had some problems with jars earlier, but they compensated for the inconvenience. I'm buying more edible mushroom kits soon too. They have good jars.

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Swizz Style EMS-164 "Aquila" Ultrasonic Humidifier

The humidifier works really well and produces great vapor with a good quality mineral filter and ionic silver to inhibit bacterial growth. For function alone, I would give this 5 starts. But I gave it two stars because of the obnoxious, ultra-bright internal LED lights that cannot be turned off. The lights are so bright that it lights up the entire room at night. It's not an ambient glow, it's BRIGHT. I received this as a gift for my son's nursery, and the only way I can use it is to rig pen caps as "covers" for the LED lights (I can't use tape because they're located IN the water reservoir) and then wrap the tank in black fabric. Even then, it still puts off a glow that's about equivalent to a bright night light. It's such a pain in the neck to get this thing set up with the pen caps and the fabric that I avoid using it. This would be a great product if not for the internal lights. What a horrible design flaw.

I knew from other reviews that this humidifier had lights that you cannot turn off when it is functioning. This is 100 percent true. The blue LEDs are beneath the tank and while you can dim them, you cannot turn the lights off while the unit is functioning. This is a drawback, but shouldn't completely discourage you. The light is not that bright when dimmed and I agree with another reviewer that it is no more disruptive than a fishtank light.

There are TWO really AWESOME things about this humidifier that are unique and great. I own two other brands, so I know what I'm talking about.

1. The humidity comes out like a 'smoke' and not wet. Everyone who has seen this operate has commented on how they want one like this with the super fine 'smoke' and not just misting wet air and ruining everything within a few feet. This really does look like it's smoking rather than misting and surfaces within its proximity do not get wet. It doesn't have a fan to push the humidity in a certain direction, but it does have the ability to aim the nozzle on the top to different directions. The humidity 'smoke' will be going straight up though and you will see it sink and roll across the surface, just like smoke. It's actually rather cool to watch.

2. The footprint of this is so small. I am renting an apt while my home is being renovated and my apt is really small. It's so great that this takes up no more space on the counter than a ballet slipper. My other humidifiers take a lot of counter space, so this being so small is a big plus. The downside is that you will have to refill the tank if you intend to run it all day. It doesn't hold as much water as my other units.

One concern I have is with the calcium/anti-bac filter in the middle of the tank. We had a few warm days, so I emptied everything to let it dry out and the calc/anti-bac filter never did dry out and when you'd shake it, it clearly still had water in it. It has some sort of microbeads in it and is impossible to dry out. I just put it all back together and refilled the tank because it turned cold again. I question where you can buy a replacement for this filter, since it is obviously meant to be thrown away after a couple months use and there's no way to dry it out. Doesn't look like Amazon carries the filters yet. If someone knows how I can obtain more filters, please let me know.

All-in all, this is a cool little unit and raised the humidity in my 600sq ft apt without problems. Just don't expect much if you are using this in a large house. You'll need to close it off in a room for the best effectiveness.

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We typically use humidifiers for our two daughters this time of year, and this "Aquila" Ultrasonic Humidifier arrived just a day or two after three out of four members of the family were diagnosed with sinus infections. This was perfectly easy to set up right out of the box. Literally taking it from my porch to pressing the on button took, at most, seven or eight minutes. This is a compact, well-made unit that really packs a punch. It works better than the humidifier we had been using, despite only being half its size.

Alas, there is a drawback and it borders on being significant. As another reviewer pointed out, the blue glow produced by this tiny device can be quite powerful and distracting in a dark room. I read through the instructions carefully, and even though the booklet gave the impression that the LED light could be dimmed or turned off completely, I found only three settings total regular, dim light, and off. Indeed, there is no option to completely turn off the light and still use this unit. The "dim" setting is slightly less irritating but does not make a huge difference.

So, will I stop using it because of the light? No. No one had any real difficulty falling asleep. The light is comparable to a fish tank or small reading lamp. Just be aware before you make your purchase that this unit will light up and stay lit as long as the humidifier is working.

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This little humidifier accomplishes a lot in a little footprint. It won't humidify a huge room, but it's perfect for on a bedside stand, on a chairside stand in a living room or family room, or on a desk in a larger office, to keep those in the immediate vicinity comfortable. It's easy to fill and keep clean, and runs quietly. It's the ticket for dry winter months inside, and it's just stylish enough, without calling attention to itself.

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The Swizz Style humidifier looks great and has many good design points. It's thin enough to stand on my windowsill. I think $80 is far too much to pay for a humidifier; even one with features as this one.

It consumes about 1 gallon (1 tankful) per day. There is no option to adjust the (light) rate of mist production --which is fine for me. The various blue LED lights (on the AC adapter, next to the on/off switch, and under the water tank) are too bright to sleep with, so I have covered them with black electrical tape.

Since the tank capacity is only one gallon, it doesn't get too heavy or unwieldy to bring from the faucet. Like other humidifiers where the mist stack goes through the water tank, there will be a few drops of condensation clinging to the stack that will fall out as you bring the tank to be filled; but it's not as bad as the Crane drop-shaped humidifiers that will essentially drip on the entire path.

I like the idea of the filter and the ionic silver; however, after two months of use, the reddish-brown algae or mildew that comes out of my faucets has taken up residence in this machine. (Better than the one month it took for the Crane.) This is easier to clean than the Crane drop-shaped humidifier: the vent at the top of the mist stack pops out, providing access to clean the inside surfaces.

I like that the LEDs turn red when the tank needs to be refilled. Simply refilling the tank won't resume mist production, though --you need to press the on/off button for the machine to reset.

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Holmes HM495-UC Ultrasonic Comfort Select Humidifier

I've owned this humidifier for over a year now and I am in the process of looking for it on sale to replace all my other ones in the home. It's filterless so I haven't had to worry about moldy smells or finding a filter in the middle of winter at ridiculous prices. Anywho, this one is in my kids' room and I keep it at a low setting and it gives off this soft hum that actually drowns out other home noises. I fill it up every third day and I haven't had problems with water spilling or any other malfunction (like I've read in other reviews). Once a month I clean the base with a clorox wipe and I'm set. I also add an anti microbial solution (from Kaz)every time I refill it and it helps keep it clean and odorless.

I bought this unit for use last winter. It performed well for the season, but the o-ring degraded over time. I also noticed the plastic near the spout was also beginning to break down and the two sections making up that area were starting to pull apart. I contacted Holmes to get a new o-ring. They told me 1) they were on backorder, 2) they had LOTS of orders for these, 3) I could not buy just the o-ring, would have to buy the "cap assembly" (mind you, the o-ring fits in to the tank, NOT the cap) and 4) they would put my name on a list to be notified when the parts were available. So, now winter is approaching and I call again and am informed that they are no longer making this o-ring (also, keep in mind this is a unique o-ring...nothing you could buy in catalogs or HI stores). I will not buy another Holmes product if I can help it. I am shocked to see they are still selling it despite not having parts for customers who will eventually need them.

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I already have a Vornado humidifier, but bought this one because I was tired of buying and storing replacement filters. This humidifier is extremely quiet. If you listen carefully, you may hear a slight trickle as the tank drains, but the blower is inaudible. The tank is very capacious. I run it on high all day and night and only refill it twice a day. I've been very happy. It only gets four stars, though, because it's a bit underpowered. The vaporizer is capable of producing a lot of steam, but the blower can't push it far enough into the air. If you run the unit on the highest setting, you must place it on a raised, waterproof platform so that the water doesn't settle to the ground. If Holmes had included a more powerful fan, it wouldn't be a problem. For now, I have a fan pointed at it to mix the steam with the air.

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I live in a very small town. We have one variety store from which to buy things like this, and the only humidifiers they carry are Holmes. Over the past couple of years, I've bought several of these--not because I have a lot of rooms to humidify but because their products are so disposable. Either the motors go out or the 0-rings break or they spring leaks in the base. When I have had occasion to contact customer support to try to obtain a new o-ring or lid, I've been told twice that this model has been discontinued (when in fact, year after year, this piece of junk continues to appear on shelves and websites).

No more Holmes products for me and I'd recommend that you steer clear as well. This is a lousy product from an apathetic company.

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I bought this humidifier because--

1. I wanted to spend less than $45;

2. I wanted a cool mist humidifier;

3. I wanted "no-filter" convenience; and

4. I wanted an ultrasonic humidifier.

I had never owned a humidifier previous to this one and so far (after one week plus), I am very happy with it. I run it at low to medium speed and it does a great job. I keep it on a plastic tray on the floor when it's running (the instructions say not to set it on wooden furniture, floors, etc., without protection)and I keep it 4 feet from the wall (also per instructions). It it almost quiet (but noisy enough to keep me awake if it's not in the hall just outside my bedroom. If you like "white noise," you'll be happy). It does not leak (at least not yet). It's a little bit of a pain to refill but that presents no major problem. I clean it whenever the water level gets low. Again, that's not a real problem. It runs for a long time (2-3 nights) without refilling if you don't run it on high speed. The mist is fine, not thick, and seems to spread out into the room(s) well. I did buy a hygrometer (a device that measures humidity, as, inconveniently, there is not one built into the humidifier). My dry eyes/mouth/nose problems are much improved. I'm hoping that this coming winter will therefore be one without sinus infections. For the money, I can't imagine that many other humidifiers could beat this one. They all seem to require a certain amount of maintenance.

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Hunter 31005 Ultrasonic Small Room Humidifier

This year, I got the Hunter 31004, the slightly earlier edition of the 31005. They look very similar and have a similar rating for use in a small room.

Pros:

1. The machine very effectively and quickly sends out a controllable jet of fine, cool mist. It can humidify a small room and make it much more comfortable without turning the space into a rain forest.

2. You can use tap water.

3. The humidifier is very quiet, with one exception, as noted in the 'cons' just below.

Cons:

The only noise it makes is related to the dripping of water from the tank to the humidifier, and the sound is EXACTLY like what you hear when your dog is attending to an itch in its privates! For dog lovers this may not be a problem, but it is a tad disquieting if you don't have a dog.

Overall, it seems a very nice solution to uncomfortably dry winter air.

We got this after checking consumer reports and seeing it ranked at number 1 in their ratings for small humidifiers. The unit worked really well for about a week. There is a red light which comes on when the water level is low. I thought it was an automatic shut off. It is not. If you leave it on, it will eventually use up all the remaining water in the unit. This caused what I'm guessing is a mineral build up on the working parts, slowing output to almost nil even on high once refilled. So, good unit-but dont let it run dry. Especially if you have hard water like we do. Post Script: I wrote this review yesterday. My wife has been using the unit despite its partial output. Today, she said it was leaking from the base, so I went and checked it out for her. There is a little center piece in the base which houses the mist head. This little unit is glued in from the underside. The glue failed and the mister is now sitting down inside the base. Its broken. We had this for a matter of weeks! Absolute junk! I am getting really sick of Consumer Reports saying that something is really great and then it just falls apart. That has happened to me too many times now. Anyway, I dont know if we just got a lemon or what, but I cant recommend this unit based on our experience.

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This unit was a lifesaver during my sinus infection. It has enough power to turn a small room into a jungle, by that I mean fill a smaller room with visibly noticeable mist! Pretty neat actually! My buddy showed his off and I ordered my own the next day. Good choice for those of you who share similarly dry winters and need that extra moisture in the house.

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The compact size fits nicely on a table and it puts out a strong stream of mist for hours. It's also easy to handle and clean.

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Great humifier and would buy a bigger Hunter unit if it were available with this type of humifiying system. If bigger unit is not available from Hunter, I'll add more room type units same as I purchased.

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