Several months ago my wife and I bought a humidifier for our daughter’s bedroom. This was at the suggestion of the pediatrician. After doing some research my wife sent me on a mission to find the Vicks’s Cool Mist Humidifier for $24 at our local drug store.
Why a cool mist Humidifier?
Well, according to our daughter’s doctor: A humidifier helps keep the air moist while she sleeps. This helps keep the nasal passages moist and prevents them form drying up. The moisture helps keep germs form taking up residence in her nose and keeps her healthy. In other words: The moisture will keep my little girl from getting sick.
The doctor did mention to avoid the Warm Mist Humidifiers because they really don’t help keeping the germs away. With that he didn’t need to say any more, we were off to get one (actually, my wife sent me for it).
What came in the Box?
Well, let’s see. There was the humidifier set itself, an instruction pamphlet, a Kaz (the makers of Vick’s products) Dynafilter, some Styrofoam, and an advertisement for Vick’s Thermometers that has $7.00 of discounts coupons. Besides that there was nothing else but air in the box.
The Humidifier itself.
The humidifier consists of two halves; the lower half known as the base, and the upper half that housed the motor. The base is simply where water is stored. There is a marking for maximum volume of water. I think that point is about a gallon. The instructions don’t mention the capacity of the base.
The top part has three parts that can be removed and put back on. The first is the filter. That should be changed every two months. Its job is to make sure clean air is getting into the unit. That gets placed in the back of the top housing. On the front of the top housing is an output grill. It simply a removable grill that the water vapors exits the unit through.
The last removable part is the Pickup tube. Besides that there are no more removable parts.
For the humidifier to work properly you must place the top part on the base. There is an opening in the base and a lip to allow the top to rest properly. Now, onto the next section of this review.
How this humidifier works
This humidifier is a basic style humidifier. There is nothing fancy about it, not even a power switch. Just plug it in to turn it on.
Once the two haves are placed together, it can be plugged in. Once plugged in the motor (inside the top housing) starts to spin. The spinning causes suction in the Pickup tube. The suction pulls the water through the tube and spits it out through four holes where the tube meets a disk. The disk is also spinning. The water quickly travels across the disk and meets finger like objects. There are many of these things hanging down from the top of the unit. The water hits them and then turns into mist. The mist is then sent out the output grill. The mist that comes out is a nice cool vapor. According to the box the unit should be able to pump out 22 hours worth vapor, provided the base is filled properly.
In a nutshell, that is how the humidifier works.
Cleaning the Unit
Cleaning the unit is not too hard. On a daily basis the base should be drained and you should dry everything you can possible dry on the unit.
Weekly, the unit should get a better cleaning. To do this, fill the base with one gallon of water and add a teaspoon of bleach. Place the pickup tube in the base and let sit for 20 minutes. Stir every few minutes to make sure all parts are covered. After 20 minutes, drain and rinse until the bleach smell is gone. After cleaning the unit is ready to use again.
DO NOT get the top portion of the unit wet. It can cause damage or electric shocks.
What I like about this unit.
The only thing I liked was the amount of vapor it put out. I found it to pump out a lot of vapor. When entering my daughter’s room, I was able to tell that the unit was doing a good job. The room defiantly felt like it was humidified.
What I didn’t like the simple thing
It would have been nice if this unit had a power switch. Plugging things in the wall, to turn them on, isn’t the best thing if you are trying to avoid and electric shock.
That’s totally disgusting. I didn't know this would turn out to be a science project What I really hated about this unit.
The one thing that I couldn’t stand is that I found mold growing inside the top of the motor housing. I was giving the unit a good cleaning and removed the filter. I was then able to see that mold had grown. The problem was that I was seeing the shadows of the mold through a light colored plastic part. This was bad. Where the mold was growing is a part where I couldn’t get to. I tried to take the top apart but due to the design there was no way of doing this without breaking the unit. I then figured it was best to no longer use the unit and to replace it.
I bought this to keep my daughter healthy. As long as mold grows in it then it is not beneficial. As I said, we got rid of it and got something else.
Final Thoughts
Humidifiers have many good benefits and are good to keep around and use. For one that will be used daily, I would stay clear of this unit. If you use it only once in a while, then this may be a good buy for you. It was a good unit but you must be careful when considering this one.
Thanks for reading
Brett :)
Other Humidifier Reviews:
Crane Frog EE-3191 1 Gallon Humidifier
