Air-O-Swiss AIR-O-SWISS 7145 Ultrasonic Humidifier
|
Our Price: $138.59 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Kitchen See more product details |
|---|
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Air-O-Swiss AIR-O-SWISS 7145 Ultrasonic Humidifier
Customer Review: Absolutely THE Best!
Summary: 5 Stars
As a professional singer, I've been using humidifiers for the past 10 yrs and it has been my mission and challenge to find out what the best humidifier would be. I've usually gone with lower priced models, anywhere from the standard Vick's that you can find at any pharmacy to a Sears model, to many others that I have gone through. All have been problematic in their own ways (expensive to replace filters all the time, time consuming to clean, parts are cheap and don't last, filterless models get moldy...). Even my vocal coach could not recommend any that he knew of that were any better than the rest. After going through 2 more Vick's humidifiers in the last 6 months (the cheaper one being the one that lasted - the supposed 'filterless' $65 one was complete, moldy garbage) in desperation I started doing more and more research and happened upon Air-O-Swiss. Hesistant to take the plunge after all of the years of disappointment & little to no guidance, I decided to do it after noting the terrific warranty this unit carries. I bought the full package complete w/cleaning supplies, replacement filters, extra silver ion stick, etc. (note that the warranty is void if you use anything other than the cleaning solution Air-O-Swiss sells exclusively). I've used it for about 2 months now and can honestly say that it is THE best I have ever seen or experienced, even in a professional vocal studio. It makes absolutely no noise at all, and the mist is fine, cool and full of moisture - and you SEE it, which is also a plus above the other humidifiers that claim 'invisible mist' - right, because they hardly produce any! The unit will shut itself off when the room is at full humidity, then turn back on again when needed. I've noticed none of the white powder 'dust' that some complain about (I fill it with regular Los Angeles tap water), and I have it sitting on a black velvet cloth. It is extremely easy to clean, and I usually do it once every 2 weeks instead of once a week like the other brands - even then, the unit does not look 'scaly' or moldy or have any kind of smell at all (thanks to the ion stick). I've never had my room nor my vocal cords be this hydrated, this quickly - even my skin feels and looks fantastic. The unit looks beautiful and subtle in any room with its black/grey design. Just be sure to have it elevated to at least chest-height so that the mist will disperse properly. Highly recommended!Customer Review: Ok but...
Summary: 3 Stars
It works well but...
1) The hydrometer doesn't work or is so inaccurate as to be useless... It just won't turn itself off. Ye be warned.
2) It MUST be placed 3' off the ground. If you don't do this the floor will get wet. RTFM
3) It should be placed about 8' off the ground. If you only have it 3' up you need to turn the moisture output down (about half way), which reduces the overall water output, or hope that the ambient temperature is very high (to increase the airs ability to accept the moisture).
4) It will cool the room. There is no free lunch here. So if you live in Michigan, like I do, you probably want a temperature neutral device. If you lived in Arizona in the summer you might want this device. Lets look at the math:
My room is about 18.3C at night. The latent heat of water is about 2457.7 kJ/kg. If I evaporate 1 gallon of water over night (3.79 kg) the air will loose 9315 kJ. If we convert this to power per unit time (kW per 12 hours) we get 9315 kJ / (3600 kJ/kW/h ) = 2.59 kW*h. Which means to be temperature neutral we need about 215W. But the device only draws 40, so even the model with "heating" should result in a net temperature loss. -- Someone in physics please check my latent heat of vaporization calculation
Customer Review: Total Lemon!-- See other 1 star reviews
Summary: 1 Stars
I had the exact same experience as the other reviewers whose humidifier stopped working after 4 months-- except this happened to me THREE TIMES.
1. the first time i bought it, everything seemed fine. i took care of it properly and when it was time, i used the ez-cal to clean it. the gold membrane flaked off almost completely and the next time i filled it, no vapor came out. it was completely broken (after only 3 months). I tried to get it fixed under the warranty, but they said i needed my receipt(!) which I had thrown away.
2. assuming the breakdown might have been my fault, and generally liking the humidifier until it stopped working, i bought another (yes, fool me twice...) SAME STORY. This time I was prepared with the receipt. I shipped it for service (costing 16 bucks) and got it back several months later....
3. And...SAME STORY. This time, I didn't even clean it before the gold flaked off. < 2months
I think I have enough data points to safely say: this humidifier stinks. 250 some dollars later, i will NEVER buy from these guys again. I can't believe they are even still selling this humidifier!!! It's clearly defective.
Just bought the Crane drop shaped humidifier, and so far, very happy. just as quiet and effective, at 1/3 the cost!
Customer Review: Not at all worth the money.
Summary: 1 Stars
I should have realized something was rotten by the giant monument of Air-O-Swiss boxes lined up against the wall at the store. I got tired of cheap, crappy humidifiers that required weekly scrub downs, so this seemed like the perfect alternative. At first everything was great. I used the EZ-cal cleaner once a week, and the humidifier kept my room very nice and humid. I kept up my end of the bargain, shelling out $8 for 3 packs of cleaning powder every 3 weeks, but the humidifier gradually became less and less reliable. At this point it puts out a sputter of humidity, and some nights it doesn't put out any. When I wake up the water level is exactly where it was the night before. I have to play with the dials like I'm picking a lock to get humidity, and even then it comes out in irregular bursts (set at maximum level). I have treated this humidifier like the expensive object it is, no drops of bumps, and it's almost useless. I'm going to see if I can return it through the warranty, but I highly suspect I'll be doing this same dance with a new unit (and to the tune of $8 every 3 weeks).Customer Review: Good, but not worth the $100
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased this product because i thought that it would be soooo much better than the $39 humidifier that had previously purchased. Note, that there was nothing wrong with the old one. I simply lost track of it one summer. When I went looking for a new one, i was a little concerned about bacteria accumulating, and that is what drew me to this one. I also liked the color. I figured that it would blend in better in the room. Honestly, it is just very similar to the one that i purchased the last time from a drug store for $39. The main difference is that it is black, it has the filters and it makes a humming noise even when it is turned off. It produces the same amount of mist, it is roughly the same size container of water. I assume that the noise is relative to the electricity activating the antibacterial. And, since it goes through all the water in a single night, bacteria is really not an issue. I like this product ok, but had I to do it again, i would have saved the $70 and gone with a the drug store white one.