Do you have any idea how difficult it is to purchase a humidifier? Well, it’s not hard to purchase one, the difficulty lies in going over all the different selections online. Oh, and the reviews…THE REVIEWS. If there were no online reviews, things would be a heck of a lot easier. Trying to decifer between the real ones, the fake ones, the ones placed by the company itself and the ones placed by its competitors…it’s simply exhausting.
Okay, here is what has been happening: Lately, I have been finding it more challenging to feel the heat the pellet stove has been producing. It’s like I have to keep cranking it up more and more, just to get what we used to get out of it. The unit is running fine and is blowing out hot air, but I am finding myself getting cold easier and faster.
I know it’s colder outside than it has been, but that isn’t causing my little, “can’t get warm inside” dilemma. The temperature indoors has been remaining virtually the same as it has been over the past few weeks. I had a feeling I knew what the problem was, so I acted.
I did a little reading online and found that dryer air is more difficult to heat (or to feel the heat in). If moisture is added, the air feels warmer. If you know anything about this and I am sound strange, please correct me. I am merely a novice consumer and am always looking for more information on this type of stuff.
As a matter of fact, dry winter air does more than make you feel cold, it causes chapped lips, itchy skin and frequent nose bleeds. I also read somewhere that it dries out the wood in your house. That’s good enough reason for me to get going with the moisture. Oh yeah, one more thing…that good ol’ static. Can’t forget about that.
After getting all sorts of discouraged from looking at humidifiers online, I decided to go to Home Depot, close my eyes and grab one off the shelf. Good thing I grabbed the best one there.
For the uninitiated, there are all sorts of humidifiers; warm mist, cool mist and everything in between. Some cool mist humidifiers have spinners on the inside and shoot water in the air, otherwise known as vaporizing the water (vaporizers). Other cool mist humidifiers use “wicks” or filters to absorb the water in the holding tank. The fan in the unit basically evaporates the water from the wick. I really don’t like either of these types of humidifiers because I have had them both. The vaporizers leave “white dust” from the minerals in the water all over the place and the wick humidifiers have to have their filters changed relatively frequently. They get cruddy quite fast. The last type of cool mist humidifier I know of is the ionic mist humidifier. I have no idea how these work, but I do know many people are happy with this type and they cost more. That’s about it.
I favor the warm mist humidifiers. Simply put, these humidifiers boil the water and steam it out of the top of the unit. Some people don’t like these types of units because they cost more to run by using more electricity and leave the mineral trace in the unit, which requires cleaning every so often. Personally, I think that these types of humidifiers are the less of four evils, so I got one. If someone has other suggestions for me, I welcome them, because we will most likely need another unit.
I picked up the Honeywell HWM-450 4 Gallon Humidifier. The box says it can put four gallons of moisture in the air per day, which I found satisfactory. I was tempted to get the 14 gallon per day humidifier, but then again, my bubble was burst by looking at the $20 box of filters (or wicks) I would have to buy every few weeks. Here are some photos and a video of the unit I purchased today:
After I brought this unit back to the house and ran it for a while, I decided to search for what people were saying about it online. I found one website where they had five reviews. Some people loved it, some people hated it. So far, I really like it, but then I have only had it for about three hours.
It does push a lot of moisture out into the air. The only way I figured I could show you, is to take a video of it in action. I know that I would have watched this video before I made the purchase, so maybe there are a few folks out there who would appreciate this like I would have.
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Nice humidifier. We had the type where you have to change the wick every so often, and God help you if you don’t change the wick, because well it’ll be stale. Nothing says “welcome to our home” like stale moist air. I have the same problem you have (or had) with the dry air in the house. Having a pellet stove is awesome but the nose bleeds I can do without. I try putting something on the stove with water in it to help. Thanks for this post now I know which one to buy.
Recently bought a 2-unit Honeywell Air Purifier at Sam’s Club. I age 80 and wife age 78 both suffered respiratory problems and dust deposited all over our den required daily major cleaning. Units were from Kaz, a Honeywell affiliate. Sent an e-mail with model numbers for refund procedure to Kaz, as booklet said do not return to store where bought. Reply to me addressed “Dear Linda” said they needed model numbers. I replied that I am Tom, not Linda, and I did give them the model numbers. With no reply soon, I returned the unit to Sam’s, with copies of useless correspondence, which I did not need. I simply told Sam’s what was wrong with the product and within five minutes had a credit back to my credit card! Hurray for Sam’s, boo for Honeywell Kaz!
nice humidifier! Its a good thing that you share your experiences here in buying your humidifier. I guess i should buy that one too because of the same reasons that you just have said. Regarding this blog i have known the different kinds/types of humidifier.
I purchased this as well – works well but the tank is made of a plastic that shatters easily. Be very careful this does not slip from your hands when you’re refilling. Unit cost $65 and the replacement tank is $40+shipping. Seriously, what kind of an idiot designs this way?
Enjoy, but as I said, word of warning.
I agree. the handle let go from the tank. when it did the tank hit the floor and shattered everywhere. not only did we have to clean up water that was seaping into our hardwood but it put a nice sized dent in the floor. not cool at all.
then to find out a new tank cost almost as much as a new unit. just stupid. i guess that’s the way they get our money. i do think we might try a different kind next time. hopefully it will have a stronger tank or at least one the the handle wont fall off.
Wow. The pictures are awesome as well as the video! I got a Danby dehumidifier and I can say that it is really one of the best in the market! Well I think it really depends on what we think works best for each of us. Glad your dehumidifier works better on you. Hope to try it out too..