12 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
Smell that?!
Date of Review: Nov 13, 2007
The Bottom Line: Great small in-room system that gives the right amount of white noise, clean air and much needed humidity! Well worth the money.
It's fresh and clean air! I never realized just how yucky our air was in the house until we purchased this! We opted for this larger square footage one, despite the fact that we were putting it in a smaller room originally (my son's bedroom, since he was diagnosed with common airborne allergies and asthma at age 1). We seriously contemplated having a whole-house system installed at thousands of dollars before opting for this (not a good option since it only runs when the whole-house heating/air conditioning system is ON). The area that we have this set in is 500 sq feet when the door is closed, and just over 1700 sq feet in total when everything is open. We keep this baby running day in and out and can tell the difference when it's off.
We have had this for several months and love it to the bone. No filters to replace for this system (keeps the cost down when comparing to other pricey models WITH filters to change)! The only added cost is for the water treatments...which is minimal and certainly worth every penny. The water treatments keep the hard water from clogging the parts and helps separate out the particles in the air that have been filtered. OK, so I said filtered right after saying there are NO filters! Yep...that's right.
This system has a cylinder that rotates through the water in the base. When impurities are sucked into the system, they are "filtered out" through the water and present as sediments at the bottom of the base. The rest of the air gets mixed with the purified water and is returned into the room, fresh and clean! In our climate, the extra moisture really makes all the difference, too. The moisture is palpable, really! You can tell the difference in air quality from other rooms just after having the door closed for even a few minutes.
The parts are easy to take apart for cleaning, which we do more frequently than the recommended every 3 weeks or so. The cover lifts straight off, the rotating cylinder lifts straight up and the inside pieces open up and outward, exposing every little crevice for scrubbing. Because we clean it about every 10 days, the cleaning is easy. Most of the sediments pour out with the water at at the bottom, but water stains and "sludge" from the air need to be scrubbed some. The pieces snap back together effortlessly. No manual needed after the first look-over, even for my mechanically challenged husband! Filling it is just as easy as putting it under the tap and watching for the "fill line".
The operation of this system is equally easy. You place it in an area where it can get air flow (about 18" from a wall or piece of furniture). There are two buttons of the top of the base that are marked with + and -. Then there are the numbers 1, 2, 3. You select the speed of the fan and output of moisture based on that. We find that for sleeping comfort (and room temperature control) that we keep it on level 1. It gives just the right amount of white noise and moisture for the smaller space. We don't really know how much humidity we are adding precisely, but you can FEEL it in the air. Although I believe the system is designed to turn itself off if there is not sufficient water in the base, we have never had that occur. We fill it each night before bed and it generally runs through half of the water on level 1.
This has helped our son lessen his allergies and respiratory symptoms from asthma significantly. So much that we are able to discontinue the three medications we were giving several times per day. I honestly credit this one and only addition to his environment as the positive change with his health! As winter approaches, the added moisture keeps his airways moist...no bloody noses or dry, raspy throat in the morning. My husband and I are contemplating getting a smaller version for our room now!Oh, and it even eliminates most of the dirty diaper odor in the room...how's that for cleaning the impurities in the air?!
While this does not imply that it will cure anyone of ailments or get your home 100% particle free (none do), it is a relatively inexpensive and non-invasive way to do the job.
