AIRCARED-Series Small Home/Large Room Humidifier (1,200 sq ft, Black)

I bought this humidifier to improve the humidity in my new home. One of the things I like about it is that it has two separate water tanks, so I can replace one at a time.However, the only water level indicator is "F" on the digital display when both of the tanks are empty. There is no way to know the level in each tank (and no, they do not always empty equally.)This could have been accomplished by, for example, having a transparent slip of plastic and a colored float in each tank so you can see where the float is. This would allow the user to more proactively replace tanks and allow for more continuous operation.The humidifier arrived broken, but I am not deducting points for that because their customer service verified over the phone and shipped a new working one right away. So the customer service quality mostly negates the issue with the first humidifier.

I have had this unit about a week now a- it works just so so it and is very poorly designed. Customer service at Essick Air is excellent though. When it arrived I first had to fighure out how to remove the water tanks and the instructions don't really say anything. You can easily break the cheap plastic clips holding them on if you don't handle them carefully. By rights these should be part of the main unit but for some reason they mad them part of the tanks. After finally removing them, one of the tanks had its cap cross threaded. These are ultra cheap soft plastic caps that can easily be bunged up as they have to be screwed on very tightly to keep them from leaking. I called service and they sent me a new cap immediately. This one would fit as it was just a tat to small in diameter. As a check I tried to put the good cap from the working tank on but it wouldn't fit either. I have to surmise that there is something wrong with the thread of this tank and will have to call for a replacement. However, since this was bought from Amazon, they require that you send them your sales slip from Amazon first. Next, the tank valves are of poor design as they extend from the bottom of the tanks and are not protected in any way. As these tanks are so long, and as you are standing and bending over to install them, it is difficult to see or align the tank bottom with the main unit easily. Because of this it is extremely easy to hit the edge of the main unit with the valve before the tank is completely in place causing a good amount of water to squirt out on the floor. (That's probably why they tell you not to set the unit on a rug.) You see in the photo the bottom grill that appears to have some angular cutouts in it on the front. This (nicer) grill is actually on the back and the one on the front has vertical slits cut in it. No big deal, but why 2 different grills and why is the nicer one on the back. Although they look the same size, they are slightly different so you can swap them around? There are two very small exhaust openings on the very top and one very large one at the top on the rear of the unit - bad design. One, this is why the manual says it has to be at least 4" from a wall. Now having moist air constantly blowing one your wall is NOT good; Why doesn't it come out the front? The air filters, 1 front 1 rear, are at floor level sucking in all the dust. As there's no type of pre-air filter, your filters get dirty and clog up prematurely. Now the fan that draws the air in has 4 settings, 1-useless, 2-very slow but quiet; 3-fast and to noisy even if you're a room away and finally 4-jet blast that's so noisy you can only use it if you are out of the house shopping or something. Also, like the majority of other units, the air goes the wrong way. The fan draws all this nice moist air over itself. As a designer, and just having plain common sense, I know this leads to rapid corrosion of the metal parts and wiring. The controls though functional are lacking, and for a buck more in manufacturers costs, they could have been made easier and more useful by having separate up and down buttons and a real humidity readout. The one bright spot is that the filters that this unit use are real industry standards that are used in many other units and have been around 15 years or more so you should have no trouble finding replacements at a decent cost. *Update - have used this unit for over a year now and it's performed flawlessly, thus the higher star rating. I did add a simple air conditioner filter in front of each water wick which helped a lot to add to the filters' life.

This humidifier works great in my large master bedroom and sitting area. I set it to keep the humidity up around 40% (which is usually around 10% without it) and it does a great job. The tanks typically dry up within 2 days but that largely depends on external conditions (how humid it is outside and how cold). The unit does not put out any fine particulate particles as other types filterless humidifiers do, and does not produce a thick steam of water either.It is relatively quiet and, on the lowest fan setting, I don't notice it at all when sleeping (and I am a light sleeper). Occasionally the tanks gurgle as water is being released but overall it is very quiet. On the higher settings, it is noticeable. However, it keeps the 700 sq foot space adequately humidified on low so I don't see the need for a higher speed.The tanks are very easy to fill. The opening is on the back of the tanks at the bottom. It uses a cap about 1.5" wide. The tanks are slim enough that you can easily place the opening under most faucets. Putting the tanks into place can sometimes be a little bit of a challenge because of the way they hook in. Generally, placing them in the bottom and jockeying them around tends to set them, but this also results in water being flung out here and there. This is due to the plunger being at the bottom to release the water but the lip the tank sits on is relatively hard edged and sometimes doesn't allow the tank to seat properly even though the plunger is being pushed in. While I keep this humidifier on a carpeted floor, I use a ridged rubber floor mat under it because of this. This keeps the occasional spills and squirts off of the carpet but won't save the floor in an all out leak (not that I've had that occur).The filters are easy to get out (front and back) but you can't easily flip them over like some other styles to ensure they wear (crust up) more evenly. They wick just fine however. The unit will shut off when it thinks the unit has run for 720 hours to have the filters changed. I haven't run my unit for 30 days straight so it must think it runs more than 24 hours a day and shut off with a blinking 'CF' (change filter) on the display after about 3 weeks. Unplugging the unit will reset that message.Some things are not very clear, like holding down the FAN button to turn it off, but pulling the plug does the same thing. Considering it's just a humidifier, it's not that complicated but I did need to dig out the manual to figure out how to remove the filter the first time. Once I did, it was a 'duh' moment but does require removing the tanks first. Overall it is a fine humidifier, and is stylish enough it that it doesn't scream out, "I'm a humidifier!" The tank attachment and filters could be improved a little so the tanks slips in more easily with less spilling, and so the filters can be easily rotated. For that, I removed a star, but I still would recommend this to anyone looking to boost the humidity in a space of 500-900 square feet.

This is a nice-looking, easy to use unit. After a month of use it has performed excellently. Depending on the frequency of use, when the 2 evaporator pads need to be replaced, they can be costly to replace. They should not be re-used.

Purchased for the bedroom, and it is effective. I rather like the dual resevoir tanks and this is my favorite humidifer I've owned up to date. Am able to refill the tank laying it on it's side using the sink faucet unlike all other humidifers where I've been restricted on using the bathtub faucet. Do feel the unit is rather fragile as the plastic is pretty thin as well when reloading it if not careful enough sometimes get water splashing out. But if I needed a humidifer for a common room this would be my idea pick!

Pros: Looks good in the family room. Has a large water capacity so you aren't filling it up every day. Fan and a humidity settings.Cons: For some reason the fan blows out the back of the unit as opposed to the front. This prevents good air circulation. Also there is no way to tell how much water is left in the tanks or when they are empty.

Does a decent job in our 1,300 sq ft condo. Nice having variable fan speeds. A bit inconvenient having to carry the bottles to the sink to fill with water, as opposed to filling up the humidifier directly.

This is such a great design for a humidifier with the tower shape that takes up little space, the easy to fill water reservoirs, and the electronic controls. I wondered when I unpacked it why there was so much filament tape on the unit itself. Once I removed the tape, which left a gummy mess, I realized it had been holding the unit together. The latches holding the bottom grills in place were both broken on arrival and needed repaired. The whole unit is made out of cheap, brittle plastic and poorly molded and finished. The seam of one water tank was not sealed properly and I ended up with a gallon and half of water in my carpet even though I'd had the foresight to place the unit on a small tray. I managed to repair that as well and do have to say that the unit is functioning very well now. Both tanks leak out the bottom plunger mechanism unless carried upside down, making refilling a usually messy experience. One thing I am curious about is, with all the concern about mold, how is a person supposed to properly clean the interior of this humidifier? Since receiving mine, I see the price has increased by almost 20% Hopefully the quality has as well. I certainly don't understand all the positive review for this item, unless this is what we've come to expect in quality. I was really disappointed.