Humidifiers Reviews

I have read reviews of the larger Venta models and decided to purchase one. However, this smaller model was sufficient for the room I placed it in.

Yes, the Venta products are a wee bit pricey. However, if it lasts only half of the 10-year warranty, it will be well worth the price. I have, in the past, purchase lesser-priced products of this type and they did not last.

I like the Venta LW14-- it does its job well, as both an air purifier and humidifier.

It is fairly quiet; the only annoyance is the slight sound of the plastic gear that moves the wheel around in the unit's water tank. (Hence, I gave the product only 4 stars, instead of 5). So, if you place it in a bedroom-- the noise might bother some people who are light sleepers.

The product does not have a water level indicator; therefore, you should periodically check the water level-- I check at least once each day.

I plan to purchase a second unit, to place in my study.

I bought this and brought it home, set it up and turned it on. I went downstairs and thought that someone was doing constriction outside. One of the fans continually droned and vibrated; causing so much noise I could not use it. I thought it was a fluke so I sent a message to Holmes which they did not respond to. I returned it and replaced it with another identical model. I set it up and turned it on and was satisfied. I went to bed only to wake up to it turning off and on and from high to low. I looked at the display and it was alternating from a humidity level of 40 all the way to 75, and all numbers between. Also it was randomly cycling between all levels of power. I turned the unit off and went back to bed. To my surprise it turned itself back on and again cycled through different power levels and modes. Stay away from this model and I am not impressed with the lack of customer service from Holmes.

The poorly balanced fan motors in this unit cause it to vibrate, shake and buzz to the point where it is useless at any speed above the lowest setting. Even then it causes a buzz that resonates through the floors and walls of the house. E-mails to the manufacturer have gone unanswered.

Other poor design features:
- the unit does not shut off when the tanks are empty so it continues to waste electricity until you notice that they are empty
- it becomes confused when on the automatic settings. If you set it at 40% humidity, for example, it will repeatedly turn on and off as it approaches that humidity level

It does work, however, in that it is effective at adding humidity to the air. On the low setting (again, due to the noise and vibration I can't use medium or high settings)I need to fill it daily which means it's pumping a decent amount of moisture into the air. There are many other brands that do it much better, though.

I use the unit on the first floor of my home. On the second floor I have an Emerson 13-gallon unit which is a far better design and does not have any of the aforementioned flaws.

Frankly I am suprised at all the negative reviews.
I am lucky I did not see them before I bought this unit.

I do find the unit fairly loud on high and medium power but no louder then I would have expected in comparing to other humidifiers (I own 4 - this being the largest)

On low power I find it quiet enough so I can stand right next to it and talk on the phone, and it does not bother my TV watching.
Also on low power this humidifier still humidifies great, infact I found I did not need my other humidifiers on other floors, as it seems to be humidifying my first 2 floors (about 2200 sf) to my satisfaction. (This winter has been unusualy warm though)

This unit is sleek and compact for a full house humidifier.

Another thing I really like is that I bought this humidifier beginning of this winter season and I have not had to change the filters yet - still running strong, I expected to have to change filters monthly, so this was a nice bonus - of course it all depends on your local water quality.

A comment about Holmes customer support, another warm mist humidifier that I bought last season broke, I called Holmes and they imidiately offered to replace it once I described the problems to them, they sent me a brand new unit for a $10 shipping fee which I find is very fair. Infact since I no longer liked the warm mist, I asked them to send me an equivalent cost model that was cold mist and that is what they did.

Up here in the deep north it is essential to have humidifier if you have musical instruments, or anything made out of nice wood. I have tried several different options, and evaporative humidifiers are the best. This one has enough nice features to warrent an excellent rating. The main great feature is that it is easy to add water to the system. The tanks remove easily, and can be filled from the kitchen sink (they are too tall for filling in a bathroom sink). In the dead of winter expect to fill it daily, but fortunately this is big enough to only need filling once per day. Other nice features include a fan speed control (pump humidity in fast because you were gone all weekend and its dry), or quiet. At low speed settings you barely know its on. I also like the optional air cleaning evaporator. It apparently slows down air flow, but that seems trivial since the fan can simply be turned up.

I had the same problem everyone else is having, only with the 335 model. Although, I guess I'm lucky - it managed to last three months.

Unfortunately, my experience was the same as most other reviewers. I only got two months use out of the unit before it stopped working completely: no mist, lights or power. Honeywell makes wonderful humidifiers, but this model is a complete dud.

I have a couple of tips for other unfortunate souls who are about to return this horrible humidifier. A rep from KAZ told me to send the unit in to their Return Department and they would replace it at no cost (although I have to pay for the shipping to KAZ). If you're returning one of these units, be sure to tell the rep to do the following: waive the $10 warranty fee, and send a different model of humidifier as a replacement. The rep I spoke to had no problem with either of these requests. Now, I'll just have to wait and see if they follow-thru on a good replacement.

We were happy with this humidifier for a short while, after 4 months, it does not work anymore, no light, no power, no warm mist.
The warm mist is better than other types for few reasons:
- Less germs, the water boils before getting into the air
- No spare part, filter to buy every so often...
- In winter, the warm mist warms your room as well, so you need less heat.
- Quiet, I repeat QUIET. No like the fan things.

Too bad this product is of such poor quality that after 4 month of light usage, it is dead.
The product is manufactured by Kaz, and the warranty is pretty much useless as you have to pay for shipping and send a $10 check!!! What kind of warranty is that?

So, to sum up my advice, buy a warm mist humidifier, but not this brand.

My first issue with the Holmes HM3500 8 Gallon Console Humidifier was when it came out of the box. One of the wheels was broken, and Holmes insisted I sent them $17 for new ones rather than providing any sort of customer service. Amazon agreed to take it back, but until the new one ships in a month or so, I can't live in a house without a humidifier.

My second issue occurred within a week. Suddenly, one of the two tanks lost its ability to seal, so it leaks all over the place. I would call Holmes about it, but they obviously don't have the faintest idea what customer service means, so I'm not going to waste my breath or my time. Simply put, with so many faulty parts, I don't know what will happen if the unit stops working during its warranty period, but I suspect that it won't be pretty.

The gauges on the Holmes HM3500 leave a lot to be desired, too. You can't set the unit to shut off at a specific humidity (like 45%). Instead, there's a slider that goes from more humid to less humid, although I haven't the foggiest notion what they consider more or less humid. When it's set in the middle, the humidity in my house registers 55%, so I suspect that the most humid setting would turn your house into a rain forest.

There's also a gauge that tells you how clean or dirty your filter is, so you'll know when to buy a new one. On the first day I ran the Holmes HM3500, the filter never registered as being in "good" condition. Furthermore, even though I have an air purifier in my house, the filter gauge is notifying me that it's time to change the filter after one short week of use. I realize that filters may be cheaper if you buy them from Holmes directly, but I'm not about to replace a filter every week for as long as winter lasts, especially since I doubt the accuracy of the FilterCheck unit.

As another user pointed out, the tanks on this unit aren't easy to refill either. I've owned humidifiers prior to this, but none of their tanks or handles have been so awkward. And when you add the weight of three gallons of water, it nearly becomes impossible to maneuver them from the bathtub back to the humidifier without worrying that they're going to slip out of your hands. Needless to say, I would not recommend this for anyone who has chronic pain, arthritis or back problems.

Granted, the air in my house is more humid now, but after a week, my filter needs to be replaced, one of the wheels on the bottom of the unit is broken and one of the tanks leak. I can't imagine how I'm going to feel about this unit in a month since I hate it and its manufacturer already, but I'm hoping that the new unit won't be as faulty as this one.

I did a lot of online research before buying this model and brand and thought this would be good for a large house.(if i was happy with it I would buy another one). Everything went fine until I refilled the tanks for the first time. The yellow (low water) light came on and would not shut off even with the unit FULL of water. It seemed to be putting out the moisture fine so I ignored it. I checked to see if something was obstrucing the off switch arm, etc. to no avail. I called holmes cust. support????????.The lady said their computers were down that day, took my phone # and said someone would get back to me within the next 24 hrs.(that was about 3 weeks ago), no response yet!!!!! Also, this unit only puts out about 6 gallons a day--probably because it keeps shutting off, weather the fan is on high or medium and with the humidistat all the way up. It is noisy on high, but I expected that if its going to put out that much moisture. I keep this unit in a large open room and have not been able to raise the humidity above 35% in a months time ( I check it with a reliable dig. hygrometer). I believe the problem is where the shut-off limit switch is located-- should be on the OUTSIDE of the unit !!! The only other negative I have is the wick filter. Besides being somewhat expensive, it seems to disintegrate after about 3-4 weeks. I don't see much of a plug-up problem , but gets sloppy and saggy and leaves a gap that lets in non-moist outside air!! Seems they could have designed a better system than this. But then we woulden't have to buy their filters as often ,would we??. I would love to hear from one of the tecs at Holmes !!!!!

This is my fourth winter using this product and I can't say enough good things about it. This unit has made it through 2 moves without any malfunction or damage. I do use a little bactriastat in the water to cut down on cleaning. I simply wash it all out in the spring and dust it off in the fall.

Contrary to some of the reviews below, I only change my filter once a year. I've noticed that the filter indicator gague takes a while to register so if you let the unit run for a half hour or so, you can get an accurate reading but again, I don't see the need replace more than once a season with city water. The tanks are heavy so if you can't lift 20lbs or so you should get a smaller unit but I love the fact I don't have to fill this more than twice or week or so. I have never had any problem with tanks sealing, although I do leave the caps off when I store it for the summer to make sure the tanks get good and dry. They can be a little tricky to thread but once you get the hang of it it's quick and simple.

As for control, I usually set it somewhere in the middle and leave it on medium, no scientific meters here. If it feels dry, I crank it up. If the windows get a little condensation, I crank it down. It keeps us comfortable all winter...even in Minnesota. In short, It is a little noisy and you'll need to get used to the occasional glug-glug sounds it makes but for my money, I'd buy this unit again at twice the price I paid.

One other tip, look to stock up on filters in the spring. Many retailers clear-out this merchendice in the spring and you can often find filters at 50% off or more if you're looking.