Prepoia's Full Review: Hunter Fan 33201 2 Gallon Humidifier
My mother is 80 years old and has a congenital heart condition. Along with occasional breathing problems, she gets nosebleeds that are difficult to stop and are very scary for her. She also has dry skin. Her skin problem is severe and she often breaks out from the continual itching that accompanies it. This leads to scratching and bleeding in the areas that are the worst. I recently took her to a dermatologist and she received a lotion that is helping considerably with the skin problems. However, no one has been able to help much with the nose bleeds. The dermatologist recommended looking into a room humidifier for nighttime. She felt that it may help with some of the physical problems.
I had a humidifier that I used a few years ago but when I looked for it (I liked it a lot) I found that I had loaned it to a friend that hadn’t returned it. So, I decided to find a new one for my mom. I was going to Meijer’s and looked at the ones they carry and found the Hunter 2 Gallon Cool Mist Humidifier on sale. All the humidifiers were on sale (since most people buy them in the winter when the air gets dry and the furnace is on) so I looked at several to compare what they offered. I chose the Hunter.
I had never really heard of Hunter before but I guess they are best known for fans. However, this humidifier is wonderful.
I took it over to my mom and dad’s so we could set it up. Set-up was easy! I took two pieces out of the box and that was all there was to set-up. There is the main unit and a see-through plastic container that needs to be filled with water and placed on the unit. The manufacturer recommends not starting the machine without waiting for the drip pan to fill. You know that it’s full when the unit’s water container stops bubbling. Once it stopped, I went back and refilled the missing water and placed the container back on the unit. We plugged it in and it was ready for using. I prefer the cool mist units to the hot mist both because of the purposes I’ve used humidifiers and because with my parents being elderly, I did not want to take a chance on them burning themselves.
Reasons I Love This Unit
First, this unit has 3 speeds to regulate the amount of mist that goes into the air. For most purposes, the low speed works well in an enclosed area like a bedroom. On low speed, there is very little noise from the fan motor. There is a background hum but this unit is even quieter than the one I used to own and love (and it too was very quiet). Since both my mom and dad are hard of hearing, the noise for them would never be a problem anyhow. But, for the rest of us, it can be an issue. But, this unit runs quietly. I’m assuming that it may be because Hunter mostly makes fans and so they have the extra technology to keep their fans quiet.
Secondly, this unit has no filter that needs to be replaced. That is HUGE for both my parents and for the rest of us as well. My parents are the type of people that wouldn’t want to use the unit if they are wearing out something on it. They also cannot easily get out and about to search out and find replacements. That was one thing about my old unit, I had to order the replacement filters online because the store I bought it from stopped selling that particular unit and therefore I couldn’t find filters.
The last really nice feature is that it has a night light on the unit. You can choose whether or not you use it, but it lights up the water container which is blue. I thought that it might be fun to add some tropical fish (plastic of course) and see if they’d float. However, we haven’t taken it that far yet, which is probably a better idea!
The controls are on the top of the unit and are easy to read and to use. There are the speeds, the on/off button, and the night light button.
Disadvantages of the Unit
There is one main disadvantage to this unit (although to be honest I can’t remember if this disadvantage is not true of all of the models I compared). The disadvantage is that if the unit runs out of water, it does not automatically turn off. The first question my mom asked was, “What happens if it runs out of water in the middle of the night?” I didn’t have a good answer to this question. I read all through the manual hoping it would be mentioned, but it wasn’t. So, of course, she knows that she has to make sure water is pretty full at all times. We turned it on and let it run on low with a filled tank and it lasted about 14 hours. So, as long as it is three-quarters full, there should be no problem.
One minor concern was that my mom is unable to lift anything very heavy. When I was comparing models, I was disappointed that this one was only a 2 gallon tank when many of the others were 3 gallon tanks. My old one was a 3 gallon tank as well. However, this actually turned into a plus for my parents. Although my dad (who is 83 but physically stronger) usually fills the tank but if he forgets, my mother can also do the job with a little bit of effort. The three gallon would have been too heavy for her to do at all. For the rest of us, a three gallon would probably be better because the water would last longer. Of course it would also produce more bacteria from sitting there. With the smaller tank, the water needs to be refilled with fresh water more often.
To clean the unit is easy. The drip plate is even dishwasher safe. They don’t have a dishwasher but I’d probably do it by hand anyway. When I clean it (which isn’t more than once a month) I just stick it in the sink, drain it, and wipe off any filters and pans with a rag using water and a little bleach. Cleaning it with soap and water will also work fine. It takes a very short time to clean it, wipe the parts dry, and reassemble to use again. Remember, there are only three main parts to this unit; the unit itself, the water container, and the drip plate underneath the unit.
I don’t know how much this humidifier is helping my mom for sure. She hasn’t had a nose bleed since we purchased it, but that could be a coincidence. Her skin is less itchy, but that is most likely due to the medicated lotion she’s using. Sadly, nothing as easy as a humidifier will help with the heart condition. But, I think that it is making a difference and she does too. She’s commented that her throat and mouth are not dry and scratchy when she awakes since she’s been using the humidifier. So, it’s certainly worth the $33.00 (regular price is $49.99) I paid for the unit to give it a try.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 33.00 Battery Life: N/A Noise Level: More quiet than most
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