elzora's Full Review: Vicks Cool Mist V3500 1.2 Gallon Humidifier
Dry Winter Air Causes Problems
During the dry winter months, I suffer with sinus problems.
Lately I have also had trouble with dry itchy eyes, so we decided we needed to purchase a humidifier.
Our local store had two humidifiers made by Vicks. One was $34.00 and the other was $65.00. The only difference we could see between them was that the cheaper model said "Quiet Operation" on the box, while the expensive one said "Silent Operation". If noise is as important to you as it is to me, buy the "silent" model.
About the Humidifier
The unit is small and portable, you can take it virtually anywhere there is electricity. The base is solid plastic, and the top is as well, although transparent so you can see the water levels easily.
This Vicks humidifier has a wicking filter. As the air in the room is pulled into the unit, it goes through the filter. There it absorbs the water and then puts it back into the air. The "vapor" that leaves the unit is totally invisible - leaves no white dust. The filter is said to trap impurities, minerals, etc. from the air. I didn't see any replacement filters at the store where this was purchased, so I cannot comment on their availability and cost. It has two speeds and an off position.
My Experience
I personally did not care for this humidifier and am planning on returning it to the store tomorrow. What I didn't like:
(1) It has two speeds, the high speed is noisy, and the low speed is less noisy, but still not silent enough for me.
(2) This unit is supposed to run for 12 hours before having to refill the tank. We ran it for several days, about 8 hours each day (on the low speed) and the see through plastic tank was still half full, it didn't seem to be putting much moisture into the air. It probably would have been more useful had I used the higher speed, but the noise at that level was pretty loud.
(3) The air stream that comes out of the humidifier is COLD air. We had this sitting on the living room floor, and I actually got chilled from the cold air blowing into the room.
(4) I got out the "Manual" that came with this Vicks Humidifier, and found it virtually useless. There was no information about trouble shooting at all. It was more about warranty information and cleaning. I expected more out of the manual than that, especially from a company who has been around as long as Vicks. By the way, if you live in an area with hard water like we do, be prepared to do a lot of cleaning and maintenance on this humidifier, and plan on replacing the filters quite often.
Final Thoughts
This humidifier simply is not what I was looking for. It may serve it's purpose for some people, but I really didn't care for it at all. It did not help my sinuses as I had hoped it would.
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This efficient humidifier with a Cool Mist wicking filter that provides cool, natural moisture to help relieve cold and flu symptoms.More at Best Buy ®
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