Hunter Fan 34357 3.5 Gallon Humidifier

Pros: no need to purchase expensive filter replacements, dishwasher cleaning
Cons: motor lacks durability, output isn't as high as paper filter systems

The Hunter Care Free Humidifier Plus 34357 came into our home late this fall in an attempt to avoid replacing filters on similar models made by other manufacturers, thereby avoiding the cost of maintaining the units. Add to this the idea that the ...

Pros: humidifies well, nice night light feature, great digital humidistat
Cons: too noisy to keep on at night

On New Year's Eve a friend from out of town stayed with me at my apartment overnight. She couldn't sleep, and said it was unbearably dry in my place. She told me no wonder why my sinuses are always bothering me and my skin is so dry. She suggested I ...

Pros: Humidifies well, Auto-shutoff feature, Digital Humidistat, Permawick Filter, Good tank design
Cons: Noisy on high speed, Not "care-free" -must be cleaned regularly, Reliability proving to be poor

**** Most recent update 01May2006 *** So I purchased a second unit to replace my initial unit that failed as described below in original review. Was pleasantly surprised to find some minor design changes improved on this new unit. Anyway, after little ...

Pros: Low maintenance, good job of humidifying and quiet (maybe).
Cons: Customer Support needs improvement.

This humidiifer uses a filter similar to the Honeywell unit that I had on my house furnace. It is easy to operate and has low maintenance. Since it is evaporative, you don't need to worry about dust in the air. I fill the unit once in the morning and once at night. The holding basin should be cleaned out once per week to avoid mineral build-up.

There appears to be a design/manufacturing problem with the pump on the original unit I received. After one week, the pump started making noise. Not exactly the quiet operation they had advertised. I received different information on how to get the unit repaired from Hunter Customer Support. The first person I talked to wanted me to return the entire unit at my expense. A week later, another person sent out a replacement unit free-of-charge. The new unit is working ok so far.

The original unit I had a problem with was manufactured in August 2003. The new unit just arrived in Hunter's inventory, so hopefully the noise problem should be resolved.

Pros: Worked okay for a short period of time
Cons: Disgusting wick that's not permanent; broken in less than 1 year

Bought this unit based on strong recommendations from various sources but it is way overrated. Not only is the wick NOT permanent but it produces disgusting mold and mildew after about a month. There is no such thing as a permanent wick that is bacteria resistant. I knew it sounded to good to be true. To make matters worse, the unit broke on me without even a year's use. Basically, my humidifier is now a worthless fan because the water is not being evaporated anymore.

Pros: Quiet. Nice to be able to set humidity level. Big tank
Cons: power went out.

Worked great until it went out a year later. No power, nothing. Broke the tank the first season - hold tight, slippery!

Pros: Attractive appearance; electronic controls and digital humidistat
Cons: Inefficient humidification; suitable for only a very small space.

I bought the Hunter humidifier to replace a Holmes model that had developed a crack in the bottom after 10+ years of usage. I have used the Hunter humidifier for only about 2 weeks, so I can't evaluate its durability and need for cleaning and maintenance. However, I can report on its efficiency and it is lacking. The Hunter model is much less efficient than the Holmes model it replaced. When I first turned it on, the humidity read 35 %. After two days of continuous usage, the humidity read 38 %.

I suspect that the permanent metal wick is inherently less efficient than the paper-based wick of the old Holmes model.

Pros: Great idea and selling points about not needing to change filter again.
Cons: Dark gummy substance sticks to the water tray that can't be cleaned off easily.

I have a humidifier which uses one of those expensive filters, at $14 a pop and a couple of them each season. So when I was looking to buy another humidifier, Hunter's claim about its permanent filter definitely attracted my interest. After I bought one and used it for a little over a week I noticed that the water in the bottom tray was kind of yellow. So I decided to clean it up. There was a dark yellow ring of gunk around that was sticky and gooey which couldn't be cleaned off. I was very disappointed, to say the least. Luckily I bought it at Home Depot and was able to return it with no questions asked (in fact, I was hoping they would ask me the reason of return). Now I'm again in the quest for another humidifier.

Pros: It is quiet and does put out a good amount of air.
Cons: Not "care-free, mold builds up very easily.

I've had no issues with this other than the fact that I cannot get it clean. The water tank's hole is too small for a small hand to fit in and you can't get the mildew/mold off the inside of it. This is definitely not a "care-free" model, it has to be thoroughly cleaned at least once a week and by the end of the week it it smelling funky again. I would never get this model again and any model I buy in the future will be fully tested for proper cleaning prior to purchasing.

Pros: Home Depot gave me a full refund for this crappy product
Cons: Too many to summarize (Read review)

I bought this humidifier on the Hunter Fan brand name reputation and must admit it worked fine the first season I used it. The next season I ran into numerous problems excessive leaking, musty smell from sediment build up in filter, poor overall performance and the night light wire shorted out. I found I had to frequently tear the unit down for excessive cleaning and the low maintenance filter was not as advertised. I returned it to Home Depot and they were gracious enough to give a full refund for this poor product. I will not buy another Hunter air purifier of humidifier product based on my experience.

Pros: None
Cons: Junk!

The unit is far too noisy. After two seasons,the motor burned out. Its a piece of crap! I talked to the Hunter people and they told me they can't help. I also own one of their expensive fans. Its a piece of crap too!

Pros: Wick lasts longer than one season.
Cons: Wick starts to break down after two years.

Make sure you save your receipt. This device has a five year warranty, but the so called permawick, even though it is metal rather than paper, has started to dissolve after only two years. All else worked as advertised; it's simple to use, you can put the tank in the sink to refill it, and it's quiet enough at low speed.

Pros: No filters, no gunky build-up!
Cons: We haven't discovered any negatives yet!

We always have a humidifier going in our home, and this one is working out great! There are no filters to deal with and after two months of continuous use, there isn't any of the gunky build-up on the machine. We refill it once/day and that's it!