Ultrasonic Ionic Humidifiers... Need Advice
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Ultrasonic Ionic Humidifiers... Need Advice
Does anyone use one of the Ultrasonic Ionic Humidifiers? I need to know if they really work and if they are noisy??!!!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20569&item=4333547039&rd=1
I tried to add a link to any ebay auction so you can see what I am talking about but in case it doesn't work, here is the description:
The mist maker utilizes electrical ultrasound vibration (the ultrasound frequency is 1.7Mhz) to produce the mist in a rate of up to 300 ml per hour, which helps to add the indoor humidity.
Accept no imitations, this is the best in the market. No any chemicals or heaters are needed. It is no harm to human and animals the mist contains a large number of negative ion which help to freshen the air. If pour several drops of aromatic oil into the water, the air is natural as forest and garden flowers.
The ceramic disc has a working life of approx. 3000 hours and is replaceable. The Ionic Misting Fountain Decor Lamp consists of ultrasound mist maker and underwater lamp.
Lighting, Water, Mist and decorative parts are assembled into a new multifunctional decor lamp. The Ionic Misting Fountain Decor Lamp creates an incredible swirling mist that fills the bowl and then continuously and gently fills over the side. Combined with the sound of water spray and a colored lighting, the effect quickly becomes a hot topic in any placing whether it is at home, office or a reception room.
Positively Beneficial Not only does the mist maker produce a psychological feeling of calm and well being but also has the added benefit of generating negative ions which can help increase the humidity in a room which can help sufferers of colds, sore throats and asthma sickness. Increased humidity can also be very beneficial to indoor plants in this day and age of centrally heated houses. Add a drop of essential oil to the water and enjoy the benefits of a hi-tech aromatic diffuser.
Makes an unique gift The Fountain is ideal as an unique gift for that special person.
It's extremely easy to set up, all you need is normal tap water and you'll have a bowl full of miraculous mist within a few minutes of opening the box.
Features:
Ionic Humidifier
Aromatherapy Diffuser
Air Purifier with produced negative ions
Removes Dust and Pollen to Alleviate Allergies and Asthma
Colorful Under Water Illuminator with Automatic 12 LED Changing Lights
No heat, Chemicals or Dry Ice
Easy Maintenance and Assembly: Uses Regular Tap Water-Distilled Water Works Best; Easy Water Refill and Clean-up ; No Nursing of Bacteria
Everything You Need is Included: Ultrasonic Mist Maker with LED Lights
16" Blue Lotus Shape Water Bowl ; 31" Stand.
Thanks for any reviews and advice you can give me!!!
I don't know anything about them, but I do know that the *ionic breeze* air purifiers were apparently not all they were advertised to be. Hopefully someone will see this thread today and have some info for you.
Thanks Karen. I hadn't hear that about the ionic breeze stuff!!
I really want to know how well they humidify. Our house is so dry in the winter and I need a humidifier that is VERY quiet for the bedrooms. We have a big, regular humidifier downstairs and the noise is loud but doesn't bother us at night as we are upstairs!!
If anyone has any "quiet humidifier" (that are really quiet, not just a claim on the box)recommendations, that's great too!!!
Humidifiers: Indoor comfort
WINTER AIR CONDITIONING Using a humidifier can help ease dry skin and other problems associated with dry air, but you must clean it regularly.
Choosing a humidifier involves trade-offs among efficiency, cost, noise, and convenience. Our tests also show that you can't tell how well a humidifier will work based on claims.
Who needs a humidifier? Anyone who suffers from uncomfortably dry or itchy eyes, throat, or skin, or whose asthma is a problem indoors during the heating season. Ideally, the indoor humidity should be 30 to 50 percent. In winter, however, that level can drop to 10 percent. That's because cooler air holds less moisture to begin with; when heated, its relative humidity drops even more.
Don't buy a humidifier, however, if you can't commit to cleaning and disinfecting it regularly, lest you end up with more problems from mold and mildew than you started with from dry air. (See Cleaning your humidifier.)
Humidifiers are better than in years past, when some models spewed white dust in our tests. But that does not mean they're all the same or work equally well.
New features. To make filling easier, manufacturers have added handles to the tanks and shaped them to fit underneath faucets. Nevertheless, portable humidifiers are somewhat cumbersome to fill and a pain to clean. (Another type, in-duct humidifiers, are plumbed into the water supply and drainpipes, so they don't need to be filled. Changing the filter, done once or twice a year, is simple.)
Some portable humidifiers can be programmed to turn on before you get home, so that your room will be at the right humidity when you arrive. But this convenience poses a problem: Water that just sits in the tank for hours can become a breeding ground for microbes if the humidifier isn't dried completely between uses.
Claims vs. reality. Several small tabletop models in our tests fell short of their claimed output, some models by 25 percent. That means they won't produce the claimed water vapor and may not bring up the humidity to the desired level. A few larger console models also failed to deliver the output their makers claimed, although it matters somewhat less because their overall output is much greater.
In some models, the humidistat, which controls humidity levels, was not always accurate. And most portable humidifiers won't let you set humidity levels below 30 percent. When outside temperatures drop below 20° F, even a 30 percent indoor humidity level can lead to window condensation. So you might not be able to run a humidifier when it gets that cold.
How to choose
Use Types to decide the size you want. Among tabletops, you have a further choice: an evaporative model, which uses a fan to blow air over a wet wick, or a warm-mist model, which uses a heating unit to boil water, then cool the steam.
If quiet is a must, consider a warm-mist tabletop unit. All warm-mist humidifiers were quieter than evaporative models. Some of the units we tested added little or nothing to background noise levels except mild boiling and hissing sounds. By contrast, comparably sized evaporative humidifiers generated 45 to 50 decibels on low settings, comparable to the noise from a small air conditioner, and more than 50 decibels on high settings. The Lasko model reached 80 decibels on high--as noisy as a loud vacuum cleaner.
All console models use evaporative technology, so if noise is an issue, either run your console several hours before bedtime and turn it off or use several warm-mist tabletop models. Obviously, the latter would at least double your cost.
Consider the importance of energy savings. In-duct systems and other evaporative models performed best on this measure. The evaporative tabletop units in our tests cost $5 to $37 per year to run, compared with warm-mist models, which cost $50 to $85 per year to run. The console models we tested, which were all evaporative, cost $20 to $28 per year to run. In-duct models, while the most expensive initially, are more efficient to run than most console models, costing $2 to $28 per year, including filter changes.
Hard water limits choices. Look for a very good or excellent score on this parameter in the Ratings. Whether you want a tabletop or console humidifier, an evaporative or warm-mist unit, you can find one that performs very well with hard water. Those that don't perform well on this measure have lower output with hard water. For example, the output of the Hunter 34355 with hard water was 50 percent lower than its output with soft water.
A humidistat is a must. Humidistats, either dial or digital, control humidity levels and shut the humidifier off when the set level is reached. Without a humidistat, humidity levels can become high enough to form condensation on windows and other cold surfaces. Overhumidification can lead to mold and bacteria growth. Humidistats that display room humidity levels and humidity settings are best.
Of the in-duct humidifiers we tested, only the EvenMist ThermoMist 2000 did not come with a built-in humidistat. But one can be added. The two Aprilaire models include a programmable humidistat that uses information on both indoor humidity and outdoor temperature to maintain appropriate humidity levels.
October 2004
CR Quick Recommendations
The two top-scoring tabletop units are evaporative models, which combine efficiency with good output and features. Choose a high-scoring warm-mist model, however, if you place a premium on quiet and can live with higher operating costs. All console models are evaporative. While the Lasko humidifies well, its parts may break during use. Among all types, better models have good or better humidistat and hard-water performance scores, and met or exceeded their claimed output. Lower-rated evaporative units fell short of claimed output.
The Ratings rank products strictly on performance. Quick Picks considers other factors.
QUICK PICKS
If quiet is paramount; a CR Best Buy:
8 Honeywell $40 (tabletop)
The Honeywell puts out more moisture than claimed, is very quiet and feature-laden, and is the most efficient warm-mist model. But remember that tabletop units can humidify only one room. It costs about $60 per year to operate.
If inexpensive operation is a priority; both are CR Best Buys:
2 Honeywell $40 (tabletop)
12 Emerson $90 (console)
Both are evaporative models, so they’re somewhat noisy, the Emerson (12) especially so. Both cost $19 per year to run.
If you have hard water:
1 Holmes $50 (tabletop)
8 Honeywell $40 (tabletop),
CR Best Buy
14 Kenmore $120 (console)
These models rated very good or excellent on this measure. The Holmes (1) and Kenmore (14) are somewhat noisy. The Honeywell (8) is quieter but costs more to run. The Sunbeam (4) has excellent hard water performance, but its output was much lower than claimed.
We had a humidifier hooked into our central heat/AC system a few years ago. It's great!
I would NEVER use an ultrasonic humidifier again.
If you have harder water they leave a white dust on everything!
It atomizes the minerals in the water and you probably inhale the byproducts.
We purchased a simple fan based unit with a water wick at the local drugstore for about $30.
We've tried them all:
Hot mist: Expensive because of electricity
Cool Mist (ultrasonic): See above
Fan: Simple, works great and cheap. Not as quiet as the others but preferable.
I don't know how much you want to spend, but the year before last we had a whole house humidifier put it. It is attatched right to the furnace and there is a sensor that determins how much humidity is in the air and it turns the water on and off by that. There is no noise at all from it and I LOVE having it!! No more dry skin or static from walking on the carpet. We have noticed a huge difference since we got it. Don't quote me on this, but I think it was about 300.00 installed! We turn it on and replace the water panel every fall and forget about it until we turn the furnace off!! Love it!!
Trina and Vicki,
We would love to have a house humidifier put in but DH says we can't because we have baseboard heat, not forced air. I'm still going to check into it though, just in case!!
John - Thanks for the heads-up on the "white dust." I won't buy one that I was asking about because I don't need white dust on anything!! Don't want to make more cleaning than I already have!!
Collette - Thanks for all of your info. I need to use it to do some more research and see what is best for us!!!
Thanks everyone!!! 
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