Air-O-Swiss 32838 Ultrasonic Humidifier
by Air-O-Swiss
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Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Air-O-Swiss 32838 Ultrasonic Humidifier
Customer Review: significant design flaw
Summary: 2 Stars
The AOS 7142 has the potential of being an excellent room humidifier but it has a major design flaw which will render it useless for many people.
As you know, if you live in a cold climate, you need to control home humidity levels. Too much humidity will cause condensation on windows and in walls. I purchased this unit mainly for the built in hygrometer. Which, as it turns out, does not work at all. In fact, the hygrometer is more like a random number generator. I have returned 2 units and am on my third (and last). In the first unit, the hygrometer varied wildly in short periods. It would jump from 30% to 65% and back to 30% within seconds in a stable room while my external hygrometer I used as a reference did not budge. This wide fluctuation caused the unit to cycle on and off constantly. Second unit always read 30% not matter what. Therefore, it stayed on all the time. My room humidity got to 65% (too much for cold winter night) and the AOS hygrometer just kept on measuring 30%. Third unit measures humidity levels at least 20% less than actual. The lowest settable target humidity level on the unit is 40% so, with the 20% inaccuracy, the minimum humidity level I can get in my room is 60% which is higher than I want/need.
The unit has some very positive features such as (1) very quiet (2) no white dust (I don't have hard water). It is ridiculous that the manufacturer would put such a cheap hygrometer into such an expensive unit. Had they spent a few extra pennies, they would have had an excellent product.
If you live in the Mojave desert and you just need a humidifier that will pump out humidity constantly then this is for you. Otherwise, look for a unit with a accurate hygrometer.
Customer Review: Just dumped mine in the trash.....
Summary: 1 Stars
Bought this unit in January. Used it for 3 months. Last week felt it was time to give it a jump start to get ready for the winter. Not working. arrrgh!
I cleaned, descaled it, removed the cartridge. Then, the most interesting and despondent event occurs: The unit starts to leak from under the base. Is this really a Swiss product?
This high maintenance piece of $200.00 plastic sat on a chest of drawers where I kept my work related music scores and other important music papers. It took me weeks before I discovered that the leaks marred and damaged my music. I just finished cleaning the mold out. Great. Further investigation shows that a white plastic washer around the ultrasonic driver has hairline fractures. This might just be the culprit. How did this happen? did the unit overheat and crack under stress? I will never know, but I wonder if I am the only one with this part failure problem.
Oh, yeah, the service: I called service. spoke to them about 3 different times. I told them of the two problems:
1- the unit turns on with all the lights OK but is not producing mist. Nothing seems to come out of the mist port.
2- The unit leaks because of a fractured plastic ring.
Two problems seems like too much for the CS people. Suddenly there's a blame game going on. I begged them to sell me the blessed plastic component. They say we have to follow warranty procedures. They want me to send it back but warn me that it might not be under warranty. They require proof of purchase. The problem is compounded by my inability to produce the original purchase receipt. I am embarrased, furious and frustrated. I give up. This very good looking unit will now adorn the landfills of New York.
Customer Review: Cool features, hot looks!
Summary: 4 Stars
Pretty much everything I was hoping for! I reviewed humidifiers EXTENSIVELY before choosing this model; it is expensive but the option to choose between cool & warm mist seemed worth it. Honestly, I don't think the choice is that great - I only use the warm (was planning on using cold but it adds a week between cleanings & cools the air, triggering the heater which dries the air out, so...) That's my main problem, it can't keep up with this DRY air in Colorado! So one star off, but not the product's fault. My condo is just under 900 sq. ft. with vaulted ceilings, which is slightly more than it's supposed to be able to handle. I've been running a second, smaller unit in the bedroom, which helps. The humidistat seems pretty accurate, it's usually within 5-8% of my separate external unit. I fill 2x/day, run constantly on high & almost never run out of water. It does shut off when empty, which is nice. The "sleep" setting on mine targets 50%, I thought it was supposed to be 60% but it will never get close (ha!) so doesn't much matter... I would say instead of ordering refill demineralization cartridges, get the refill beads & do it yourself - saves money, garbage & is really easy. Can be awkward to fill tank, but that sort of comes with the territory. Takes a few times to figure out how to get it on the base properly when full, but once you get the hang of it no prob. Controls are intuitive, peruse the booklet once & you're set. The cleaning brush is a neat feature (worth $20? Who knows...) I'd def. recommend to people with ultra-mod decor that want a stylish unit - looks more like a stereo or speaker!Customer Review: Poor Ergonomics
Summary: 2 Stars
The unit works well. Nevertheless, it is poorly designed. I don't mean that it doesn't look good-it's really beautiful. The problem arises when filling/refilling the tank. The tank must be removed from the base, turned upside down, (before turning it over the mist outlet cap must be removed and put aside) the water tank cap (with the demineralization cartridge attached) removed and put aside before it can be filled. While it's in the upside-down position for refilling it must be held firmly since the top (now on the bottom) is not flat. After replacing the tank cap the now full tank must be turned right side up and reinstalled onto the base.
It's not a user friendly task. There a very good chance that when refilling the tank you will drip water on the path from wherever it's kept to where it's filled and, again on the return to the base unit.
Incidentally, the unit should not be placed on the floor. It's supposed to be placed in an elevated position on a table or bench - to avoid the mist staining the floor.
It's too bad that the guys who designed this probably never used one in their own home. If they did it would probably have the filer cap on the top. That simple change would make the unit much more user friendly.
Incidentally, the product is described as "3.5 Gal.". I don't know what that refers to. The actual tank capacity is much less than that (about 2 1/2 gallons). It's probably an estimate of how much water it will put out as mist in 24 hours. That lets you know that the tank must be refilled every day.
Customer Review: Serves the purpose, worth the money
Summary: 4 Stars
We bought this to conquer the constant dry nose/congestion from living in AZ. We were ablet to get a 10% discount b/c the Air-o-Swiss model that we originally wanted was not available. As far as meeting our goals, it rocks!! I (pregnant and always congested due to hormones) can now sleep without a constant feeling of needing to stand in a warm shower! We have reverse osmosis water available and when we use it, we do not notice the powder. However, when we "cheat" and use water from the tub (we do have a water softener), we notice the white powder. We note that regardless, the cleaning indicator goes on every two weeks. We love the features of how easy it is to fill, maintain and that it is effective for our very large master bedroom. We also like the styling- very Star Trek!!! I love the feature of warming the mist, but without allowing an environment for bacteria to fluorish. The silver filter does the trick- silver is used in medicine for bacteriostatic purposes. Complaints: customer service at Air-o-Swiss never returned our call regarding the lack of clarity of instructions on preparing the silver filter. Ideal if the humidifier is placed on a higher surface so the mist can vaporize prior to settling on the carpet. The illumination from the frontal portion of the humidifier is quite bright- we certainly do not need any night light features in our room. Neutral comment: there is slightly more than a faint hum, but it is a pleasant white noise. Overall: we are considering one for our baby's room when he makes his big debut.