Air-O-Swiss AOS 7144 Ultrasonic Humidifier
by Air-O-Swiss
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List Price: Our Price: $207.50 You Save: $2.49 (1%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $100.00 (click here) Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Air-O-Swiss AOS 7144 Ultrasonic Humidifier
Customer Review: Looks good sounds good but didn't work
Summary: 2 Stars
I purchased this unit for my wife who always has multiple sinus issues so in addition to having her use a netty pot. The netty pot worked much better than did the Air-O-Swiss humidifier and here is why.
1. The 7144 leaked from the bottom within four hours with water all over the table.
I put a pan under it and ran it as the leak slowed but then it stopped working and the fill light would come on indicating it needed more water. It didn't need water as it was filled.
2. The 7144 has an awkward water tank as has been indicated elsewhere. I am fairly strong and it was awkward for me. I could not see someone with health/strength issues trying to handle this unit. And yes it drips water as you pull it up to refill so you have to let it drip for awhile back into the unit or turn it over the right way to limit spilling. The pan I had placed under it helped to limit any mess. We have a nice deep sink in the laundry room where I could fill it but you have to balance it or support it to fill it as it won't stand on its own. Then the top directional cap may fall off to further aggravate the situation. You must make sure that you dump any water out that may have spilled when you were filling it or when you took it off or it will spill all over when you turn it right-side up to replace into the humidifier.
3. The Air-O-Swiss help line is useless. They are nice enough but just can't help you.
4. Once again Amazon was outstanding and is why I shop there so much. I filled out the data on line and immediately received a return label and information for the return. I have sent it off today.
5. I find it amazing how many problems there are with humidifiers like this. Perhaps there is a business opportunity in this as clearly the market needs some help.
Customer Review: Quiet but a pain to handle
Summary: 2 Stars
THe unit is nice an quiet, but there are a few items that need to be improved:
1. The force ejecting the mist is not very strong, so a lot of water tends to fall on the piece of furniture the humidifier is on, and has to be continuously cleaned.
2. When empty and the tank needs to be taken off, there is a lot of condensation on the unit, so when the tank is lifted, there is a lot of water that drains/drips down. One has to be carefull to lift the tank, tilt it so it is over the bottom of the humidifier so that the water drips there, before QUICKLY removing the tank and the remaining water dripping off. Otherwise, it is a big mess to clean the water from the furniture the humidifier is on.
3. When refilling with water, it is extremely uncomfortable to hold utank pside down and refill (opening on bottom), since the top of the tank is not a level surface and has the mist openings. One essentially has to put the tank on a cushy towel, or hold it in air as it is being refilled.
4. Lastly, the design of how the tank fits on the unit is strange. When replacing the full tank, one has to be very carefull how to align the tank and more than once I have pinched my fingers as the tank slides into place.
The functioning of the unit is great. Very quiet. But, bad design IMO. I just do not understand why the tank is not made to be refilled from the top. Why can not the manufacturers of these humidifiers figure this out. Just add a refill opening on the top of the tank. Then one would not even need to remove it from the base. No spilling, carrying, etc.
Customer Review: Skip the demineralization cartridge
Summary: 4 Stars
I've in the second season of using this humidifier (I only use it late fall through early spring) and I really love it. It works great and I love that you can set it where you want it - I leave it on all day on a very low setting and come home to a comfortable apartment - it helps save on turing up the heat, too. It's safe and reliable, and seeing that mist come out really soothes my soul! Just a few caveats:
1) Expensive accessories - silver stick that is supposed to replaced yearly (tempted to skip), cartridges.
2) White dust
3) Cleaning is a bit of a production with EZ Cal packets - nothing too horrible, but adds to your "to do" list.
This machine is quiet and it does a terrific job of keeping our air in our entire apartment from becoming painfully dry. I think it even prolonged the life of our Christmas tree last year. We have a small apartment and I use it in the main living area during the day and bring it into our bedroom at night. It's not the prettiest, but it's not the ugliest, either. I can't say how it would work in a larger space, but I only use it on the low mist setting and it quickly brings the humidity in the room up.
Like the previous reviewer, I have started using distilled water and ditched the demineralization cartridge, because our water is so hard. No more white dust! True, we have to pay for the water, but we save on the cartridges - and the machine works more efficiently, too. (This is also recommended in the manual if you are worried about voiding your warranty or damaging your machine).
Customer Review: Our second Air-o-Swiss - Excellent as always
Summary: 5 Stars
We live in the North East - NJ to be specific and have forced hot air central heating. When winter arrives (and it seems early this year) the heat goes on...and the dryness sets in. We bought our first Air-O-Swiss a couple of years ago for our bedroom and it works like a champ...to this day we have had 0 issues with it. We needed another unit and decided to get this for our home...it arrived on time, perfectly packed, and was up and running in minutes.
Pros: Excellent quality, filteration, and different settings modes.
Cons: NONE
I love that we can set the humidifier to an automatic mode so that it humidifies the room until the reached level is achieved, it then shuts off and comes back on as necessary. There is a filter inside of the unit that takes the 'gunk' out of water and makes for clean humidification..ie. no white dust on furniture near by. We have well water and thus the filter is essential. The unit will also let you know when it needs to be cleaned (highly recommended) so that no deposits of minerals and other water impurities settle in the system.
We do use the Ez-Cal powder mix to clean the unit once every 2-3 months...but we clean it out regularly with warm water and the included brush...again...both highly recommended.
Excellent product which will last for a long time...its a bit expensive but the expense is worth it due to the quality of the product.
Customer Review: Simply the worst humidifier
Summary: 1 Stars
After reading numerous reviews regarding the Air O Swiss 7144 I decided to buy one for our bedroom. The unit is supposed to be effective in rooms up to 650 square feet, ours is a mere 204. The hydrometer that measures the humidity would not go over 37 or 38%, even though it was set on 55%. The windows were closed, the heat was off and the door was almost completely closed. I spoke to Air O Swiss. Service was very nice and he assured me that if the "hot towel" test failed we had a bad unit. This involves putting a very hot towel against the side of the unit. If the humidity does not shoot up, it is broken. It was broken. After describing our room and asking if we had the right unit, he felt that we did. We then exchanged it for another 7144 model. The second one was WORSE, leaking water onto the floor and the top of the unit AND ONCE AGAIN the humidity would not go over 38%. I am truly disgusted and would never try this model again. I have had much better success in the past with humifiers at half the price.
It is hard for me to believe that TWO units in a row of the same model both failed miserably after reading such positive reviews online.
We will be moving onto other models to try and this now casts serious doubts in my mind about the overall reliability, or should I say unreliability, of Air O Swiss.