Honeywell HCM-800 QuietCare PermaFilter Humidifier
by Honeywell
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List Price: Our Price: $55.56 You Save: $14.43 (21%) Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Honeywell HCM-800 QuietCare PermaFilter Humidifier
Customer Review: Can now buy replacement filter
Summary: 3 Stars
We bought 3 of these humidifiers last year for all our bedrooms. Even though it was a big chunk of money, I was tired of continually having to buy replacement disposable filters for our previous humidifiers (Holmes). Three at a time got expensive!
We were so excited to use our Honeywell humidifiers, and they worked like a dream. During the winter our kids had serious coughs, and we could adjust the humidity output to make the room extremely humid for them, and keep it at a medium level for ourselves. They worked wonderfully, and I was 100% satisfied.
As time went on, I realized cleanning them was quite a chore, and using vinegar (to remove hardwater buildup) did nothing for the moldy smell. Rather than use the 1tsp of bleach (recommended), I found I had to use at least 1 cup to get rid of the mildew smell. After cleanning the filters like this about 6 times, they became quite degenerated, and no longer held enough water to get moisture adequately into the air.
Frustrated, I (then) read reviews and heard you could not buy replacement filters. However, I decided to call Honeywell myself, since I couldn't bring myself to throw away 3 expensive humidifiers. I called Honeywell's Customer Care (1-800-554-4558) and found out you CAN buy replacement filters, at $24.99 each, with 6.95 shipping (for any size order).
Despite the filter issue, my overall opinion is that these are still terrific humidifiers, and I'm glad to continue using ours. However, beware that the filter will not last the life of the machine even though it's considered to be a "permanent" filter. Going forward, I'm going to be sure to stay on top of cleanning mine out (at least every 2-3 weeks), in order to be able to use less bleach and extend the filter life.
Even if I do have to replace the filters every year or 2, in the long run it's still alot cheaper than buying disposable ones monthly. And you'll enjoy a very nice humidifier (with multiple humidity settings) in the process.
Customer Review: Ok, about those filters ...
Summary: 4 Stars
Ok, so here is the straight dope on the filters.
Basically, this unit operates under the same principle as a whole-house humidifier you would find in a forced-air heating system. So the "filter" is the same thing as a humdifier pad. The HCM 800, since it is self-contained, just uses its own blower, and the unevaporated water coming off the pad (filter) is recycled, rather than sent down the drain. So it is a given that you will get scaling throughout the system, and mold, etc., on the humidifier pad, just like in a whole-house unit.
I wouldn't try cleaning and then reusing the pad in a wholehouse humidifier, and I wouldn't try do the same with the pad in these, either.
The good news, though, is that replacement humidifier pads are readily available, and cheap. For this unit, just get (for example) a HC22P humidifier pad, cut it down to size (about 6x9) and stick it in the plastic housing where the old pad came out. The pads are flexible when they are wet and are easily taken out and installed without damaging the rest of the unit. The HC22P is about $9 at Home Depot. You could get a bigger replacement pad and cut it into several replacements for the HCM 800 if you wanted to get it even cheaper. They cut adequately with a scissors, if you don't have a band saw handy.
Overall, the buildup on the HCM 800 isn't appreciably nastier than what you find in a lot of whole-house units, when they get serviced. Ok, those are pretty nasty, sure, but that is the price you pay if you want to avoid the fine mineral dust of a piezoelectric mist unit. Nobody gets humidified ar without paying some sort of a price.
Customer Review: so far so good
Summary: 4 Stars
I wanted a cool moisture humidifier, but w/o the expense of wicks. Just wished Vornado made a humidifier that uses permanent wicks. Anyways, so that left the humidifiers made by Honeywell and Hunter. I was a bit put off by the number of bad reviews of the humidifiers by Hunter. But I also had a terrible experience with one of Honeywell's Quicksteam humidifiers, so I was a bit hesitant about buying another Honeywell, or I should say, Kaz product. But I've been pleasantly surprised by this model. It does make noise. I am used to the white noise, since I have an air purifier. The nightlight is a bit bothersome, since I like to sleep pitch dark. But I can just cover that up with some tape. The noise is tolerable only at the lowest setting. I use it all day long, so you have to replace the water tank daily. I do wish it had a bigger sized tank. The tank isn't particularly well designed when it comes to hauling it, cause the handle is off centered, so it might be awkward carrying a full tank. But that's why I guess they put in the handle on the bottom too. Just an annoyance, esp if you have to fill it daily. But it's easy to clean, since the opening is quite large. I hoped the filter would be more durable, it seems a bit flaky to me, and I think I might easily ruin it someday when I clean it. Can't they come up with a decent reusable wick? Maybe you could substitute a a thick scrubbing pad cut to size, just a thought. The unit itself seems a tad cheap, esp considering you pay so much for what amounts to a pan, a water tank, a filter, and a fan. Oh well, I guess it's a matter of supply and demand, like those $20 vicks vaporizers.Customer Review: Filter Issues - there is hope!
Summary: 4 Stars
[Honeywell HCM-800 QuietCare PermaFilter Humidifier
I purchased this humidifier last year, and was happy overall with its performance. The key is keeping the unit clean throughout the season. I used the cleaning cartridges regularly. When I stopped using the humidifier in the spring, I took it apart and cleaned each portion of the unit. Looking at the filter element, I threw it away after trying to clean it, assuming that I would be able to find one in the fall. Wrong! After looking at the posts on this site regarding the filter issues, I took the filter frame and headed to the hardware store to see if I could find an element that would suffice. I purchased a WF815 Protec/Kaz element and after trimming one side and using the trimmed piece, I was able to cover most of the frame area. I have run it for a day, and it seems to perform well. This will allow me to use my HCM 800, and not buy something else (another expense), and replace the element as needed. The original element should never have been marketed as "permanent." With water continually running over it, accumulation of residue is bound to happen. Extracting it from the element destroys it. That is why I tossed it last year! The membrane needs to be of a material that can be cleaned if it to be called "permanent."
I hope the frustrated owners(who posted earlier on this site) return to see this post before they purchase another unit.
Customer Review: Piece of junk. Don't waste your money.
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased this Humidifier after my HCM650's motor began making a loud rattling noise (I liked the HCM650 and should've purchased the same model). I should've done my homework before purchasing this Humidifier at Home Depot because if I would've I never would have spent $70 on this thing.
The biggest problem is that the Humidifier rarely turns itself off even when you set the Humidistat and when it does shut itself off it has problems turning itself back on. Even while using a calibrated Hygrometer to measure the moisture (RH) of the room it was operating in I couldn't get the Humidifier set properly. My only guess is that the positioning of the Humidistat must be poor and it doesn't receive the proper airflow to allow it to operate correctly or the tolerance of the Humidistat is so wide that it will never operate correctly anyway.
The other issue is with the filter. If you purchase this Humidifier you're stuck with the filter it came with and it's difficult to get clean. I've attempted to keep it clean (every other week) per the instructions and after two months of use I gave up and tossed the Humidifier in the trash.
Positives? Not sure there are any. I guess the nice little blue light looks cool while it's running. It was somewhat quiet for the first 48HRS of use after which it developed an annoying rattling noise.