VENTA AIRWASHER LW24 Air Humidifier and Purifier All-in-one
by Venta Airwasher
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List Price: Our Price: $260.65 You Save: $139.34 (35%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $251.07 (click here) Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of VENTA AIRWASHER LW24 Air Humidifier and Purifier All-in-one
Customer Review: Expensive Mistake!
Summary: 2 Stars
The Venta-Airwasher may be good as a humidifier in countries like Germany where it is extremely cold in winter and the heating stays on 24 hours round the clock, thus there is a continuous need to replace the replenished humidity in the air. But here in San Francisco the weather is mild and we have plenty of humidity in the air due to fog and there is no need to keep heating on 24 hours. If one airs one's apartment on a regular basis, one would have sufficient humidity in doors. What we need here is a good solid air-purifier to clean the allergens, dust, etc from the air.
The problem with the Airwasher is that it has no separate button to turn off the humidifier section when the room gets saturated with humidity. Secondly, there is no thermostat built in to check and turn off the machine when the humidity reaches the optimum level in the room. Because both humidifier and air cleaner are one, you can't separate the two. Thus if you keep on running the machine after saturation point, you'll get mold all over the walls and clothes. Even my clothes in my wardrobe were wet. I had to stop using the machine. For the past two weeks I could hardly find clothes to wear that were dry. Thirdly, what they don't tell you on their web site and publicity brochures is that this machine requires an expensive chemical substance added to the water chamber on a regular basis otherwise it won't clean the air. But even then, this machine is more of a humidifier than an air cleaner. After two weeks of use I noticed almost no residue in the water chamber, i.e. it did not clean the air at all. I felt the change that air was getting cleaner once I operated the new Sharper Image Hybrid GP Germicidal Air Purifier. I am glad that I bought two different machines to try. Now I know.
By the way, the Venta-Airwasher has not been tested by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM)or the US Environmental Protection Agency or the http://www.cadr.org/ for Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR). When I called the company in Illinois and asked why, I was told that their technology is different than the competition that's why. Well, if you believe in that excuse go and buy this machine and see it for yourself. The machine is made of plastic and is very basic.
Customer Review: perfect
Summary: 5 Stars
At low speed you won't even know it's on and it's still quiet at med. and high speed too. We normally run it on medium or high speed when the weather is 35 or colder here in New England and turn it down to low if the temperature outside goes up or it's raining out. Doing this keeps the humidity in the house a pretty constant 40-45 per cent. We have a Colonial house and keep the upstairs bedrooms closed so the unit is just taking care of aboout 1100 ft. downstairs. I fill it in the morning and just before bedtime. They only hold a few gallons of water, but what a difference they make. We have had hardly any colds since we bought ours a couple of years ago, and we're not constantly having to put on lip balm or hand lotions like we used to. Your skin will thank you for it. But wait...there's more...hehe...Wait til you empty and clean it like I do every 2 weeks. The water you dump in the sink...unbelieveable what this unit takes out of the air. Remember, it's an air purifier too. It's amazing to see the junk that's in the dirty water. Stuff you would normally be breathing in.
It's light weight and small enough to be unobtrusive. I had a problem with mine the second year...called the company and within 3 days had a replacement part that was a snap to install, free of charge of course. Fantastic 10 year warranty.
Proof of how much we love this unit...the day it broke was a Sunday and dry as a bone...temp in the teens. Within an hour I was home from Bed and Bath with a new unit. Didn't even want to go 3 days without one running. Now we run them both on low speed most of the winter.
Check out their website...commercial buildings all over Europe use them as well as musicians with expensive wooden instruments to protect. Little known product just introduced to the US a couple of years ago. Highly recommended.
Customer Review: it's ingenious as a humidifer
Summary: 4 Stars
It's of course bogus to point out the German social system as reason for the price. A free market is characterized by supply and demand setting the price. I asssume there is a free market in the U.S.?. What you effectively pay for in this humdifier is the idea and patent, not the material. It's the same why an Armani suite costs 2000$ and why Microsoft Office costs more than the CD it is burned on.
I have this humidifier now for a year. I am an allergy sufferer and dry air makes it worse. I live in CA. Thye humidifier extends on the principle of what my Mom always recommended: Put a bowl with water in your room. Since it does not heat the air you don't have problems with overheated air that then condenses on windows etc. The dryer the air the more it will pick up the humidity. It's kind of self regulating.
It does the job for me. I measure it and I get usually a jump from 45% to 55% of humidity in my room. I personally think cleaning is very easy. You have to use their cleaner, I do it every 8 weeks or so. It's true there will be mineral deposits on the air cleaner. I wipe them away every 2.5 months. It's not a problem as you can dissassemble this thing completely.
I think this is the best humdifier out there. It avoids all the problems of heated humdifiers and it's self regulation is ingenious. I don't believe it does a good job of cleaning the air however. That's why I have Friedrich B as well. BTW speaking of which it costs 500$ and is a set of metal plates with a fan made in the U.S.
Customer Review: Best Humidifier I've ever had!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have purchased numerous humidifiers the past fifteen years and have had to discard them at the end of the cold season because of mineral build-up which were difficult to clean if at all.
The humidifiers either over-humidified, my window panes beaded with water moisture, or under-humidified.
Enter Venta LW24!
It is such an elegant design. All you do is refill it with water each morning and it will humidify the room at the proper humidity. In my case it always stayed around the 40 percentile humidity. If it's wet outside it will read in the upper 50's.
It is very easy to clean, since it's just a plain box, with no nooks or crannies to clean. The company sells an additive to the water to eliminate mineral build-up and a cleaner for end of season storage.
I highly recommend this humidifier.
Though it may cost a bit more than other humidifiers, in the long run it will pay off in ease of use and cleaning, humidify the room properly at the right humidity. Because of its simple, strong design, it should last a few years instead of just one season with my experience with other brands. Other reviewers here have stated they have had theirs for many years.
I was fortunate, I was able to get it brand new for $159. The Seller was new and was selling this humidifier as a promotion.
Customer Review: Both Praise and Complaints Are Legitimate
Summary: 3 Stars
True to form, the European reviewer praises the Venta's holistic simplicity, while an American criticizes the cost!
I have some criticisms of my own. First, the simplicity of design means no control over humidity level. If the water feels like evaporating, it does! The manufacturer claims a typical range of 40%-55% humidity, but for me it never even reached 40%. Like the American that I am, I returned it to the store for a less "elegant" model that just boils the water, and keeps doing so until you get to the level you want.
I also don't understand why a simple window to indicate water level is not included, and agree that -- however sturdy the case is -- it really, truly is just two pieces of plastic. This thing should cost fifty bucks, tops.
But I also agree with the German commentator about the effectiveness of the unit in cleaning the air. The room just smelled clean -- much more so than with the Ionic Breeze ripoffs, or even some smaller filter-based units I have used. It generates only a very soft hum, it definitely is well-constructed, and the "natural" approach of simple, cold evaporation has appeal. I just wish it worked as well as the alternatives at doing its primary job, or had a price advantage.