I have had several Holmes humidifiers and Lasko humidifiers since getting rid of the last of the old permanent console Sears belt humidifiers that clogged and put mineral dust into the air.
The Laskos just run and run season after season (clean them out at the end of each season) and replace the paper cascade with a metal Honeywell cascade once and forget it. Do not attempt to clean the aluminum cascade (or just replace the polymer cascades every year they''re really not filters, per se).
BTW You cannot fill these in the sink, they are too tall; you must use the faucet in the bath tub or shower. The flow there is much faster and you can fill it up faster there, anyway!
I used to be able to get both Lasko and Holmes at Wal-Mart, but they seem to only carry the Holmes now. That does increase filter/wick sales since you are supposed to (and HAVE TO because they no longer wick water properly with mineral build up) replace that every month on the Holmes units.
On the other hand I pitched one Holmes whose wick clogged in 1 month and am keeping another in the bedroom as a back-up to the primary living room Lasko when it cannot maintain proper humidity during the coldest weather. The wicks constantly clog with minerals and quit working and the water valves on the containers never seem to open properly. (I have now re-engineered the valve openers so they always work, but why should the customer have to do this?)
I am tired of replacing Holmes filters or having the unit fail to operate and metal Honeywell filters will not "wick" water to keep this type working. I have even added spacers to solve the Holmes valve failure problem, but they have to be centered perfectly or the valves cock to the side and still fail to open!
Winter 2008 ADDENDUM:
After 4 years of operation I finally had to replace the metal cascade.
We also have noticed that these units do a pretty good job of cleaning the dust and cat hair out of the air (we have 3 cats). It does this in two ways, first, the filter catches most of the cat hair and can be backflushed every 2-3 months, secondly, the dust gets knocked down with the waterfall cascade and collected in the bottom of the container where there is a foam filter to prevent these particles from being recycled back to the pump. Wash out the bottom every couple of months and you have a pretty good air filter.
NOTE,: As an engineer, I modified the distribution tray on mine with larger holes so more water goes through the cascade and less is dumped over the overflow dam. Also put an orifice in the visual flow indicator to divert more back to the distribution tray.
ADDENDUM #2: Just had the motor die on another humidifier and just purchased a Lasko 1120. Small, compact, unobtrusive in the living room, lowest initial price and just RUN forever! This may be my last humidifier I''ll ever have to purchase!
Winter 2009/10 ADDENDUM: The motor finally died in my last Lasko unit. I removed the dead motor/pump and installed an aquarium pump for the waterfall and a small fan from Rite-Aid Pharmacy, that fits perfectly into the cone and it is running like a champ.
Our humidity is running around 45% at 10 to 20 degrees and we can breathe again without waking up with a sore throat, dry eyes and dried out nose in the AM!!Lasko® Natural Cascade Humidifier
This is my third humidifier in as many months. I tried an expensive ultrasonic with a filter but it still produced a grotesque amount of white dust. I then tried a warm mist unit but the humidistat did not work at all and the boiling chamber quickly became caked with mineral deposits that were hard to remove.
The Lasko unit is well designed and built reasonably well for the money. White dust does not seem to be a problem and the circulation of the water seems to prevent bacteria growth. It does require cleaning but they all do.
I have not used it long term, but it seems be a great product in the two weeks I have used it. The replacement filters are reasonably priced and available directly from the company (there is a sticker with their toll free number next to the refill cap which was thoughtful).
I sent an email to the company with a question and they responded promptly.
I am giving the unit five stars because it is amazingly hard to find a humidifier that even approaches acceptability. I was looking for a humidifier that does not produce white dust, has a functioning humidistat, and is not a germ factory. This unit seems to meet the criteria.
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HAVE USED THIS FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW. AND IT IS GREAT !! THE MAIN REASON I LOVE IT, IS THAT UNLIKE OTHERS I HAVE TRIED IN THE PAST, THERE IS NO WHITE DUST COLLECTING ON MY FURNITURE, OR TV SCREEN, I ALSO USE A SHARPER IMAGE AIR CLEANER, AND WITH THE OTHERS, IT WOULD HAVE A BUNCH OF THE WHITE DUST COLLECT ALL OVER IT TOO.
IF ANYONE KNOWS HUMIDIFIERS, THE WHITE DUST YOU GET FROM USING THEM MAKES YOU JUST WANT TO TOSS THEM OUT THE DOOR. AND WITH THE LASKO, THERE IS NONE.
IT IS A GREAT UNIT.
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At 1st glance this would appear to be a great humidifier based on features alone, but after 1+ month of use, I''m frankly starting to wonder why I gave it 2 stars a moment ago. We have an older, conventional tabletop unit we''re bringing out of the closet as soon as this one quits, which likely won''t be long now.
The water reservoir is too tall to refill in the sink, & at a couple of gallons is heavy enough to make it awkward flipping it over to place back on the base -you want to carry it upside down because the cap leaks. Because it won''t fit under the sink''s faucet, cleaning it with bleach water & rinsing several times (as recommended once a week) is a major chore.
The filters are supposed to be anti-microbial -they''re not. Water drips on the filters from the top, which is supposed to prevent parts of the filter from drying out like it does when filters sit in the water -the whole outside of the filter dries out instead so you don''t get much if any airflow. Cleaning the filters once a week is recommended, and necessary, but after soaking them in vinegar & water, they are very hard to get back in place... The main unit lifts off the base, and you have to lay it, dripping water, on its side to place the filters which, when wet, are too short! But that''s OK as you have to clean the mineral scum off the inside of the unit anyway.
Construction is extremely cheap and flimsy, plus mineral deposits form at all the seams making it look nasty. The waterfall window is just for looks, and gets scummed up with minerals. I expect the tubing will get clogged before the winter season is over also. The humidistat, which is supposed to turn the unit off at a set humidity level, worked the first 3 or 4 days & apparently quit. Because it sits on a separate, flimsy base, you have to be very careful to place it somewhere it won''t get bumped. And for some reason we have never figured out, 3 times it has flooded the surrounding 4 foot area with water.
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I bought this for my daughter and they have been pleased with it, this is the 2nd winter they have been using it.
If you purchased this with assisting with dog hair this is not the one. I lost my old one in a move so I purchased this one. the bristles are flimsy and do not make any difference like my old one did. I am going to do to a professional cleaning supply store and get one similar to my old one. Very disappointed.
