Vicks Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier

5 Responses to “Vicks Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier”

1. Ben Oliver says:

   May 4, 2010 at 9:35 pm

   The very initially day I twisted on my machine it poured out a wonderful stream of mist. Unfortunately for me, I place my face in the stream and breathed in deeply through my nose. Oddly enough, it smelled like burning fake…and I plotting, “Hmmph, that’s amusing” and went about my life. Shortly afterwards though, I noticed that when I blew my nose I would smell that exact same smell of ‘burning fake’(!).

   Sounds crazy, I know!
   
   It’s really got me too worried to use the $60 dollar machine I bought because two years later I still smell that smell and the mist still gives off that odor.

   It’s like some terrible sci-fi show or something.

   I’m posting this to see if anyone else had a similar experience and if it’s perilous.

   Thank you.
   Rating: 1 / 5
2. Dacob Paine says:

   May 4, 2010 at 10:15 pm

   I’ve read all of the reviews for this model, V-5100-NS and most of the reviews of its sister model, V-5100-N.

   I reckon it’s clear that without at least once weekly maintenance — IE, a full cleaning, probably with diluted colorless vinegar to help remove increase this unit will eventually fail.

   Is that the manufacturer’s error?? No way!

   A basic understanding of an spray, otherwise known as a nebulizer, really functions will clarify this.

   The small metal plate at the bottom of this humidifier agitates the molecules of the water, along with… ALL OF THE DISSOLVED AND SUSPENDED SOLIDS IN THE WATER!

   By contrast, a hot humidifier uses a heating element to raise the water’s temperature high enough to cause the water to switch phases and be converted into steam.

   Since steam is really terrible at carrying dissolved or floating particles of anything it, all the mineral deposits in your water are left behind on the heating element.

   That is the colorless or painted gunk you will see on a typical hot steam generating humidifier.

   This does not occur with ultrasonic humidifiers like the V-5100-NS because all in the water is atomized. All it is agitated so much that it rips away from its adjacent molecules and becomes an ultra-fine mist.

   Any and all contaminates in your tap water will be atomized and sprayed all over the place — this is how the humidifier works. It is not a design flaw.

   It’s vital to note that in some cities, the PPM or parts-per-million of dissolved solids can be has high as 500 PPM or more — this might not seem like much, but at persons levels you will be atomizing a lot of fascinating mineral deposits, with unknown effects.

   So, if you want to use this product you are pretty much stuck using very filtered water (NOT just a Brita, I would recommend a clad reverse-osmosis system to really help lower the PPM) or just buying distilled water, which is really very low-priced if you buy in bulk. Do not buy distilled water at the grocery tale — it’ll likely be marked up a lot.

   No humidifier is perfect, and all methods of making a mist for use in raising the relative damp of a space will have tribulations with water contaminants, unless you are using absolutely pure distilled water. This is a matter of physics and solubility, not some problem with the equipment being used to generate the water mist.

   Lastly, I’ve been using the model V-5100-NS for a while now and I have been very satisfied with it. It generates a very consistent stream of cool mist, and the fan is indeed very silent. I’ve owned many other models of humidifiers, and this is absolutely the quietest by far. Could I sleep in the same room with it?
   Rating: 5 / 5
3. Bruce says:

   May 4, 2010 at 10:51 pm

   We use this humidifier primarily when our kids are ill or are suffering from allergies. It is quite effective in reducing their coughing at night. (Mine too, when I have a cough.) I’m puzzled regarding the lackluster reviews by others, ours has served us very well and I would not want to be without it. We’ve owned our Vicks humidifier for THREE YEARS and have not had a single problem with it. We *do* use filtered/purified water only, we *do* clean it out regularly, and we *do not* leave water sitting in it when it’s not in use. Before storage we let it dry out thoroughly.

   I’m curious if some of other buyer’s tribulations with this machine aren’t correlated to improper maintenance?
   Rating: 5 / 5
4. C. Stearns says:

   May 5, 2010 at 12:54 am

   I bought this for my daughter who had a terrible cough from the H1N1 flu virus. The doctor said a humidifier would help her, so I rushed down to the CVS and bought this model. It was the most expensive they had so I figured it must be a excellent one. I was incorrect! I set it up following the directions carefully. It had been in succession for about 30 minutes when I walked in my daughter’s room and noticed a burning smell. I also saw that the humidifier was off and it wouldn’t come back on. Needless to say, I’m going back to the CVS and getting my $$$ back!
   Rating: 1 / 5
5. Dan says:

   May 5, 2010 at 2:41 am

   We bought this item for $50, didn’t last any longer than 3 months. The electronic gadget at the base of the humidifier that makes the mist became rusty, consequently it couldn’t vapourize. It is impracticable to clean the rust, and when we finally did, it stopped working completely. They should have used a rust-proof metal or rust-proof coating, it would have lasted longer. Also, it is hard to fill. Waste of money, wasn’t even worth $20.
   Rating: 1 / 5