We bought this humidifier to help raise the humidity in our house. It is dry where we live and I noticed this winter that the humidity indoors was quite low, around 20%. I spent quite a bit of time researching information about what type of humidifier that I should buy based on reviews and other humidifier websites. I decided on this one because of people's reviews, the price of the humidifier, and the design of it. It does not look like the typical humidifier and it is supposed to be able to humidify up to 2000 square feet. This unit is a cool evaporative humidifier and has a wick (or filter) that filters the humidified air and I feel that this is better and healthier for us. I would have given it a "10" rating but during really dry weather (cold winter below freezing temperature days) it runs for a long time and it increases the humidity up to in the 30% range. Our house is approximately 1400 square feet and I thought that this humidifier would be able to handle this size house better. I placed the humidifier close to the the return air duct so that the humidified air can circulate through the ductwork. When the outside temperature is above freezing, then this humidifier does a better job and does not run so long. Output Volume The output volume is pretty good but I was expecting a little better than what it delivers. It seems like it runs for a long time before the auto turn off kicks in and this is when I had it set for 35% relative humidity. Once the outside temperatures are above freezing then it runs the way that I expect it to. It has an easier time maintaining the 35% relative humidity without running continually. Performance We bought this humidifier this winter and it has worked great without any problems. I have found that I have to replace the filter (wick) approximately every 8 weeks. We have hard water and there is a lot of mineral build up on the filter after this length of time and then the unit does not operate efficiently. I do use the additives that are recommended to control mineral build up and algae growth and this seems to help. The additives and replacing the wick periodically is just an added expense that I don't mind because I feel that this is beneficial maintenance of the unit. Ease of Cleaning To clean this humidifier it requires a little work and can be messy. I gave this a "9" because the top piece is awkward to remove and put back into place. I try to clean it at least once a month to prolong the life of the filter. You have to remove the top piece of the humidifier by lifting straight up. Then I remove the filter (wick) and rinse it carefully. The filter is made of paper and it is a sort of honeycomb configuration so I try to be carefully not to damage it. I dump out any remaining water in the bottom section of the humidifier and put the filter back in and put the top back on. It does not take that long but it is a little bit of work involved in it. Design I liked the design of this pedestal humidifier because it looks like another piece of furniture. It fits in well with our other furniture.

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USA