Air-O-Swiss 32838 Ultrasonic Humidifier
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Air-O-Swiss 32838 Ultrasonic Humidifier
Customer Review: It makes rooms humid!
Summary: 4 Stars
Despite the mixed reviews for this product, I went and got one. I had also bought a Slant/Fin GF-211D a couple weeks earlier. Since I only wanted to keep one, I ran a few of my own tests.
I set up the humidifiers in different rooms of approx. the same size on the same floor. Both were set to max humidity on HI. Several hours later I came back. The first test was inconclusive, although, it seemed the Air-O-Swiss room was slightly more humid. What made the test difficult was that the warm mist on the Air-O-Swiss was not nearly as warm as on the Slant/Fin (which only uses warm mist). So I switched rooms and ran the test again. This time when I came back, the Air-O-Swiss room was like a SWAMP! It was seriously humid in there! The Slant/Fin room, however, felt about the same as before. As a result, I kept the Air-O-Swiss.
Some people have complained about white dust. At my parents' house (which has slightly harder water) the white dust was very slight and took several days to even notice. At my apartment (which has softer water) their is no white dust at all. So, if you have hard water that might be an issue, but there are other options such as using distilled water.
As mentioned above, the warm mist is not that warm. It's warmer than the cool mist, but don't expect it to make your room any warmer.
The relatively low maintenance is also a plus. The Slant/Fin needed cleaning every few days, but the Air-O-Swiss can go for a few weeks and even then it doesn't seem that unclean.
Overall I think this is a great humidifier. It humidifies over 800 sq ft (according to the manual) and seems to cover my two-bedroom apartment just fine. In terms of helping asthma/sinuses, the Slant/Fin might be better, but in terms of pure humidity, the Air-O-Swiss is the best!
Customer Review: It works as great as it looks, but with design flaws...
Summary: 4 Stars
I only allow high-tech looking appliances in my house and this Korean-made machine meets that criterion w/ flying colors. My water is very hard (got a neutralizer system) and I see no white dust, just use distilled water if you have concern in this field. But this unit has its own share of design flaws: 1) When you lift up the empty water tank, water drips, have a towel ready. 2) As you fill it in your bathtub, there is no good way to stabilize it & its base (which would normally be its top) is not flat, disaster is prone to happen. 3) The 2-week maintenance schedule is a lil' much. 4) The EZ Cal pack is sufficient for 2 cleanings yet there's no easy way to pour out only 1/2 pack. 5) I need to refill this tank once every 2-3 days and my room is a mere 150 sq.ft. (8' ceiling) w/ a normal RH of 30~35% (desired RH is 40~45%). 6) Do you have a place to place this at the optimal recommended height of 36" or higher? Luckily I do but not everyone does, right?Customer Review: Junk
Summary: 1 Stars
Read the all the reviews for this piece of junk and do not buy. Poor customer service and they do not honor warranty. I would suggest everyone who has bought this to file a complaint with Better Business Bureau. I have had unit for only two months and the tank is cracking all over. It also leaks out of base onto floor. At first I thought it was nice but did not last for more than a few weeks before it had problems. This is a $200 unit. My $30 unit I got at grocery store locally works fine and has worked all winter. Do not buy any of their products. That is the only power we have against these lousy companies. I wish I had read the Amazon reviews first.Customer Review: Just dumped mine in the trash.....
Summary: 1 Stars
Bought this unit in January. Used it for 3 months. Last week felt it was time to give it a jump start to get ready for the winter. Not working. arrrgh!
I cleaned, descaled it, removed the cartridge. Then, the most interesting and despondent event occurs: The unit starts to leak from under the base. Is this really a Swiss product?
This high maintenance piece of $200.00 plastic sat on a chest of drawers where I kept my work related music scores and other important music papers. It took me weeks before I discovered that the leaks marred and damaged my music. I just finished cleaning the mold out. Great. Further investigation shows that a white plastic washer around the ultrasonic driver has hairline fractures. This might just be the culprit. How did this happen? did the unit overheat and crack under stress? I will never know, but I wonder if I am the only one with this part failure problem.
Oh, yeah, the service: I called service. spoke to them about 3 different times. I told them of the two problems:
1- the unit turns on with all the lights OK but is not producing mist. Nothing seems to come out of the mist port.
2- The unit leaks because of a fractured plastic ring.
Two problems seems like too much for the CS people. Suddenly there's a blame game going on. I begged them to sell me the blessed plastic component. They say we have to follow warranty procedures. They want me to send it back but warn me that it might not be under warranty. They require proof of purchase. The problem is compounded by my inability to produce the original purchase receipt. I am embarrased, furious and frustrated. I give up. This very good looking unit will now adorn the landfills of New York.
Customer Review: Looks great, works well... I think...
Summary: 3 Stars
Have only been using this for a little over 24 hours. Settings seem to work well, and very easy to program. According to my "external" hygrometer, it has raised the humidity level in the room from 25% to around 40%. But, the digital readout on the humidifier itself has only gone from 25% at start, to 29% now. I know this is inaccruate, as I've been using the external hygrometer for over 30 days with an older humidifier, and today is the 1st day I've seen frost on the windows; meaning it's putting out more moisture than the one it replaced. - If the internal hygrometer is innacurate, that defeats half the reason for choosing this model, which is aotumatic shut-off and turn-on to keep a constant humidity level.
Anyway, looks great and has a ton of options that most do not have. You can see the steam shooting from the output spout, so you know it's doing somthing.
Think I might take it back and exchange for the exact same model. Hopfully this one just has a broken hygrometer... Hopefully, as I've seen a previous post that listed the same exact issue.