Venta Sonic VS205 Cool and Warm Mist Ultrasonic Room Humidifier
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Venta Sonic VS205 Cool and Warm Mist Ultrasonic Room Humidifier
Customer Review: After 3 years
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had one of these for 3 years in my bedroom and am still pleased. Purchased another last winter for my daughter's room (she was home from college for a year) and now use it in the living room. Easy to fill, easy to clean, easy to use, easy to move, very quiet. It does click on and off when it reaches the set humidity, but I always want more humidity so just turn it up a little and it stops clicking. Don't use the heated mist at all - haven't any reason to if the humidifier is used continually, so can't comment on that. One suggestion about cleaning -- you can rinse/swab it out with white vinegar, then rinse the vinegar out.Customer Review: Avoid this product
Summary: 2 Stars
Do not purchase this product, unless you are good enough with technology products to fix it on your own. Venta's product worked well for initial few months until it just stopped working completely i.e. both warm and cool mist! I followed guidelines from the product manual to alleviate the issue but that didn't do any good. So, I called up Venta's customer service line to see if I can get professional help, which didn't help either. There appears to be no other alternative solution as Venta does not have retail shops in my vicinity where I could have it checked for repair work. In summary, I did not get the value expected, in terms of product and service, for the premium price I paid for the 'quality product.'Customer Review: Best humidifier I have ever owned
Summary: 4 Stars
1/5/2011 Update:
Okay, the white dust complaint is valid. Even when I change the filter every 2 months, it still coats the entire room with an extremely fine white powder (from some portion of the total dissolved solids getting past the filter?). This is no worse than regular house dust. Either way, one needs to dust and vacuum the home. Still, based upon this finding, I have dropped my rating from 5 stars to 4.
Bottom Line -
I have owned this unit just over 3 months. So far, I find this unit to be superior to any of the many humidifiers I have previously owned.
I live in a very dry climate at 6,700 ft. in Colorado. This one unit is all I need to keep my 1,444 sq. ft. condo at the desired humidity level (while refilling the tank once a day). My only regret so far is that I bought this product from my local hardware store. I could have saved $38 buying it from Amazon.
Below, I have commented upon some issues I have seen in other reviews:
1) White Dust - See the update at the top of this review.
2) No mold & mildew -
The (second generation) filter cartridge uses silver ion technology to sanitize the water before vaporizing it. But, if one fails to drain and dry the unit when not in use, nothing will prevent the buildup of mold and/or mildew. Again, I wonder if those who have had this problem have abided by the instructions in the user manual.
3) Warm Mist vs. Steam -
Anybody who expected this unit to produce warm steam misunderstood the product. The box clearly states that the unit produces cool and warm MIST. Why anybody would want warm mist is beyond me. But, it is available to those who want it -- read the instructions.
4) Premature failure?
The user manual includes instructions for how to remove mineral buildup on both the metal plate which produces the mist and the water level sensor. The unit even includes a tool for this purpose. So far, owing to the filter cartridge, I have not had to perform any such cleaning. Again, I wonder if those who report premature failures have abided by the instructions in the user manual.
5) Humidistat -
The humidistat included in this unit seems to be far more accurate than what was included in other units I have owned. It seems to more accurately maintain the desired relative humidity level.
6) Noise -
When the relative humidity set point is reached, the unit can occasionally rapidly cycle on and off -- as often as 2 times per second. This can be mitigated by reducing the spray intensity (the knob on the right) or by slightly adjusting the humidity level (the knob on the left). The associated relay switch is a bit louder than most. So, if you are a very light sleeper, you may not want this unit in your bedroom. That said, I keep my unit in my kitchen (right next to the sink) and the humidity rapidly spreads to the entire home (1,444 sq. ft.). There is never any discrepancy in the humidity levels between various rooms.
7) Humidifier technologies -
There are three common types of humidifiers - ultrasonic misters, steamers which boil the water and fan driven vaporizers. I've tried them all. Below, I describe my experiences with each:
7A) Fan driven vaporizer (NOT the Venta-Sonic)-
The fan bearings failed within a year and made enough noise to wake the dead -- even from the kitchen. The (pain in the butt) filters which removed the dissolved solids had to be frequently replaced (and cut down to size in order to fit). The filters did include anti-microbial agents to reduce the likelihood of spewing pathogens. It is impossible to know how well they worked.
7B) Boiler style humidifier (NOT the Venta-Sonic)-
My unit used tiny circular pads placed in the boiling pot to (ostensibly) absorb the dissolved solids. They were a joke! This unit required massive maintenance to very frequently clean the dissolved solids which got caked on everywhere. Additionally, the UV light sanitizer was a joke. The glass (or plastic) which separated the bulb from the water quickly became coated in dissolved solids and rendered the UV bulb useless. Cleaning the affected area was impossible -- even after disassembling the unit in a manner only a trained technician would normally do.
7C) This unit (Venta-Sonic VS205)-
Time will tell, but -- for now -- I consider this unit to be better than any humidifier I have ever owned.
Customer Review: Best humidifier in this price range
Summary: 4 Stars
It's quiet and produces a good flow of steam. But just like any steamer in its price range, you have to be fairly close to it to feel its effects because it doesn't propel the steam more than 4 or 5 feet. It's a bit awkward to refill; I often spill a little each time. I have used it for two winters now and it's still running.Customer Review: DON'T DO IT!!!
Summary: 1 Stars
This unit worked well enough for 10 months and then stopped fogging. I called the service number as it is still under warranty but they refused to take it back or offer any option other than return it to point of purchase. BB&B no longer sells these and insists that my only option is to contact Venta who loops me back in circles. Very poor service as others have stated so I replaced this for half the price from Lowes with a Hunter 33257 Hunter 33257 Carefree Humidifier Plus with Permawick with the new Permawick system that only requires a cleaning once a year instead of replacing the pricey filters every few months. While the Hunter produces much more noise on high the low setting is fine for sleeping. In addition the evaporative system does not produce any of the white dust that the Venta did. I live in Colorado and we have some of the purest water in the US flowing out of the Rockies so I don't feel there is any hope in an ultrasonic unit not producing copious amounts of white dust. We also have some very dry air and the Hunter also humidifies a larger area better without leaving the puddles that the Venta did. I'm going to call the parent company in Germany as I've found EU companies tend to care about the quality of outsourcing vs.US firms. I'll see how that goes and will revise this if a decent warranty solution is provided by them.
Stay clear of the Venta's for now though, take a look at the new Hunters with the Permawick, and save yourself some time, money, and frustration.