Graco 4 Gallon Cool Mist Humidifier
by Graco Baby
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List Price: Our Price: $65.95 You Save: $14.04 (18%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Baby Product See more product details |
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Baby Products Reviews of Graco 4 Gallon Cool Mist Humidifier
Customer Review: Good product but....
Summary: 4 Stars
Have had this humidifier for a full season last year and just broke it out for use this year.
Pros: 1) Quiet setting is really quiet. 2) You can set the humidity level - which is important to us because my husband stores camera equipment and such in the same room as the humidifer. 3) Seems to work efficiently - does the job.
Cons: 1) The filters are way too expensive 2) As others have mentioned, the filters don't seem to last as long as they say, even with cleaning, etc.
However, we did find that using a bacteriostatic solution in the water does seem to inhibit the mold/dead rat smell thing from happening quite so fast. This is the stuff you can buy in the store - usually in a 32 oz bottle - that you can add about a 1/2 oz to the water when you refill. Amazon carries it as well at a reasonable price. It holds down the bacteria growth and, in my experience, lengthened the life of the filter considerably. Last season we went through about 4 - 5 filters over about 5 months but we didn't start using the bacteriostat until about 1/2 way through the season.
Would I buy this one again? Maybe. I'm going to see how the filter consumption goes this year.
Customer Review: Major design flaw but OK after hack
Summary: 3 Stars
PROS:
- Large tank capacity.
- Efficiently and quickly raises humidity.
- Good digital control after hack. (see below).
- Does not produce white dust.
- Good price.
CONS:
- Serious design flaw: the humidity sensor is located INSIDE the unit right next to the wick, essentially measuring the humidity above the wick. This causes the humidity in the room to drop well below target and to fluctuate wildly. Without modification the digital control is useless. See workaround below.
- The wicks are not very durable. I would suggest getting a set of two, swapping them regularly. I put 10 drops of unscented bleach per tank.
- Sensor in my unit reads 10% higher than a calibrated hygrometer.
Workaround for sensor flaw:
Option A: Continuously blow air on the sensor with a fan. This ensures the sensor actually senses ambient air humidity.
Option B: Remove the sensor from the unit and solder an extension cable (phone cable works well). Place the sensor in a more sensible location! With the sensor a few feet away from the unit, the humidity in my room now stays consistently within a 2% range, awesome!
Customer Review: Not really washable
Summary: 3 Stars
Bought this humidifier a few weeks back. The primary reason was because we're expecting a baby. I specifically wanted a cool mist humidifier because we will be using this in the baby's room. The reason I chose this particular model was that it claimed that it can be washed in the dishwasher. Let me tell you, you have to design a dish washer around this humidifier to be able to wash it in it. The tray can be washed in the dish washer but not the water tank. It does the basic job of humidifying the room but thats about it. Its not that quiet. I personally dont mind the white noise but if it annoys you, keep it in mind.Also air getting into the tank makes some occasional bubbling noise. The design is poor. you just place the tank on the tray, it doesn't even lock in place. The filter doesn't have a jacket that it can fit in. I haven't used other humidifiers but if your reason for choosing this model is that it can be cleaned in a dish washer or that it is quiet, discount those reasons. will do the job of humidifying the room but you can perhaps get something better for less that does the same.Customer Review: Very Happy with My Unit
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this as a replacement for a very similar unit several months ago. I was a little leery of purchasing this humidifier based on the experiences of others who complained of a foul odor after about two weeks of use. I have had my humidifier in constant use for the last 8 weeks and I have had no problem with odor from the unit. I have been using Holmes Humidifier Bacteriostat each time that I fill the tank. I use this with each of the three humidifiers in the house and I have never had a problem with odor in any of them (two with filters and one without).
Overall, this is a fine unit that has worked very well to humidy the house. It has several setting from a quiet mode to a very high humidity yield mode. We have found that we are much more comfortable in the morning when the humidiers are running -- no more waking up with winter morning nose (irritation and congestion in the nose and sinuses resulting from dry air).
Holmes Humidifier Bacteriostat - 32 oz.
Customer Review: Glad I Bought It
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought the Graco because my older, larger humidifier (a Bionaire) had stopped working reliably. I have a baby grand piano in my living room and need to keep the humidity higher than that it is normally here in Colorado. Pros: I like the humidistat which seems to be pretty accurate and even on high, the fan is quiet enough not to be a bother. The smaller size means there are more choices for where I can place it in the room.
On the minus side: My house is a tri-level so my living room may be more open than most, however when there is a big difference between the outside humidity and what I've set the Graco to, it takes a while to get the room humidity to the reqested level - even with the fan on high. Also, the Graco must be refilled much more frequently than my Bionaire which had two, much larger water tanks (I think they were 5 gallons each) although I must say the Graco refilling process is a heck of a lot easier.
I'll update later when I've found out about the filter life. All-in-all, I'm happy I bought this product and would recommend it to anyone.