Yh Lh Vicks 1.5 Gal Vaporizer (Kitchen)

I've been using these for 4 years now. I've purchased four and only pitched one (though I'm about to replace the second one I purchased because it's not putting out the steam - it's 4 years old). (I number them so I know which older/younger.)Pro: - They're cheap! I can purchase 10 of these for what it would cost to purchase a nice ultrasonic humidifier. - No gross filters. No funky chemicals. - When it doesn't work or gets gross, I'll pitch it. - Supposedly warm mist grows less bacteria than cool mist (verify this, I read it several years ago and may be wrong). - Cleaning is easy. Warm vinegar removes the scale that builds up over time.Con: - I have to refill them about 3 times a day.Though the company does not recommend it, I pretty much run them 24/7 when at home. I unplug them before leaving the house - no need to start a fire.Here in Nevada the humidity is extremely low. With three of these running...Read more

   We bought this unit to help humidify our house in the winter. Past experiences with cool mist humidifiers were poor - having to clean mysterious brown gunk off the electronic innards was disturbing. If you're like me, you'll pretend you don't see the brown gunk. This strategy works great until the gunk becomes a pulsating biohazard that threatens to move about on its own. Warm mist humidifiers don't seem to have this problem. The Vicks Vaporizer looked a bit wimpy, but with itchy skin and static electricity zapping about, anything was better than nothing. Besides, it's cheap.First, the unit puffs out warm odorless steam as advertised. The manual says you have to add salt to the water to really get the steam going and warns vaguely about blowing fuses if you get carried away. This made me curious, so I got out my Kill-A-Watt power meter (very cool gadget by the way) to see how much juice this thing used. Turns out it REALLY matters how much salt you add. The...Read more