7146 Travel Humidifier

I chose this for my bedroom and for when I do any overnight traveling. I get nosebleeds and a dry throat in the winter time and really needed something to alleviate my dry air distress.I have a largish room, and I did not notice much of a difference after running this device for several hours. In fact now it has been several weeks and I still don't feel any difference during the day, but it has definitely had an impact. I have not suffered from ANY nose bleeds or severe dryness in the mornings like I used to.There are several things to consider heavily before buying this device:---The Bad---It has a VERY bright blue LED and its so bright it disturbed my sleep. I took one reviewers idea of putting nail polish over the light, but the light is in the bottom of the devices water pan and it was difficult to do (it took several coats of BLACK polish to get to my desired brightness)It has a very small reservoir (you supply a water bottle) that on highest setting needs to be refilled every several hours, maybe three or four times a day. It will run out of water even on the lowest output settings before morning if you fill it before bed, which is a huge negative point for me. ***I have since started using a SMARTWATER bottle that is taller than a regular water bottle, and although the directions warn against using anything over 16.9 fl oz because the device may leak, I have experienced no seepage, leaking, or altered performance using this bottle. Now it lasts all night and I LOVE IT!!!***You have to use distilled or filtered water to prevent the device from quickly building up hard water deposits and needing often cleaning (I use a Brita water filter on my tap water and it dramatically reduces this hassle)Does not put out enough moisture to work as a "home solution" I'd hoped I could use it in my home to stop the dry skin and desert feel of my central air, but it only works in my bedroom, with the door cracked or closed.---The Good---Doesn't require a filter or special mineral storage that is sold separately! So many of these humidifiers require filters that get expensive and yet you still have to clean the thing out constantly, this device is not like that. It comes with a brush to simply sweep out any mineral build up once the device is dried out. I do this once every two weeks.The mechanism for using everyday water bottles is simple and effective (if has never leaked tipped over or failed on me). Perfect for travelers who are never far away from a vending machineIt is so small I can fit it in my pocket (not comfortably of course) but still produces enough to prevent most people from suffering winter time maladies like excess snoring, nosebleeds, and even does help break up a head cold.

We bought this item to travel with our newborn about 2 years ago. It's great and I can't recommend Air-O-Swiss' customer support enough. They really stand by their products (We had a 7144 that was 3 years old that stopped working; completely out of warranty and they replaced it with a new one with purchase of a $50 warranty plan - this is a $200 humidifier).Pros:Completely silentVery light and easy to travel withComes with it's own nightlight (this was perfect in the hotel room for my newborn and now 2 yr old)Does the jobPriceCustomer ServiceCons:None - maybe placement requirements?After two years of using this, it still works fine with the periodic de-scaling maintenance. It's a little noisier - I suspect the bearings in the fan are going, but we've used it everyday for two years, 10 hours a day. So think about that when you are purchasing a $50 humidifier. It's really pretty awesome. The only thing I would suggest is to raise it from the surface - use a small book or a box. If there isn't enough air circulation in the room, there is a chance that water will pool around the unit, and this sits less than a millimeter above whatever surface you place it on. In a hotel, this isn't a problem because there is a lot of air movement.Some people say the light is too bright. Well, if you're staring at it in a dark room, your eyes adjust, but I agree it's a bright light (just not that it's too bright). I am just not bothered by it. If you are, you can always use some black electrical tape and place it over the plastic popup dispenser that dispenses the mist.

Out of the box this thing is very small. I actually bought it to replace my malfunctioning Air-O-Swiss 7135. (I also had just returned from a skiing trip where I had trouble sleeping due to the dry air in the hotel room.) I already had a small used water bottle, so I washed it well and filled it with water from my Brita pitcher. The insert that is supposed to fit tightly into the top of the bottle does fit well, and is not so difficult to insert as some here have said. Give it a slight twist as you insert or remove.Upon operating, I see that it puts out quite a bit of water mist, and it is very quiet. I really can't imagine it being any more quiet. The only issue I confirmed that other reviews have said is that the tiny little LED bulb inside makes the unit glow very bright. I have uploaded some photos of the unit operating in a very dark room, and you can see that it lights up the corner of the room. If you have any issue with anything but near complete darkness when sleeping then this will surely be a problem. I fixed this by simply putting several coats of black acrylic paint on the bulb. I put up photos of a closeup of this as well. (Originally I planned on maybe taking the unit apart and just cutting the wires to the bulb, but there are no screws to be found on the outside.) So, the reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because I had to do this. There really should be an option to turn the light off. I understand that part of the reason it is there is because the light turns red when the water runs out. I really don't see that this is necessary for my use because I only run it for 6-8 hours overnight and running on high it still doesn't run out of water. I just fill it up each night before bed.On another note, some reviewers complain that it doesn't do much to raise the overall humidity levels in the room. Well, I would say what do you expect from a travel sized unit? That being said, I just set it on my night stand and point it toward the bed. Why would I care if the other side of the room gets humid? My sleep has greatly improved!If it ever malfunctions in the future I will update this review.UPDATE 1/7/13Works mostly great again this winter. I started using distilled water to alleviate any tap water chlorine smell that bothers my girlfriend. I say it works mostly great because when I turn the dial to turn it on, it no longer has a low and high output. It seems to have the same level of output no matter where I turn the dial. It doesn't bother me though. It is a constant medium output compared to the previous low and high.