Honeywell QuietCare PermaFilter Humidifier, HCM-800 Review

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After years of replacing cool-mist filters, I wanted to try a humidifier with a so-called permanent filter. The noise is not really any more bothersome than other cool-mist humidifiers on the market. The problem with this product is the filter system. For the first month or so, I was able to keep the filter clean per the product instructions. But then, as with all cool mist humidifiers, the filter accumulates dust from the air intake and other mineral deposits. Unfortunately, it is absoultely impossible to clean the deposits and debris out of the interior wicking of the filter. The manufacturer's instructions say (in fact warn) only to clean the unit using vinegar...well, that method only works for some of the mineral deposits for the first 4 weeks or so. Plus, even with the vinegar method, you can't get the particles washed out of the interior of the filter! So after 3 months, the perma-filter doesn't retain sufficient moisture to effectively humidify the air. You are better off buying a regular cool-mist humidifier with a filter that can be replaced every few months. It will save you time, money and frustration. I have never written a review of any product before but this product is so poor that I felt compelled to do so at this time and warn others not to make the same mistake I made. This is truly one of the worst products I have ever purchased.

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We bought 3 of these humidifiers last year for all our bedrooms. Even though it was a big chunk of money, I was tired of continually having to buy replacement disposable filters for our previous humidifiers (Holmes). Three at a time got expensive!

We were so excited to use our Honeywell humidifiers, and they worked like a dream. During the winter our kids had serious coughs, and we could adjust the humidity output to make the room extremely humid for them, and keep it at a medium level for ourselves. They worked wonderfully, and I was 100% satisfied.

As time went on, I realized cleanning them was quite a chore, and using vinegar (to remove hardwater buildup) did nothing for the moldy smell. Rather than use the 1tsp of bleach (recommended), I found I had to use at least 1 cup to get rid of the mildew smell. After cleanning the filters like this about 6 times, they became quite degenerated, and no longer held enough water to get moisture adequately into the air.

Frustrated, I (then) read reviews and heard you could not buy replacement filters. However, I decided to call Honeywell myself, since I couldn't bring myself to throw away 3 expensive humidifiers. I called Honeywell's Customer Care (1-800-554-4558) and found out you CAN buy replacement filters, at $24.99 each, with 6.95 shipping (for any size order).

Despite the filter issue, my overall opinion is that these are still terrific humidifiers, and I'm glad to continue using ours. However, beware that the filter will not last the life of the machine even though it's considered to be a "permanent" filter. Going forward, I'm going to be sure to stay on top of cleanning mine out (at least every 2-3 weeks), in order to be able to use less bleach and extend the filter life.

Even if I do have to replace the filters every year or 2, in the long run it's still alot cheaper than buying disposable ones monthly. And you'll enjoy a very nice humidifier (with multiple humidity settings) in the process.

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I purchased this product at a retail store recently and overall I think it's great. I was concerned about a line in the manual that said to discard the filter at the end of the season, but when I contacted Kaz / honeywell about it, they said it was a misprint and with proper care the filter will last for the life of the product. Makes sense since that's what is advertised on the box! They got back to me quickly, too.

The machine is not silent, it's got a fan on it which to me provides some nice white noise to block out odd noises that might bother my sleep. It obviously puts out a lot of moisture because I have to refill the tank once a day, and that does as well as the crappy old vicks vaporizers that I used to use...those things were terrible. They made boiling bubbly noises and started to spit when they got old. 65 bucks for the Honeywell isn't cheap (not to me anyway) but the cost was worth it so far. I haven't had it very long yet so we'll have to wait and see how it does in the long term.

Almost forgotthere is a dial control for humidity level; the window is green when the humidity is right, and blue when the humidity doesn't match the setting on the machine. It amounts to a nice night light since I don't know or care how it functions; I just leave it on high all the time.

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Ok, so here is the straight dope on the filters.

Basically, this unit operates under the same principle as a whole-house humidifier you would find in a forced-air heating system. So the "filter" is the same thing as a humidifier pad. The HCM 800, since it is self-contained, just uses its own blower, and the unevaporated water coming off the pad (filter) is recycled, rather than sent down the drain. So it is a given that you will get some amount of scaling throughout the system, and mold, etc., on the humidifier pad, just like in a whole-house unit.

I wouldn't try cleaning and then reusing the pad in a whole-house humidifier, and I wouldn't try do the same with the pad in these, either.

The good news, though, is that replacement humidifier pads are readily available, and cheap. For this unit, just get (for example) a HC22P humidifier pad, cut it down to size (about 6x9) and stick it in the plastic housing where the old pad came out. The pads are flexible when they are wet and are easily taken out and installed without damaging the rest of the unit. The HC22P is about $9 at Home Depot. You could get a bigger replacement pad and cut it into several replacements for the HCM 800 if you wanted to get it even cheaper. They cut adequately with a scissors, if you don't have a band saw handy.

Overall, the buildup on the HCM 800 isn't appreciably nastier than what you find in a lot of whole-house units, when they get serviced. Ok, those are pretty nasty, sure, but that is the price you pay if you want to avoid the fine mineral dust of a piezoelectric mist unit. Nobody gets humidified air without paying some sort of a price.

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To copy another reviewers text:

"I called Honeywell's Customer Care (1-800-554-4558) and found out you CAN buy replacement filters, at $24.99 each, with $6.95 shipping (for any size order)."

I bought two (2x) filers, Price Total $56.93, 7-10 days by UPS Ground.