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Katie: Hey guys, this is Katie from Mattress Clarity. I'm so excited because today, I get
to talk to you about this humidifier. This is the Honeywell Cool Moisture Germ-Free Humidifier.
There's a lot going on here.
It's one of the most popular humidifiers on the market and for good reason, super-efficient
and super-easy to use. We're going to leave no stone left unturned in this review. I'm
going to break down all the pieces.
I'm going to show you how to set it up in your room. I'm going to show you how to care
for it. I'm going to answer some commonly asked questions about humidifiers. We're going
to talk all about that and more, so stick around because the review is about to start
right now.
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Katie: Before we get started on this review, I want you guys to check out mattressclarity.com.
We've got all of the mattress reviews, all the pillow reviews, all that classic stuff.
We have a lot of sleep-related health topics, individual reviews including more humidifier
reviews up there.
Go to the Sleep Accessories tab. Click on that. You're going to see a whole list of
them. Again, I've got more humidifier reviews up there as well. Of course, comment below
if you've got any questions as this goes on. Tell me if you think this humidifier is going
to be a good fit for you.
Let's get to the basics. I'm going to go over the key features of this Honeywell humidifier.
Then I'm going to show you all the different parts, how they come together, and how to
set it up in your own room. This one is the Honeywell Cool Moisture Germ-Free Humidifier.
The model number for this is HCM-350.
They make a bunch of different humidifiers, so you want to make sure you match up that
model number. There's a lot going on here.
It's a little bit of a bigger machine, because it's not only adding moisture to you like
a standard humidifier does. It's also having a little bit of a system with a UV light that
destroys that extra bacteria and your water-based germs, which is a really nice added bonus.
I'll be the first one to say, you still have to regularly clean this humidifier. It doesn't
mean that it's a self-cleaning humidifier. What's going to happen is you're going to
fill up a water tank. The water's going to flow through that UV system to break up that
bacteria, destroy the bacteria. Then it's going to hit a wicking filter.
I'll break this apart in a second and show you what that wicking filter is. That's going
to be right next to the fan. The fan in the machine is going to use that wicking filter
to add the moisture to the air in the room.
This is invisible cold moisture. You're not going to see any of the moisture added to
the room, keep that in mind as well. You will see the water tank slowly lose water though,
so you'll know it's working.
There's three fan speeds that you can choose from, a lower one, a medium one, and a higher
one. That's going to determine how much output or how much humidity is entering the room.
I will say this machine is self-regulating in terms of the humidity level. It's not going
to let the room get more than 60 percent saturated with humidity. It's going to control it on
its own, regardless of what fan speed you use.
If you decide that you want more moisture to come out as quickly as possible, you'll
do the highest fan speed versus a little bit less, the lower fan speed. This affects how
fast the water is drained from the water tank. It's a 1.1 gallon tank. Overnight, it'll last
about 12 to 16 hours on the highest fan speed and 24 hours on the lowest.
It'll work at least one night, and you might be able to get two nights out of it depending
on what you use, and how long you're sleeping. Definitely, something to keep in mind. There's
four main pieces here. They're all easy to clean. Two of them are dishwasher-safe.
We're going to go over the descaling, disinfecting process, but know that it does need to be
cleaned weekly. The wicking filter I talked about needs to be replaced once to twice a
month depending on how hard the water is that you're using.
It is ideal for a medium-sized room. Think rooms are like 400 square feet, 19 feet by
19 feet, somewhere in that realm, that's going to be a good fit. That might work for some
adult master bedrooms, some modest-size bedrooms, guest rooms, and of course, kids' rooms. The
sound is very low, so I will say this will work for a kids' room pretty well.
You can get it at a bunch of different stores, which is great, so price compare. Expect around
$60 for this device, and you're going to get a three-year limited warranty. I'm going to
break this whole thing apart and show you all the different components.
It's actually very simple. Then I'm going to show you exactly how to put it all back
together and how to use it in your room. What you're looking at right here is the main housing
unit. There's a fan right here and the motor system, like the brains of the operation,
are in this big unit.
What we're going to do first is take off the water tank. It's one of the simplest water
tanks I've seen. You basically hold it like this, pull up. This is where the water goes.
This is the tank cap. You can unscrew that and add the water to it, and simply place
it back in there. Then you can take off this motor housing unit part. This is a big piece,
not that heavy at all. Put that to the side. You're going to see this is the wicking filter.
This is what I was talking about earlier.
This is going to get soaked in water and sit in the base. The fan is going to use this
to add the moisture to the air. This is an important piece. Of course, this is what needs
to be replaced every one to two months.
The last piece is this base. This is holding the whole thing together. There's not much
else to say about it except that this part and the water tank are things that can go
in the dishwasher. I'm going to show you how to clean that in a little bit.
Now, it's time to talk about how to actually use your humidifier. The first thing you're
going to do is fill up this water tank with water. You can use regular water from your
kitchen tap or bathroom tap, or you can use distilled water.
The perk of using distilled water is that it's not going to have any minerals. If you
have naturally hard water, that's going to be harder on your wicking filter which is
absorbing those minerals. You may have to change your wicking filter more often if you
use hard water.
If you use distilled water, you're going to have less of that. The wicking filter will
last a little bit longer. Either way, fill up that 1.1 gallon water tank with water.
Make sure that nice little cap is on very tight. Then you're going to take the base
and the wicking filter. You're going to soak that wicking filter in cool water.
Place it on the base immediately, otherwise, it's going to drip everywhere. Take the base
and the wicking filter and place it on a surface that's going to be appropriate for your humidifier.
It needs to be six inches away from a wall or any furniture and, hopefully, elevated
because that's going to help promote that cool moisture through the air and promote
that air flow.
You're also going to want a water-resistant surface. This is important because leaks can
happen. We're dealing with water here. We're dealing with moisture in the air. If you put
it on wood, like a wooden desk or a wooden dresser, I would try to have a water-resistant
surface, just a layer right immediately under it, so you're not potentially damaging any
of your furniture.
Once you've got that wicking filter and the base wherever you want it to be in your room,
go ahead and put that big housing unit back on top. Then add the filter tank that should
be full of water.
Make sure the unit's turned off first before plugging it in. Plug it in an appropriate
outlet nearby and then change your fan speed. This is where you can set it to low, medium,
or high.
You're also going to see a little green power button show up. That means that it's on. That
means that it's working. If it turns red, that means that the UV light needs to be changed
out. This UV light should last you 30,000 hours. No way in the near future are you going
to need to, but make sure you keep your information.
There's a little documentation, a manual that will have a phone number for you to call when
you get that red button, that'll teach you how to change out your UV light. That is how
you set up and how you start your humidifier.
Let's dive into the pros of the Honeywell Cool Moisture Germ-Free Humidifier. This is
one of the most commonly requested humidifiers we get to review and one of the most popular
ones, and for good reason.
It may be a little bit bulky, a little bit bigger than some of the other ones I reviewed,
but it's such a simple, efficient, and effective machine. It's a wonderful cold moisture humidifier.
It works great. The sound is not too loud. It's easy to clean. It's easy to care for.
It's by far the only humidifier that I've reviewed that has any dishwasher-friendly
parts to it. That's awesome for sure, especially because you do need to clean it regularly.
It will work very well for medium-sized rooms. It will work well for children's rooms.
Even on the highest setting, it is not very loud at all. It's also affordable, especially
compared to other ones we reviewed. It's right across the board, right in line with them,
around $60. Because it's at a variety of locations, you can price compare and hopefully use a
coupon and get it for cheaper.
Here's a few things to think about before purchasing your humidifier. The first thing
across the board -- and this applies to all humidifiers -- is that they need to be cleaned
very consistently, especially if you're using it every night.
That's because there's a lot of water and moisture sitting and standing in these machines,
especially when they're off and you're not using them. That's a prime breeding ground
for bacteria and mold spores. The last thing you want to do is let that kind of stuff into
your air.
Yes, this is a germ-free model. There's a UV light going on. It will help destroy any
bacteria before it hits the air, but it doesn't mean that it's a self-cleaning device. It's
not a self-cleaning device. Don't misinterpret that. You're going to have to clean this thing
weekly, that's descaling and disinfecting.
Don't worry, we're going to go over all that in a second. There are some dishwasher-safe
parts which make it a plus, but you do have to make sure you are committed to a maintenance
routine with this.
As I mentioned before, there's a wicking filter in here. It needs to be replaced every one
to two months, more frequently if you have hard water that's got a lot of minerals, because
that's where those minerals are going to get absorbed.
If your wicking filter has an odor, if it's getting crusty, if it's got a pinkish or a
rusty color to it, those are all good signs that you're going to need to replace it.
The filter that you need is made by Honeywell. It's HAC-504 Filter A. You should be able
to get this at a variety of places, but I'll be honest, I had a challenging time trying
to locate an extra one for this review.
It was back-ordered on Amazon. Then my Target, CVS, and Walgreens, none of them carried it
locally. My Home Depot didn't carry it locally, either. You would have to order it straight
off the Honeywell website.
If you are going to get this humidifier and you know you're going to want to use these
replacements pretty frequently, go ahead and order a couple, add a couple to your cart
so you're not always having to constantly remind yourself to re-order.
They do charge about $10 to $13, depending on where you get it, per filter. Keep in mind
you're going to need to add that to your budget as well.
We've harped on how important it is to keep your humidifier clean. Luckily, in this case,
there are two pieces that are dishwasher-safe, which will save you some time. You cannot
use it with any other dishes. No dirty food flying around in the dishwasher.
It needs to be top rack only. You need to use a light or normal cycle with not a lot
of heat. It can't be over 158 degrees. There definitely are some conditions that affect
whether or not it's going to work for you. Again, top rack only.
You're going to want to use the water tank and the base for this. Those are the only
two components that can be dishwasher-safe. The tank cap cannot. Make sure you remove,
you unscrew that tank cap and leave that aside before putting those two pieces in the dishwasher.
If you don't have a dishwasher or you can't use it, you're going to have to clean it by
hand. The two things you're going to need to do is descale and disinfect your humidifier,
which is very simple to do.
You are going to need undiluted white vinegar, a little bit of bleach, a lot of water, and
a kitchen sink for all this. Let's do the descaling. That means that you're removing
the minerals that can come from hard water buildup in your machine.
Make sure that you have unplugged and turned off your humidifier, first and foremost. Across
the board, please do that first. Bring it to your kitchen sink. What you're going to
do is take the water tank, open it up, remove any extra water that might be in there. Keep
that tank cap off and set that aside.
Then you're going to take off that main housing part, put that aside. You're going to have
the wicking filter and the base left. The wicking filter does not need to be cleaned,
so you're going to leave that to the side.
Get the base and then take a nice rag or any sort of rag that you have. Put the undiluted
vinegar solution in there and wipe it down. Wipe down your water tank and wipe down your
water cap.
Leave it for a few minutes to dry. Let the vinegar work its magic. Rinse all of it until
you don't smell that vinegar anymore, and let that dry. That's the descaling process.
It's very simple. You're just using the undiluted white vinegar and wiping everything down.
Next step is to disinfect it. This is where you're going to want to bring out those rubber
gloves. You're going to want to be a little bit careful because you are going to be working
with bleach.
What you want to do is you're going to have all the pieces separated already because you've
just descaled them. Take that water tank. Fill it up with about a gallon of warm water
and add a tablespoon of bleach to that mix. You're going to get a rag and dip it into
that solution, and put it in your sink for a second.
Put the tank cap on, swish the water tank around a little bit. Let it get disinfected.
Leave it off to the side for a little bit to let it work its magic. You're going to
grab that rag that you just put with the solution that's got that bleach on it. You're going
to wipe down the base. You're going to rinse the base and make sure that there's no more
bleach.
You're also going to take that little rag and wipe the outer cover of the tank cap.
Wipe the tank. You're going to open up that tank cap, release all that bleach water mix,
and then rinse everything again thoroughly, making sure there's no more bleach smell.
Let it air dry.
It is important to let your machine dry when you're not using it. That's going to help
stop and prevent any of those extra germs from building up.
You may be asking yourself, "Why is Mattress Clarity reviewing humidifiers in the first
place?" That's a legit question. The thing is that humidifiers help impact your sleep
in a good way. We're all about helping you sleep better. That's why we're reviewing these
babies.
Think about it. If you've got a dry climate, maybe you turned the heat on for the first
time or someone in your house is struggling with a cold or allergies, all of that impacts
your sleep because the air is super-dry. It irritates your nose, your nasal passages.
It makes your throat dry and scratchy. You're more likely to wake up coughing. That's bad
news.
Adding moisture to the air through a humidifier helps keep those passages open, keeps them
lubricated, which is a freaky word to use. Basically, it helps you stay more comfortable
overnight, therefore helping you sleep longer, giving you the rest you need to combat your
allergies or your cold, or wake up feeling more refreshed.
I want to let you know that's why we're doing this. We love humidifiers because they help
add moisture to the air which helps you sleep longer.
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Katie: I'm going to briefly touch on some frequently asked questions about humidifiers.
The first one is about the Honeywell. They want to know, "Are Honeywell humidifiers good?"
Yes, the brand is known for making excellent humidifiers.
This one in particular, this Cool Moisture Germ Fighting Humidifier is probably one of
their most popular, if not their most highly rated models, the HCM-350, just for reference.
It's very popular and for good reasons. It's a super-efficient machine, very simple to
put together, and very easy to clean. For that reason, I will say, yes, across the board,
definitely consider a Honeywell humidifier.
Another question we got is, "How often should I clean my humidifier?" A great question.
I love talking about cleaning your humidifier. First of all, follow the instructions for
whatever brand of humidifier you have.
Honeywell tells us to clean this one every week, so weekly, and change out that wicking
filter one to two months. Of course, if you have hard water you may need to consider changing
out that wicking filter even more frequently.
The last question is, "Can I use my Honeywell Humidifier without a wicking filter?" The
answer to that is no, you cannot. This one in particular, the Honeywell Cool Moisture
Germ-Free Humidifier needs to have a wicking filter. It's a prime important component to
making this whole thing work.
The filter absorbs that cool water that you have from the water tank and allows the fan
to use it to put the moisture into your room. Without it, there isn't a way for the moisture
to be added to your room. There's a whole mess going on in here. The wicking filter
is very important.
If you don't want to deal with filters -- and I don't blame you -- look for filter-free
options or ultrasonic humidifiers. Those rarely need filters.
'
That's the wrap on my Honeywell Cool Moisture Germ Fighting Humidifier review. That's a
mouthful. There's a lot of information to take in. Hopefully, you learned something
new here. Hopefully, it helped guide you towards figuring out whether or not this is going
to be a good fit for you.
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Katie: Comment below if you've got any questions or if you want a personal recommendation.
I've had a chance to review a lot of different humidifiers at this point. I've got a lot
of thoughts on them.
Check out mattressclarity.com. Subscribe and like to our YouTube channel for lots of content.
I hope I see you again soon.
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