Katie Golde: Hey, guys. it's Katie from Mattress Clarity. Today, I'm reviewing Vicks Filter
Free Cool Mist Humidifier. You might be thinking, wait a second. I thought this was all about
mattresses. We're really all about sleep at Mattress Clarity and humidifiers are a great
way to help you sleep better at night.
We're going to go over why that is in a little bit, but the majority of this review is going
to be all about this humidifier. We're going to go over all the components. I'll show you
how to use it, and I'll show you how to care for it. If you're ready, let's get started.
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Katie: If you want to see a list of my favorite humidifiers, just google, "Mattress Clarity
best humidifiers." It'll be that first link that pops up. I want to know how many of you
guys already have a humidifier in your rooms so comment yes below if you have one or no
if you don't. Maybe you're new to the world of humidifiers and you want to check this
one out. Great idea.
I'm glad you're here because we're going to dive right in. This, again, is the Vicks Filter
Free Cool Mist Humidifier. Vicks is a well-known company. If you've ever were like a kid and
you ever had Vicks VapoRub rubbed on your chest when you had a cold, it's the same brand.
They do Vick's VapoRub, but they also do humidifiers. They have a ton of different kinds.
This is the Filter Free Cool Mist Humidifier. Those of you who are new to the world of humidifiers,
they work by adding moisture to the air. In the case of this one, bear with me because
it's going to get a little bit science-y, but basically water's released into a nebulizer.
That's going to move at ultrasonic speed so super fast, and turns the water into mist.
You'll turn this nozzle or this dial on, a green light will come on, and then 10 to 15
seconds later, a beautiful cloud of white cool mist will appear out here, and that's
how it's adding moisture. This machine is best for medium-sized rooms. Think 250- to
400-square feet. It's got a 1.2 gallon tank that's about 4.5 liters and should run for
about 30 to 33 hours. It's not a huge machine.
It's 12 inches long, 9.5 inches wide, and 8.5 inches in depth. It's a pretty good size.
You want to put it on a flat, firm surface that's water resistant so make sure you put
it on an appropriate spot. You could use a directional nozzle up here to dictate where
that mist is going to go.
It also has a cool little scent pad right here where you can add a vapor pad. Vicks
gives you one in the container for free, but you can also buy them separately if you want
to add that to your Cool Mist Humidifier, especially if you've got a cold and you want
to open up your airway even more. It does come in one size right now and at full price
that is $80.
Let's go through each of these individual components and I'm going to show you how to
use it. Before I show you how to use it, let's quickly talk about the different pieces and
components that it comes with. The first thing, if you start with the top, is this cool little
directional nozzle. This is removable so you basically can clean this separately.
This is what's going to direct the mist to go in whatever direction you want to want
in your room. Then, the main tank, where the water's going to go is this section right
here. They have a little handle back here that you can use to pick it up, which is really
nice. You can flip it over and this is where you're going to see the tank cap. The tank
cap is right here and it twists. You untwist.
This is where you're going to add that water. It is a cool mist water so you can use any
sort of cool water or distilled water that you want to use. Avoid using warm water. Once
you're done filling it up, you will twist it closed. There's a little lock indication
right here. Leave this to the side, and I'll show you the base. This is the base of the
humidifier obviously.
It's got a float right here, which helps direct the flow of water. The main features are going
to be the scent station right here where you put the scent pad. This is where you're going
to operate everything. Again, you're going to use it to twist it all the way to the fullest
to get it going, getting the most humidity in the air, the most coolness out of here.
Once it feels like it's a saturated amount in your room, you'll go ahead and adjust to
a lower setting. You will see a green light come on once it's plugged in via this little
plug. We've talked about the components. Now it's time to put it to good use.
The first thing you're going to do is find a flat, firm, waterproof surface in your room
that's about 6 to 12 inches away from the wall, away from any bedding or furniture.
Anything that you don't want to have a little dose of extra humidity around. Be smart about
where to place this. I chose my nightstand right here. I feel like that's a good spot
for me.
I put the whole thing on there, but it's not plugged in at the moment. What you're going
to do is grab the tank by the handle that I showed you, lift up, turn it over, and remove
the tank cap. That's where you're going to fill your water. Remember we use cool water
for this. Fill it up as much as you want.
If you're going to use it all night, I would probably fill it all the way, and then screw
that cap back on as firmly as possible. Flip it back over and place it firmly in the base
of the humidifier. Then, you're going to want to go ahead and plug it in. Now, you're going
to turn it on.
What you're going to do is you're going to take the dial and it's going to have a little
zero, where it is right now when it's turned off. You're going to flip it. You're going
to hear a click and see a green light come on. Go all the way to the opposite end of
that dial where you see the little watermarks. The three little droplets. That's going to
be the most humidity that you can get.
The maximum output at the moment. Go ahead and leave it at that until you feel like your
room is saturated enough, that it's at a good humidity level. Overall, you want your room
to be at about 40 percent to 60 percent humidity. If you don't have a humidity monitor in your
room as many of us don't, you will have to eyeball that but just need to be at a comfortable
humidity level for you.
Once it's at that saturated point, you can go ahead and dial it back a little. Let it
even out. You should have a really nice experience with it. If you're congested or you want a
little extra of that Vicks mentholated smell for your lungs and your nose, go ahead and
add the Vapo pad.
They gave me a free one in my container, you can always purchase them separately, into
the little station, and close it, and you're going to get that beautiful experience as
well. OK. You had a chance to see the Vicks Filter Free Cool Mist Humidifier in action.
You saw that beautiful cool mist coming out. What are the pros and cons of the machine?
I could say for sure the pros are that it is very effective, especially for medium-sized
rooms. It's super easy to use. You saw me put it together. Simply unscrewing a tank
cap, pouring some water in, screwing it back, and then putting it right back in that base,
and using the dial to adjust how much humidity you want.
If you are in a smaller space, you're worried that it's going to be too much, you can just
let a little bit of cool mist out. You are fully in control. Likewise, up top, you're
also in control of the direction that the mist comes out. I really like that option
as well, especially if you have areas that you wanted to steer clear from. Overall, very
easy to use.
It'll work well in my room, in my kid's room. It's not super loud at all. Very quiet, and
will sit nicely on a nightstand and do its job. There are a few things I'm going to consider
as well. One of my big pet peeves is that although it has this green nightlight to let
you know that the machine is on, I hate seeing it at night.
That light is like sitting across the room from me or next to me on the night stand and
I'm not used to it and it's distracting. I'm not a big fan of this night light. I'd have
to put a little tape over that. It also has a very intensive cleaning process. It's something
we're going to go over in the next section, but you have to descale and disinfect this
machine weekly.
While it doesn't take that much effort in terms of physical labor, it is quite a process.
We're going to go over that next. Last but not least, this is not the cheapest of all
cool mist humidifiers. Because there's no filter and because it uses this ultrasonic
speed, it's a little bit on the nicer end so around $80, which is just not in everyone's
budget.
I want to take a quick second to talk to you guys about how using a humidifier could help
you sleep better. The thing that people may not know is that dry air in your bedroom is
not helpful. It's going to cause a dry and scratchy throat. It's not going to help any
nasal congestion or allergies that you may have. It may make you wake up uncomfortable
during the night.
If you think about it, a humidifier is going to add that extra moisture to the air. It's
going to help break up that nasal congestion. It's going to keep your throat from being
scratchy and it's going to help you sleep longer.
If you got a CPAP machine, or you know someone who does, often they have little humidifiers
in that machine to help keep their airways moisturized and lubricated so they don't wake
up uncomfortable as well. That's a little fun fact for you. Just know that the added
humidity in the air is good for keeping your nasal passages, your airway open, and you
breathing and sleeping better.
You don't want to overdo it. 40 percent to 60 percent humidity in your room is ideal.
If you're going to use your humidifier consistently, Vicks wants you to descale it and disinfect
it weekly. Those are two different processes, but I want to make sure you know, first do
this by a sink and have a clean, damp rag handy, and of course, unplug your humidifier
first.
Don't want to get electrocuted in the cleaning process. You're going to need to descale your
humidifier if you're using sink water or water that has minerals in it, because that can
build up on your humidifier over time. What you're going to do is unscrew that cap, make
sure all the water is out of your humidifier, and then put a cup of distilled white vinegar
into the tank.
Screw the cap back on, place it on the base, and let the whole thing soak for 15 to 20
minutes. After the time period is up, take the base and the tank, separate them, remove
any of that distilled white vinegar, but use a damp cloth to rub the nebulizer area just
to remove any mineral deposits. Then, you can rinse the whole thing with water until
it no longer smells like vinegar.
Make sure you dry it thoroughly. All right. Let's talk about disinfecting next. Disinfecting
your humidifier is very similar to descaling it. The whole process will sound familiar,
but you're going to use a different cleaner.
For this, you're going to want to grab rubber gloves because you need a teaspoon of bleach
and a gallon of water. That's going to be your solution for cleaning. You're going to
put that in a container and then set it aside. What you're going to do is take all the extra
water out of the tank of your humidifier first. Unscrew that cap, pour the solution in as
much as you can, close it up, and place it on the base.
Same idea as before, you're just letting it work its way through, disinfecting. Leave
it for 20 minutes. When it's done, gently remove it. Be very careful. Put it in the
sink and then just remove that bleach water combo and rinse until you no longer smell
that bleach, and then dry gently. You will have descaled and disinfected your humidifier.
There you have it. That's my review of the Vicks Filter Free Cool Mist Humidifier. At
Mattress Clarity, we are team humidifier. We love them. It helps you sleep better by
keeping your room moisturized and your airways and your passages, everything lubricated and
lovely so you are sleeping. We're all about that.
This one in particular is a great fit for medium-sized rooms. Super easy to use. There's
a little bit of an involved care process, but take good care of it and it'll last you
a long time. It's worth the price even though it's a little bit higher because you don't
have to deal with the filter.
Let me know if you have any questions or if you want a personal recommendation and like
and subscribe to our channel for more. All right. I'll see you at the next humidifier
review.
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