Duracraft DWM250 2-1/2-Gallon Warm-Mist Humidifier
by Duracraft
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Our Price: $59.95 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Duracraft DWM250 2-1/2-Gallon Warm-Mist Humidifier
Customer Review: Very Smart Purchase
Summary: 4 Stars
I really like this humidifier and have been on the very difficult journey to discover which humidifier will work for me, whether cool or warm mist is better and which actually does what it says the same as everyone else. I get frequent sinus infections and am in great need of a humidifier here in the northeast during the cold months with the heat. I just constantly don't feel good without one. For over 10 years I have used cool mist humidifiers. I honestly never considered a warm one. The last one I had was a Holmes and it was certainly not cheap. I took good care of it and it still worked only 1 year. The filters were expensive and the unit was very noisy Last year when it worked it worked well, but last winter it worked only half the time. I did not know where to turn.
A friend suggested a warm air humidifier and I looked into it and liked what I read. I then researched, reading reviews and customer comments - even using Consumer Report. I kept coming back to this one and saw the definite mix of positive and negative reviews. I read all the negatives and saw that most were looking for the humidifier to do or be more than it said it was.
I live in a studio apartment and the humidifier says it is for rooms 400 to 700 square feet. Perfect for me. It also says that it runs up to 12 hours on one filling and it does. When I run it on the low speed it lasts 12 hours exactly. The directions also say to disinfect it before the first use. This is very important. With something like a humidifier it is very important to follow all directions. If you do not, you don't have a right to complain if it does not work correctly. This humidifier is very easy to clean/maintain and also very easy to fill. If you do not want to be filling it every 12 hours or more then get a different humidifier. For me, it is very simple and easy knowing I need to easily fill it every 12 hours.
The humidifier also makes no noise at all on either the high or low speed. I find that when running it constantly on low my humidity level is perfect and I feel great. This machine does exactly what it says it does so make sure that it will satisfy your needs. It is easy to use/maintain - so much simpler than a cool mist humidifier. I will never return to a cool mist one again.
I highly recommend this unit and say just make sure it is what you want before purchasing. Hope this helps you with your humidifier decisions.
Customer Review: My humidifier after tons of research
Summary: 4 Stars
I spent literally hours researching humidifiers and hope my experience will help you make a good purchase.
Here are my conclusions:
1. It is near impossible to find a good quality humidifier and many people (myself included) get frustrated with the search. Who knew humidifiers were so hard to make!?
2. The best one on the market seems to be the "Air-O-Swiss AOS Ultrasonic Humidifier - 7135" at a cost of over $140. It seems that unless you are willing to open your wallet for this particular model, finding a good humidifier is a crapshoot and you might as well get the cheapest one that seems to work. Every humidifier has reports of malfunctions and/or poor craft. Even this model has over 10% reports of malfunction. Other than that, though, people's only complaint has to do with false advertising related to the size of the tank.
3. My purchase: I have had the Duracraft DMW250 for a few weeks and have not had any issues with it.
This product seems to be exactly the same as the "HONEYWELL/ENVIRACAIRE HWM910 Warm Moisture 2 Gallon Humidifier by Honeywell/Enviracaire." It only has a 1 gallon tank but it works well for my bedroom and has greatly improved the air quality during our New England winters. I no longer wake up with sore throats and dry lips. I refill it basically every day and it lasts for about 14 hours on the low setting. I don't have to worry about buying and replacing filters because this is a warm mist humidifier, although I may pay more in my electric bill than I would for a cool mist since it takes more energy to heat the water. It is virtually silent! You will hear a small "gurgle" or "bubble bubble" once in a while but that's it. It's construction seems flimsy but it's really easy fill and take apart for cleaning. It's one of the least expensive models and it works well.
4. My advice? Don't spend a lot of time researching. A good quality humidifier simply does not exist.
Buy the Air-O-Swiss if you have the money, or purchase the cheapest model you can find that has a lot of reviews and a decent to good review average (statistical research suggests that people review things either when they are really happy or really unhappy). Amazon's prices are better than other places I tried and their product reviews were aligned with other consumer reports.
Customer Review: Duracraft humidifier
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this humidifier in March, after having suffered through too many dry winter nights. Now I really wish I'd bought one sooner! For $25, it's a relatively painless purchase, and it's made quite a difference in my comfort while sleeping - less stuffy noses and fewer nose bleeds.
It's not super fancy, but it makes steam, which is really all I wanted in a humidifier. We tend to use it by turning it on high a little before bed, and then turning it down to low before sleeping (on high, it won't make it through the night - which is too bad, but something I planned on when purchasing a humidifier of this size). Doing things this way, we use about 1/2 to 2/3rds of the tank each night.
Yes, you have to fill it every night, but it's really quite painless to do. The tank detaches, you fill it, you pop it back on. Easy! And yes, you do have to press the little "start" switch, but it's seriously half a second's worth of "extra work" - not the major issue some reviewers have made it out to be. I saw a review that suggested it was hard to know when the machine was on, particularly in the dark - but I think it's actually quite easy. When the humidifier is on, the light comes on. If for some reason your light was defective, it only takes a moment for the machine to make some steaming sounds, and every now and then, the water burbles. (This was slightly startling at first, but now I find it kind of comforting.) Also, you can easily feel the steam with your hand over the machine if you give it a moment to get started. Basically, if you have turned the dial to "low" or "high" and pressed down the "start" switch, the humidifier is working. That's really not so hard!
Definitely clean the unit periodically, as instructed by the manual. We didn't at first, and the mineral buildup and sediment was kind of...really icky.
Overall, this is an inexpensive humidifer which makes steam and works through the night on a low setting, which is what I wanted and expected from this purchase.
Customer Review: Still Going Strong
Summary: 4 Stars
Purchased this in September 2008, and it still works great. The tank does not hold 2.5 gallons, but frankly, I don't want to carry a 2.5 gallon tank back and forth. The current tank size works fine if I use the Low setting overnight. The High setting does drain the tank fairly quickly and you'll hear the bubbling when the water is running low; otherwise, the noise is very minimal. The tank design is great because it sits flat in the sink and does not have to be held like rounded tanks. The button is no problem. You know it's running if you see/feel the steam. I usually press the Start button after each refill, but I'm not sure whether that's necessary.
My original review from Sept 2008:
Have only used this for one week, but so far, I'm happy. Finally - a flat reservoir that doesn't have to be held while being refilled! I appreciate the simple design, and it's virtually silent except for the occasional bubble. True, the description is misleading, since the reservoir holds closer to one (1) gallon, but one tank gets me through the evening, so it isn't a problem - especially if using the lower setting. There's no humidity thermostat, so it's either on or off; again, not a problem, just a comment.
Two winters ago, I spent $40+ on a fancier model and returned it when it stopped working after 2 months. Last winter, I spent $65 on an even fancier model with a remote; I returned it because the performance was terrible. I was thrilled to pay under $20 for this model, and it's performance has been great this past week. I think it will be fine with proper maintenance; if not, there's a 5 year warranty.
Customer Review: Pretty good unit
Summary: 4 Stars
I agree with several other reviewers that buying a humidifier is a nightmare purchase, but after some considerable reading and shopping, I settled on this 2.5 gallon/ day Duracraft warm mist humidifier. Compared to what was available locally, this is a pretty solid unit at a very good price.
A couple other comments: as others have said, fancier units with built in humidity measurement are not worth much.. making accurate measurements of humidity is a challenge in itself, and even if the gauge supplied on a humidifier was accurate, who cares what the humidity is right next to the humidifier? Get a Caliber III digital hygrometer (I did; see my review), put it where you want to measure humidity, and call it good. For less than $50. you can have both the Duracraft and the Caliber III. Except on the coldest driest winter days, the humidity in my house (~1800sf) gets boosted from 10%-20% to ~32% one room away from the humidifier, & ~25% at the other end of the house. Better than it was, but not ideal.
Cleaning is a pain, but it only takes a few minutes. We have hard water, and a couple times a week I get rid of the scale & deposits using an old toothbrush to get the hard to reach stuff.