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54 of 54 persons found the following review helpful.
Short lived wicks – a necessary evil
By Darby
{NOTE: the Holmes HWF100 and Bionaire BWF100 are interchangeable}
I purchased a bionaire humidifier that uses 2 of these wicks. They’re a necessary evil, because the humidifer wont work without them.
My humidifier (a Bionaire BCM645) is fundamentally a glorified self-refilling water bowl, with a pair of wicks dangling down into the water in the lower backside of the unit … the wicks absorb water upwards, and the humidifier (basically a vertical tube with an exhause fan up up equipped with a humidistat) draws airflow in crosswise through the body of the wicks down under in order to blow humidified air out the top … it’s a simple design that sorta works.
The problem is that solid homogeneous inorgani substance deposits build up in these glorified (and overpriced) sponges, and they lose their capacity to wick water upwards fast sufficient to keep up with the rate of evaporation … the result is that they become dried out and crusty (and tardily stained with mildew), and only stay wet on the percentage that’s dipped in the water.
Now, here’s the annoying part, and why I only gave this product 3 of 5 stars … they’re needlessly fragile by design. The manufacturer WANTS you to keep reguloarly buying substitute sponges, just like inkjet printer makers want to keep selling you overpriced ink cartridges. Even though I have reasonably soft water, and use a carbon block filter, these wicks only seem to last me in regards to 2 weeks per pair, by default, before they lose their capacity to absorb/wick moisture and/or fall apart. Perhaps someday an individual will make longer-lasting reuseable cloth alternate filters, but as of this writing, there do not appear to be any available … because it’s versus the manufacturer’s fiscal interests to make and trade such.
You may save cash 2 ways:
1) SHOP AROUND: you may save as much as 50% by buying goods around for the most inexpensive supplier, and scoffing at any implied manufacturer product loyalty. How ? The substitute filters for Holmes (HWF100) and Bionaire (BWF100) are functionally identical and interchangeable. They come 6 to a package (3 pairs).
2) RINSING: These wicks are rather fragile – protest the urge to wring them out when rinsing them, or you’ll harm them. Instead, fill a sink with body-temperature water, let them soak for 5-10 mins (to let the deposits soften & par-dissolve), then gently press them flat (while submerged) a few times. Then drain them (dont wring them) and reinstall. That will have to extend their performance by another week or so. Each subsequent rinse will yeild only half the gain though. At best, you’ll be competent to double their lifespan.
Bottom line: I do not genuinely commend these wicks … but if your humidifier requires them, there isnt much choice. However, if you use the tips I listed above, you may save up to half the cost, and make them last as much as twice as long.
13 of 13 humans found the following review helpful.
Not the same filter!
By Tom T. Moore
This was delivered 2 weeks later than promised and it is not the same filter as shown in the photo. It is a for less version and did not have the round button attached to the filter like the initial has. It had a plastic square that could be attached anyplace but in truth won’t stay put when attached so I just left it off.
Fortunately, just by stuffing the new filter into my machine, it worked Ok. I in truth hate returning stuff. It is just discouraging and hindering when they show a picture and you receive something else.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
not the right filter for my unit, but they work
By effulgent7
I have a hard time finding filters for my Sunbeam cool mist humidifier. These are a little long, but when trimmed they work fine. They come 3 to a pack and the unit needs 2 filters at a time, so I buy 2 packages at a time.
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