SPT SU-4010 Ultrasonic Dual-Mist Warm/Cool Humidifier with Ion Exchange Filter

Reliable and a good value for the price
I purchased this item December 2011 so am in my third season of use. This item has peformed extremely well. I’m pleased that it is still running like new after several years, as one of the chief complaints I’ve seen about many humidifiers is that they don’t last.I was concerned about the “white dust” issue that others have experienced. Also, because I live in an area where the water is primarily mountain run-off (therefore quite soft with a low mineral content, as opposed to well-water), I opted to forego using distilled water due to the expense. I have not had any issues with the white dust/film that others have reported, but this may be due to they type of water I use.I use the humidifier in a smallish bedroom, and it works well at raising the humidity but only in the area within 5-6 feet of the humidifier. I believe this is due not to the quality of the unit but to physics. Mist simply doesn’t travel far, and only travels down. I originally had the unit on a shelf across the room from the bed. The height was good (if the unit is close to the floor, the falling mist will get the floor damp) but in order to get the humidity level near the bed to 50%, the humidity in the area nearest the humidifier would get to 70-80%. As I was concerned about mold and because I only needed the humidity near the bed (I primarily use the humidifier while sleeping), I bought a small plant stand, placed it on a desk near my bed, and put the humidifier on that. Yes, it’s a little cumbersome, but it keeps the humidity level near the bed the highest. And when it is really cold out (near zero) and the forced air is running all the time, it is hard to get the humidity even near the bed to be more than about 40-45%. Therefore, depending on where you plan to place your unit and the level of humidity desired, you may need to consider getting a unit rated for a larger area. I don’t think this is an issue unique to Sunpentown — based on my research, this seems to be the case for ratings pretty much across the board (unless perhaps you purchase a much more expensive unit.)When you first fill the unit, some of the water will fill the reservoir in the white base. Once this has filled, you can remove the colored top portion, add more water so that the unit is completely full and it will run at the highest setting for about 7-8 hours (I haven’t done it in a while, but it seems it made it through the night). Unless it is very, very cold out, I never need to run the unit at the highest speed all night. Typically, I try to run the unti for 2-4 hours before bedtime to get the humidity to my desired level, then I usually turn the unit down to a very low level to maintain the desired level during the night.The one issue I did have is that the first year, I threw out the filter hold with the old filter. It is the round piece that screws onto the filter. Because you don’t need to unscrew the filter from the filter holder during normal use, I forgot that the filter holder was not part of the filter. I was able to order a replacement from Supentown for about $5 (with another $5 for shipping), so it was not a deal=breaker but something to be aware of.It would be wonderful if you could refill the unit from the top (rather than having to remove the colored portion and do a quick flip to keep it from dripping). I don’t find it hard to flip the filled unit over when filled and set it back on the base, but if you do not have much arm strength it mightbe a little heavy or awkward. There are certainly design improvements that could be made (I found the LED indicator lights extremely bright in a dark room so put some blue painter’s masking tape over them — it dims them but they are still visible.).I rated this item 5 stars because I believe it has performed well for the price. Is it a breeze to use? Not exactly. I empty and dry it virtually every morning. It needs to be set up and filled each night, and it is not unobtrusively placed. There are probably a few design tweaks that could make it more user-friendly, but the reality is that the nature of humidifiers makes them a bit high maintenance regardless of the type or brand. I have found that the benefits outweigh the effort, but others may not.

This humidifier is amazing here in our dry Alberta climate. There have been no issues with it getting mound, calcium, or clogging. It makes our sons room SO humid. So glad we bought it. Our friends with new babies bough the cheap crane humidifiers, and complained that none of them worked after a few months. This one is going strong. It’s shocking how powerful it is. Absolutely love it. Kind of wish that the water tank was clear, but that’s just a small thing.

A little whiny noise-wise, but still quiet and as effective as any humidifier.