TaoTronics Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier REVIEW Fight the Dreaded Winter Itch
Every October, I excitedly and nervously await the cooler months. I love the fall, the colors, the ability to rest and enjoy time by the fireside. Unfortunately, cooler days bring cooler nights and my skin starts to suffer. Winter itch creeps its way into my life and I spend the remainder of the winter scratching my anterior thighs, flanks, and along my belt line. Multiple applications of Eucerine or Aquaphor reduce the symptoms but our furnace always takes its toll on my skin. As the drier outside air combines with the dry indoor air, many of us may experience chapped lips, dry eyes, sore throat, nosebleeds, we may have thicker mucus, worsening cough and an increase in risks of catching viral infections. If you have children, you know the difficulties of winter and upper respiratory infections. Whether you ask a doctor or you search online, one of the first things that we may do for our kids is to purchase a humidifier. TaoTronics may have just the device you need. As a cool mist humidifier, you do not have to worry about boiling water and scalding hazards. However, since cool mist humidifiers do not heat the water, and thus do not kill bacteria, you need to remember to change the water more frequently. A dirty humidifier is worse than no humidifier at all.
The TaoTronics Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier arrived packaged within a 9 5/8 inches wide by 13 1/2 inches tall by 6 3/4 inches thick brown cardboard box. The cover displayed a vertically oriented ink drawing of a humidifier with wavy lines denoting the flow of air. The image sat upon an inked city outline and measured roughly 8 inches tall by 7 inches wide. The right side of the box listed the company website, while the top and left side panels were labeled with TaoTronics Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier. The reverse panel provided a multilingual bulleted description of the Model TT-AH001 Humidifier. The packaging promised automatic humidity level setting, 3 levels adjustable mist, built-in timer, water filter to remove water bacteria and bad odor, water low-level protection. Beneath the bulleted section, the company provided a list of product specifications and contact information for North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific. I opened the top panel, lifted out the white styrofoam cap, pulled out the plastic-wrapped two-part humidifier and then separated the parts. Hiding within the well of the base, I found a 3 1/4 inches long 4 bristle brush.
With the parts set aside, I started the review by analyzing the two halves of the humidifier. Starting with the base, the device came with a rather fair 61 1/2 inches long cable ending at a Type B wall plug. Along the front of the 5 5/8 inches wide by 8 3/8 inches long by 4 1/8 inches tall base, TaoTronics included five buttons oriented in an “X” like pattern. The Timer, Nightlight/sleep, Mist +/- and humidistat buttons surrounded the larger on/off button. Above the buttons, I found a 2 1/16 inches tall by 1 5/8 inches wide LED screen. The 8 1/2 inches tall by 5 1/2 inches wide by 5 inches thick upper water reservoir slid easily atop the base. The multi-lingual instruction manual provided a valuable detailed diagram of the humidifier on the first page of each of the six included languages (1, 11, 21, 30, 39, 48). Remove the upper water tank from the base, twist off the lower water filter, fill with water and then replace the filter. I did not find a fill line and the instruction manual did not detail a max fill either. I loved that there were carry handles on the top/bottom of the tank and that the upper tank seated easily with the lower section. With the tank full, re-insert the filter and then set the reservoir half upon the base. The instruction manual stated to not fill the tank using the upper nozzle, which was tempting. Additionally, the upper water tank had a yellow sticker warning you to not add any essential oils and not to place on a carpeted floor. To turn on the device press the On/Off button and enjoy a medium level mist, an active front panel LED display and the soothing sounds of the fan blower. Press the button again to reverse the above steps. You can press the mist +/- button to alternate between three levels.
Press the nightlight/sleep mode button to enter nightlight mode, press the button again to turn off nightlight mode, which activates sleep mode. When in night mode, a blue LED radiates from the device. I was not able to discover the wavelength of the light, but a quick internet search would tell you that blue light can cause some insomnia issues. Our brains make a sleep hormone called Melatonin, which helps with our sleep cycle. Similar to the blue wavelengths within daylight, artificial blue lights can directly break down melatonin, keeping us awake. A red light nightlight would have been a better choice, as this tends to increase Melatonin in the brain. While in sleep mode, the unit automatically switched to low mist mode. If desired, you can press the +/- button to readjust the output level. Press the button +/- button again to go back to normal mode. You can set the timer to turn off between 1–24 hours. You can see the set time on the LED display. You can adjust the humidity level with the humidistat button and adjust the level between 30 and 95%. Once the set humidity level is exceeded, the unit will turn off automatically. The device has low water protection and will turn itself off when levels get too low. There are so many options to customize this device to your environment.
I have tested this device over the last few weeks and found it to be very intuitive. If you use distilled water, it will reduce the moisture particulates from attaching to flat surfaces. The multi-lingual instruction manual did a great job at detailing the product but was not necessary in the long run. Many humidifiers work better if you use distilled water or lower mineral water purchased from a store. If you add too much moisture to the air or you do not change your water often enough, you risk increasing risks of infection. I loved waking up without the annoying dry throat and chapped lips. With a 4L/1Gallon tank, the device will last all night long and if used more sporadicaly, may last you several days to a week. The device is a tad on the costly side but remains affordable and provides some neat features. With a new baby on the way in January and a looming threat of dry skin, I look forward to challenging Jack Frost with the TaoTronics Humidifier. A
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Originally published at macsources.com on November 2, 2018.
