My wife and I purchased this because the air at home is very dry which really aggravates my sinuses leading to sometimes intense pressure and congestion. I wanted one that did not require replacement filters or high maintenance. This product stood out to us because of it's cool tear drop design and high number of positive reviews.

I have to say, it's been great. Using it nightly and during the day in my office, I've slept better, haven't woken up congested and next to no sinus pressure issues outside of significant weather changes. I love that it's super quiet, has a gentle glowing LED light to let you know it's on and has water in it's tank. Speaking of which, I think it's also great that it turns red and shuts off the function when the water runs out.

Noise level is really quiet. I hear a gentle whirring which is actually relaxing to me. I barely hear it. The only other sounds that I hear is when water is being directed into the base to keep the supply flowing but it's not so loud that it's disturbing at all. Please be advised that if you hear a dripping sound, your tank may not be 100% secured onto the base the way that it needs to be.

It's super easy to fill up and to clean. Simply taking the mist spout off, lifting the tank up to empty and clean and emptying out the base to let it dry takes all of 2 minutes. I rinse mine and dry with a paper towel or other dry cloth just to keep any film or mold from developing.

One small thing I need to mention is regarding the red rubber O-Ring under the tanks screw cap. Mine came fully inserted from the factory but somehow came loose and despite inserting it correctly with the ridged side facing up, it would not allow me to reinstall it into the underside of the cap. It's as if the diameter of the ring was too large. After several days of trying to squeeze it in and thinking I had it only to have the other side pop out, I decided to cut a small section of the ring off. Now the ring stays inside of the cap without coming out and all is good. I do not necessarily recommend anyone else do this and to be honest, I was able to use the unit without any issues from not having the rubber ring installed at all. It's there for a reason so my recommendation is if yours comes out and won't go back in, just order a replacement tank cap with the ring pre-installed. This was just my solution to what I was dealing with at the time.

All in all, I'd like to say Great Job to Crane and I would recommend this product to my friends and family that could benefit from having a small profile humidifier for their needs.

This is the second one of these I bought. Needed one for another room and had no reason to try another. Works well, easy to use, easy to disinfect, and it's appropriate for the size of the rooms I needed them for. The only caveat I would suggest is that if you're running this on the night table next to your bed, don't keep your phone on the night table next to it, because you're liable to end up with a gritty film on the screen.

I purchased the Crane cool mist humidifier in Dec'10 and have used it, with great success, for many months. With all the negative reviews (about 20%) I almost didn't purchase this machine. But I'm glad I did, because it works really well for what it is: a mid size/capacity humidifier.

First of all: ***this humidifier has a 2.3 gallon per day maximum output, with a .9 gallon tank.*** Amazon's initial title for this (and many other humidifiers) mentions daily output capacity rather than tank size... this may be confusing, although the correct specs are prominently listed on the Amazon page - fifth bullet point in the "product features" section. As for Crane (the manufacturer), their package clearly states a 2.3 gallon daily output, and .9 gallon tank size... The reviewers complaining about the "misleading name" should try emailing Amazon suggesting a title change on their website... instead of writing a 1 or 2 star review of the product. That would be more helpful and more fair.

As for the product itself:

A few buyers obviously received defective machines; this has to be expected on some level with any manufacturer.

But having read over the negative reviews, I realized that most of the complaints were due to improper use of the machine.

It is essential to read the instruction manual and use the machine as intended by design. Doing so will avoid the pitfalls described by most of these 1-2 star review writers. For reference, I have addressed their most common complaints below:

1) White dust buildup in the room: use filtered or distilled water. This is important if you have hard tap water. (85% of American homes do.) I run my tap water through a Brita filter; the exchange ion resin lowers the concentration of calcium carbonates, accordingly softening tap water. It also helps keep the humidifier cleaner by removing organic impurities, and I have had no white dust buildup. ***If your water is particularly high in mineral content, you should use distilled water, or else opt for a vaporizer-type (humidifying) machine, which creates water vapor free of white dust.***

2) Limited effectiveness: you are trying to humidify too large a room. In my 500 square foot living room level the machine helps a little; in my 150 square foot bedroom the machine is more than adequate.

3) Height of machine: the manual directs you to put the humidifier *at least* a few feet off the ground; there's no reason you can't place it even higher up if you wish. Doing so will disperse the mist more effectively.

4) Machine runs out of water: try turning it down to about 2/3 power instead of full power. The machine is practically noiseless at this setting and the water tank if actually filled to the rim will last at least 8-10 hours.

5) Machine makes bubbling noise on high: see #4 above.

6) Wet area forms immediately around humidifier: you have the machine turned up too high for the conditions in your room. This is explained in the instruction manual: you need to make sure the mist isn't falling down onto the surfaces around the machine; otherwise moisture will accumulate on those surfaces. Turn the power dial down until the vapor stream is fully evaporating in the air.

7) Machine leaks: Take care that the water tank fits snugly into place, with no gaps. Also, make sure you have the clear rubber ring that fits inside the tank cap. During my initial setup, this little (1 1/2" diameter) ring came loose and rolled away, and I almost didn't notice. The ring ensures a tight seal on your water tank cap; without it, I'm pretty sure the machine would leak.

8) Machine gets moldy: you are not following the correct cleaning routine, as described in the manual. You need to empty and rinse out the tank daily, and empty the bottom part of the unit too. Once a week you should use a white vinegar/warm water mixture in the tank and bottom of unit (see manual).

I hope this was helpful. If my humidifier breaks down I will certainly update this review.

This applies to the Blue tank/White base model.

This was one of the few larger ones that were significantly cheaper than ones I could source locally - but I wondered why this model was so much less expensive than the others. I know some plastics are cheaper to produce than others, but $10 cheaper? Anyway it runs quietly and produces a nice amount of mist. At the lowest setting, it doesn't produce any mist - I'm not sure the purpose of that, but once you turn the knob to where the markings are, it begins misting. Oddly enough, the dots on the knob seem to be in reverse - the smaller the dots, the larger the volume of mist. Also, it has a single red/green LED mounted beneath the tank. If you are a person who prefers to sleep in complete darkness, choose another unit, as this LED is not only next to impossible to blackout without disassembling the unit, it also causes the white base portion to glow in the dark. The opening in the tank to refill is only @2" across, so it would be less easy to clean than ones with 3-4" openings. Also, the carrying handle is located under the directional cone on the top - and I wouldn't trust it to be sturdy enough to carry the tank when full (the unit has marking saying to use 2 hands to carry a full unit). Also, the unit will not automatically shut off if you remove the tank when it's running, like most of my previous models would do. Lastly, I noticed mist seeping out where the directional cone meets the tank, which could cause water to accumulate along the outside of the tank. I used an appropriate sized rubber band to act as an O-ring, and the leaking stopped.

Your mileage may vary.

Update:

After using it for almost a year, I have to say it's been a good little unit. Despite the previously mentioned small fill opening, it has been very easy to keep clean and deodorized -- and that plastic handle is just a sturdy as on day one. It is a little tricky to clean up the area underneath it, but it's not a deal breaker. After 10 months of pretty much 24/7 operation, it was beginning to get a little noisy -- so being a clever lad who is used to trying to quiet noisy computer fans -- I did a wee bit of surgery to the unit and lubed the fan. It is now whirring as quietly (almost) as day one. On the whole, it's been a good little unit.

I've been using the Crane 24 hours a day for two months now (since December). It works great and my hygrometer shows how it definitely increases the humidity in the room. While the humidifier definitely helps prevent a dry mouth and throat in the morning, my main reason for buying it is because I have an expensive acoustic guitar that is very sensitive to low humidity, even when I use a wet sponge hydrator inside the guitar body. Late last winter the two wood halves of my guitar's soundboard started to separate because of the dryness in my room. I had to pay $100 to the repair shop to have my guitar reinforced. The repair guy said that this kind of separation in a guitar's soundboard tends to happen in the winter when the heat in the house has been on for a while and has been drying everything out. After the guitar was repaired I began using a wet sponge hydrator inside the guitar body to help humidify it some, and with the heat being on less in the late winter, I saw no further signs of wood separation so I thought all was well.

However, early this winter, even with the sponge hydrator I again saw a slight separation happening with the guitar's wood halves, so I immediately bought the Crane humidifier because I know that when the humidity level in the room is up above 40% or so, the guitar shows no sign of wood separation. When the humidity level is down in the 30's or lower, I start to see a crack between the guitar's two soundboard halves below the sound hole. Without the humidifier, my room goes down to 25% or lower in the winter, so it's very important to have the humidifier. The guitar manufacturer recommends keeping the room humidity between 45% and 55%. With the Crane, I keep my room at a minimum of 45% all the time. The guitar functions beautifully, the way I want it to for a very long time.

Like others, I don't understand some of the negative reviews this Crane humidifier has gotten, unless some of those people had defective units or something.

One thing to watch: I have found that when you return the filled water tank to the base unit, you have to place the filled tank 100% snugly and firmly on the base or water will not flow from the water tank into the base unit. After you put the filled water tank on the base unit and turn the humidifier on, if the water tank is not 100% perfectly situated on the base you may still see mist coming from the humidifier, but the only water that's producing the mist is the little amount that still remains in the base's holding area, which will last for only a short while. If you were to leave the house immediately after improperly putting the water tank on the base unit, even though you see mist coming from the humidifier while leaving, you will return home later to find a full tank of water with no mist coming out, and a room with decreased humidity level. So make sure you carefully check that the filled water tank is sitting 100% perfectly snug on the base unit.

Other reviewers have mentioned the white dust that can accumulate on furniture over time, which they said could be remedied by using filtered water instead of tap water. Because they mentioned this, initially I used filtered tap water from the filtration unit on my sink. But I found even with filtered water my TV screen still collected some white dust over time that I would have to wipe off periodically. This was no big deal. Because my sink's water filter unit slows down the water flow out of the faucet significantly, which makes filling the humidifier's water tank time-consuming, a few weeks ago I tried using regular tap water which flows much faster out of the faucet into the humidifier's tank. For my room, I found that the tap water caused no noticeable increase in white dust over the filtered water. There is some white dust accumulation, but not any annoying amount. Mainly, I have to wipe the dust off my TV screen periodically and that's no big deal. Now that I use tap water to fill the tank, it only takes a few seconds to fill up, whereas with filtered water it took a minute or more. Since it is cone shaped, you have to hold the humidifier's tank the entire time you are filling it because it will not sit flat in the sink, so the less you have to stand there and wait the better. The other benefit in using tap water is that I don't use up my sink's water filter as quickly as I did the first month and a half I had the humidifier when I was using about two gallons a day from it. (Each filter lasts for 100-gallons.)

The only consideration I have about this Crane humidifier is that cleaning the entire unit thoroughly takes some time. I clean it once a week as recommended. For the base unit and the top, bottom, and flow chamber of the water tank I use wet paper towels dipped in a small pot of water with one teaspoon of bleach mixed in. For the inside of the water tank, I fill it halfway with bleach water and cap it up and shake it vigorously. I have found that a teaspoon of bleach seems to prevent pink mold build-up on my humidifier's base unit better than a teaspoon of white vinegar did. A small amount of pink buildup by the end of the week occurs, and that's why cleaning the unit weekly is very important. If using bleach, just be careful to fully wash your hands afterward because bleach can irritate or even burn your skin if left unwashed.

I have noticed something interesting: Tap water seems to last a few hours longer than filtered water in the humidifier.

I bought the Crane 2.3 gallon cool mist humidifier based on its price and the many positive Amazon reviews it had. I agree that it is really only approximately a one-gallon tank, so the 2.3 number is misleading. Why they have to do this, I cannot fathom. I guess they're insecure unless they shoot big numbers at you.

That aside, this unit has worked great these last two months, and now I know that my expensive guitar is not in any danger due to humidity level issues in the house. For the price it's a great unit.

PLEASE READ THE VERY BOTTOM FOR THE LATEST UPDATE:

A lot of the lower star reviews say that this thing only last a few months, but I sincerely hope that's not the case with all of them. My advice if you haven't already, is to read the 1 star reviews and decide if those issues are enough to matter to you.

AFTER 1.5 WEEKS OF constant RUNNING:

Pros:

It really puts out a heavy stream of vapor that is visible. I love that.

It was VERY easy to fill and assemble

It makes no sound at all, except for the occasional bubble of water when the valve refills

Runs for about 10 hours before needing to be refilled, but shuts off if it runs out of water

Does NOT leave a big wet mess on the floor beneath or on the furniture

Cool looking

Cons:

MAJOR CON: Made with VERY cheap and thin plastic ( I am very careful and gentle with my things, especially after reading reviews about how this machine cracks very easily. IT DOES! I put it down in the sink very carefully, with two hands still on it for weight support to fill it, and then I noticed while putting it back on the base that it was cracked around the top. I cannot believe it! I was so careful. I also just noticed that it's now cracked on the inside of the vapor valve. No water is leaking yet, but I just cannot believe how easily it cracks. No bumps or pressure, just cracked from the weight of the water I suppose. Unbelievable! DO nOT sit this thing down, or it will crack.

There's a little light glowing in the tank, You can't turn it off, this may aggravate some during the night, but it's very dim in my opinion

There's a handle on the tank, but it says not to use it when the tank is filled with water. I'm not sure why you would need it otherwise.

Cord is a little shorter than I prefer, you'll need to sit it close to the plug.

Water drips everywhere when you take it apart to refill it. It drips off of the top and the bottom, so no matter how you carry it to the sink, you're going to have a trail of drips. My advice is to take the entire thing to the sink before you pull the tank off to refill. (pretty aggravating)

These are all preliminary cons, as I've just started using it and the excitement has not worn off yet. Will update.

UPDATE:

OKAY! SO NOW THE REAL STORY...

MINE STOPPED WORKING ALSO! I THOUGHT THAT I HAD GOTTEN AWAY WITH A PRODUCT THAT I COULD MAKE WORK FOR A WHILE, BUT NO, IT STOPPED PUTTING OUT VAPOR THE OTHER DAY after only a couple of weeks. IT ALSO LEAKED OUT ALL OVER THE PIECE OF FURNITURE IT WAS ON, CAUSING IT TO BUBBLE UP. IT SOAKED A DIAPER BAG FULL OF BRAND NEW "NON-CHLORINE" HONEST COMPANY DIAPERS (THAT ARE VERY EXPENSIVE AND HAVE TO BE ORDERED ONLINE). I was furious, and contacted Amazon. They responded quickly and said they would credit back the cost of the humidifier to my card within a couple of days. That hasn't happened yet, but I sincerely appreciate Amazon's attempt to remedy the problem. They even said I could keep it or throw it away, not to worry about the hassle of returning, which I thought was impressive. I was about to throw it away, when I decided to mess with it some. I took it apart, fiddled with the valve and let it dry out for couple of days. I put it back together, and voila, it's working again. I don't know if one of the electronic parts got wet or what, but drying it out seemed to do the trick. The stream of vapor isn't as thick as it was, but at least it's working. I would love to have it for free, but my conscience wouldn't let me, so I emailed amazon and told them that it was working again. Hopefully it won't do this again, but I'm telling you right now, it's not worth the hassle of broken parts, messed up furniture and other stuff from leaks or having to send it back. Don't be mesmerized by it's cool looking body, go with a different humidifier. It's neat and works beautifully at first, but it is made so cheap, it's just a temporary humidifier.

2ND UPDATE: It quit working again. I'm throwing this piece of junk in the trash.

Works great and a nice size not to big and not to small. It's easy to use and definitely helped save me while I wasn't feeling thay well.

This humidifier works great for dry air. It runs quietly, puts out a steady mist, and helps with dry skin and stuffy nose. The tank lasts through the night, and it shuts off automatically when empty. It’s easy to refill and clean. Overall, a good value for the price and perfect for bedrooms or small rooms.

Works excellently without problem. I find it very easy to fill up and empty and it runs silently. The top of the tank is rounded so it doesn't sit flat when you turn it upside down to fill it, but I set the top inside the kitchen sink drain and it fits perfectly and stays put. Alternatively you could place it in a bowl or pot to keep it still while it fills if you don't want to hold on to it. It emits a very fine cool mist that looks like white smoke which is interesting to watch. I've received several compliments from coworkers about how stylish it looks. It lasts a fairly long time on one tank of water depending on how high you turn it up; I use it five days a week at the office turned up about half way or slightly higher and it usually makes it until midday Wednesday or Thursday on one tank. You can twist the spout to point the mist in different directions. It will automatically shut off when it runs out of water which I appreciate for safety reasons and there is a tiny light in the base that turns red when the water level is too low and green when it is fine. There are demineralization filter cartridges available separately if desired and I like that it is available in different colours. This is the quietest and most attractive humidifier I have ever had and I think the price is very decent. I would highly recommend this device for those looking for a small space humidifier. I have been using mine five days a week for nearly a year and a half and it is still working perfectly for me.

Great product. Water tank is big enough to last 4-5 nights.

Me gusto mucho. El diseño no estorba en la decoración de tu casa, dura toda la noche, es facil de limpir y de usar. Lo tengo en el cuarto de mi bebé y no hace ruido. Lo recomiendo mucho!

Très efficace et esthétique

Mais attention c est une prise anglaise donc pour l utiliser en France il faut un adaptateur

I've had the humidifier for a little over a month now. Although I initially loved it, I've since stopped using it due to the difficulty associated with maintaining it.

Pros:

- Item arrived promptly and in a well-protected package.

- The humidifier has a really great water output, and produces a thick, visible stream of mist -- even on the lower settings!

- Despite the heavy water output, it's incredibly efficient. On a low-to-mid setting, it lasts for nearly a full 24 hours of continuous use.

- Very quiet! Advertised as "whisper-quiet" and is indeed so.

Cons:

- Once it runs out, it's a bit of a pain to refill. Contrary to common sense, you can't simply remove the top spout and pour water down the top. Rather, you have to remove the spout, remove the water tank, turn it upside down, and fill it that way. Very counter-intuitive, and a bit of a chore. Getting water all over the place while doing so is unavoidable.

- Cleaning is a pain. The bottom of the humidifier (i.e. the part that has the controls, etc.) is undetachable from the power cord, so you need to unplug the device from the wall every time you want to empty it out. This becomes especially difficult during cleaning when it's filled to the brim with water and vinegar. For someone wanting to keep the chord neatly tucked away thinking that you will never need to access it, this may not be the best option.

- There is a small light that is constantly on whenever the humidifier is running. When it's full, the light is green, and when it's empty, the light is red. (Unless you turn the entire device off, both the light and the unit remain on even when the tank is empty.) It's a fairly bright light, and there is virtually no way to cover it up as it is located inside of the tank.

- In order to be used effectively, the device needs to be elevated (i.e. cannot simply be placed on the floor).

Despite it's flaws, it remains the best humidifier I have ever owned. For someone willing to invest the time into constant care (i.e. not bothered by the difficulty of doing so), it's definitely something I would recommend. For someone looking for a low-maintenance device, I would suggest looking elsewhere.