Review of Luma Comfort Cool Mist Ultrasonic Humidifier HC12B
As a mom to a preschooler with eczema and a person who suffers from dry sinuses during the winter months, I have gone through my fair share of humidifiers, from inexpensive store brands to high-end ultrasonic models. Because of this, I have become rather opinionated about what I look for in a humidifier and believe I am a good candidate to test and review this product.
The Luma Comfort Cool Mist Ultrasonic Humidifier HC12B is pretty straightforward to assemble out of the box. I did get confused about the number of nozzle pieces, and the instructions were ambiguous about the fact that you can set the humidifier up with various-length nozzles, depending if you have it sitting on the floor or on a table.
Once I figured that out though, I set it up with the medium-length nozzle, as I was placing the humidifier slightly off the floor on the hearth in my living room.
The bulb-shaped bottom of the humidifier is made up of two pieces. The top piece lifts off and is the tank that you fill with water. This was easy to do, and the water reservoir is a pretty decent size, holding over a gallon of water (9.5 pints according to manual).
After it is placed on the base, you hear the water gurgling into the base and the instructions recommend waiting five minutes before you turn it on. After that, I had my preschooler press the power button, which gave a satisfying beep and illuminated. Within minutes cool mist was visibly floating out the top of the nozzle, adding moisture to the air. The cool mist part is great, because the first thing my son did was cover the nozzle with his palm and I had no concerns about him getting burned. The whole unit feels cool to the touch.
The unit is very quiet, producing a barely noticeable whirring or humming noise that I only hear if I consciously listen for the sound.
One of the key features of this unit is that it is designed to be attractive. I typically hate having a bulky humidifier take up precious table space in my small home, typically crowding a table or dresser for the duration of winter. While Im sure I could put any humidifier on the floor, this one looks like it belongs there and is far less obtrusive than the other humidifiers I own.
Additionally, for your familys health and product longevity, humidifiers need to be cleaned regularly so I appreciate ones that are easy to clean. While the manual explains that the humidifier can run for 45 hours continuously on a single tank, it also recommends that you replace the tank of water daily to reduce the chance of buildup or bacteria. I found this to be a bit confusing. If Im going to change the water daily, whats the point of a 45 hour cycle? Good thing for me, Im not that organized. If I cant remember to scoop out my cats litter box each day, there is no way Im going to find time to dump out and refill a humidifier tank.
I have learned the hard way that cleaning out the reservoir frequently is important, not only to keep the humidifier running efficiently, but to avoid nasty mold growth. Trust me on this, it is not only nasty to look at but really unhealthy to neglect, so if you are going to use a humidifier, keep it clean! I clean mine every other week when in use continuously, which is what the manual recommends. Anytime I unplug it I try to remember to dump the water out immediately.
I ran the humidifier through two 45 hour cycles, then drained it and cleaned it as I would twice a month. Previously I have cleaned my humidifiers with white vinegar and water, but the manual suggested using a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution, as recommended by the EPA, to help remove mineral buildup and disinfect the unit. Good old Google helped me figure out that to make a gallon I needed to combine 1.25 cups of hydrogen peroxide, 14.75 cups of water (to get 16 cups, which equals a gallon). I put this in the reservoir and let it sit for 20 minutes, swishing it around a bit any time I came back into the kitchen.
After the soaking was complete, I rinsed both the base and the water reservoir with clean water and let the pieces dry out in the bathtub before putting the unit back together.
The humidifier comes with a remote that includes one of those coin shaped batteries. I understand why they went that route design-wise. The remote mimics the shape of the humidifier and is too small to hold AAA or AA batteries. However I never have anything but those batteries in stock and typically get irritated by products that require something that necessitates a specific trip to the hardware store to replace. Honestly I havent even put the battery in the remote since you can operate the unit directly from the base.
Overall it is a unique take on humidifier design with a large tank capacity to get several days use on a single run. I found it easy to clean and appreciated the ability to customize the nozzle height based on where the unit was placed.