Venta LW45 Original Humidifier Black - Filter-Free Evaporative Humidifier for Spaces up to 600 ft²

I've had the Venta LW25 for about 2.5 years now. It has been trouble free and works well humidifying the air and cleaning the air. You need to add the Venta water treatment, once every two weeks when you clean the unit. I simply "rinse" it out and use a paper towel or cloth to wipe it out. Once a season I use the Venta cleaner. It is a bit tough to remove mineral deposits, but otherwise it is very easy to fill, use, rinse. When you clean it after two weeks you can see the sludge in the bottom of the tank of debris it has pulled out of the air. For my house, which is forced hot air, a full tank usually lasts 40-48 hours unless it is extremely cold, then it lasts 24-36 hours. (other types noted below, even with larger tanks would be a max of 24 hours). We usually leave ours on the medium fan speed and it is a nice background noise. If it is really cold or if the unit ran out of water for a while, we use the high speed which still isn't too bad. I've used boiling water (dangerous & energy hog), cold air filter types (filters grow mold in a matter of weeks), and ultrasonic for years.I've been using various types of humidifiers for years (20-30 years) due to sinus and/or winter allergies. If I don't use a humidifier in winter, I also get bloody noses, which I haven't had since I've been using this unit, so that is a good sign that it is humidifying the air. I got tired of trying to clean the boiling water types and the energy bills. Looking at the cold air filter type, It can't be good to spread mold around the house and cleaning it was also troublesome and replacement filters are costly regardless of the brand. As for ultrasonic, they worked the best of the other three BUT they ruined several pieces of furniture and some wood flooring from their "white dust" mineral laden output. Granted the water in my area is mineral laden but I can't do much about that. I also found it to be a pain to clean it weekly, very tough to get into all the nooks in cranny's of the brands I've had. Of the three styles, I liked the Ultrasonic the most, but I can't live with the damage they have done. As for the Venta - it is much easier to refill, I use a pitcher, easier to clean than any of the other styles, and I have to fill it less often because the tank holds more water. Unlike other types, it automatically shuts off when it is out of water.YES it is more expensive than a lot of other humidifiers on the market, but in the end both my wife and I are very happy with the unit. Also, worth considering is there are no filters to replace, so if you do the calculations over a few seasons, the VENTA starts to look pretty competitive. You need to purchase the water treatment, which a bottle lasts most of the season, and the cleaner solution for use once or twice a season. For a season, these both cost less than one set of filters which typically last 2-4 weeks. The cold air filter type humidifiers are kinda like the Razor blade business, they often give a away or sell the handles cheaply, but they get you with the replacement heads (filters).All in all a great unit. Good size water tank for extended use, no filters to replace, comparably easy to clean. Obviously I'm a fan of the VENTA 25 units. I recently purchased the larger VENTA 45 for the living room!

I have been using humidifiers for over 60 years. I have a medical condition -- if I don't use humidifiers I get infections. It's that simple. So I use them faithfully. Over all these years, I have tried every kind of humidifier there is. The reality is that any machine that uses water the way a humidifier does takes some upkeep. When we had a house, we had a furnace humidifier -- the best money could buy. It was ineffective. So now I just rely on the Ventas. I prefer the smaller size as they are easier to handle overall. For about 1400-1500 square feet, I now have 5, though most folks could do with fewer I think. But the Venta air washers I have (started using in 2007) have been by far and away the best humidifiers and the easiest to maintain. They are clean, quiet, don't create mold or white dust, keep and your inside air much healthier. I have not been using them in the summer and the difference in the dirt on my furnace filter when I do not use them is significant.I rinse them out every 2 weeks and use the water additive. My thanks to the other Amazon reviewer who pointed out that the LW14 and 15 require only 1.75oz of additive -- not the 3.5 oz marked on the additive bottle. Once or twice a year, I clean them more thoroughly, first running them for a couple of hours with a mix of 3 cups white vinegar and 10 cups water. I take the fan out and clean the blades and clean the rest as best I can.There have been times I need to send them in for repair -- usually that loud squeaky noise they sometimes make. I suspect if you are handy you could fix them yourselves.In short, I highly recommend them. No humidifier is perfect, but these Ventas are absolutely the best I've found in 60+ years.Update: February 2018. I had been getting bad spring/summer colds each year so in 2017, I kept the Venta in my bedroom going all year, rather than just the winter months. No colds, no infections. These really work!

The idea behind this humidifier is fine. It uses evaporation to humidify the space claimed. That makes it efficient and avoids some of the problems of both boiling and cold water humidifiers. It is pricey, but I thought it would be worth it. The problem is that it came with a 10 year warranty and broke in 2 1/2. I know this is an unusual time because of Covid-19, but they claim to be working from home. I have not been able to contact customer service and make a warranty claim. I will update this if they ever get in touch and give me satisfaction.When I examined it after it stopped working, I found that there is a flimsy piece of plastic which is at the heart of the mechanism. Basically, a powered fan drives the humidified air into the space. That fan also spins that flimsy piece of plastic which spins 2 collections of wheels that collect the water from a reservoir and then expose the wet wheels to the air. The water evaporates off the wheels and the vapor is distributed by the fan. I don't see how that piece of plastic could last ten years under the constant flexing and turning.I gave it low stars for cleaning because only part of it is easily cleaned. The reservoir is a cinch. But the wheels and the fan are a tedious pain. According to their claims, they shouldn't need to be cleaned because the minerals should remain in the water reservoir. The water is covered with a lighter than water compound that is supposed to suck up all the minerals. But the fan and wheels did get caked with minerals The minerals stuck hard to the other parts. In some cases, only a tooth brush could get in. Some parts of the wheels cannot be reached. Because it works by evaporation, there is a lot of of surface area. The amount of space on the wheels is directly related to the amount of evaporation. Most of that surface never really came clean after the minerals 1st attached.I am pretty handy and would have tried to fix it myself. But it is under warranty and that piece of plastic is unique. Right now the device is a brick.