Humidifier Reviews

I usually do not write reviews here. However, because of my experience with ALL of the Slant Fin humidifiers that I have purchased over the past 4 years (GF200 and GF300), I wanted to let others know that there are issues with the products.

GOOD: Humidification: The output is not great and is not suitable for large open rooms. For enclosed rooms like bedrooms or playrooms, they work very well. The plus is the warmth of the moisture (this is essentially a boiling pot). Occasionally, gurgling aside (from boiling), they are quiet.

GOOD?: "Bacteria free" operation: UV lights and boiling supposedly make the products "virtually bacteria free," always a good thing.

NOW BAD: Cleaning and maintenance: Our water is neither hard nor soft (Lake Michigan water in Chicago suburbs). The mineral buildup/scaling is very substantial on plastic and metal parts and very hard to clean. Given that they need to be cleaned every week or so, it is very time-consuming.

NOW REALLY BAD: All of the Slant Fin humidifiers that I have owned had problems with water level sensors. The electrodes (2 each in GF 300) get corroded and rust away after 1 or 2 years (usually shortly after the expiration of warranty). The two probes (spaced about an 1/2 inch), when dipped in water, apparently transmit/receive a very low voltage electricity, completing a control circuit and indicating there is water in the tank. If they don't transmit electricity (i.e., no water in the tank), the boiling pot turns itself off.

The problem is that the metal probes get corroded and get covered with rust/corrosion. Because they don't transmit/receive electricity, even if there is plenty of water in the unit, the unit shuts itself off. Initially, you can scrape the corrosion/mineral buildup on the metal probes with your finger nails. Eventually, the metal probes/electrodes literally rust away. That literally renders the entire unit inoperable and, thus, worthless.

NOW THE ABSOLUTE WORST: "Customer Service": I have sent emails, written letters and left voice mail messages. I asked whether I could buy the probes or send the units back for service. I have NEVER received any response.

It is also very hard to get any live person. When I did get a person at the "customer service" department, that person claimed that she did not work in that department and transferred me to the "right" department, sending me into the voice mail maze hell, only to get disconnected after 10 minutes.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT: The product works well, as intended, for about a year or two. The promise of "bacteria free operation" and warm moisture made me forget about the extremely burdensome cleaning. I recommended these products to all of my friends and relatives in the first year of operation, accounting for as many as 20+ units. Given that a large majority of them are having the same problems as my units, I think this is a serious design defect that Slant Fin is refusing to address. I am sorry that I bought and recommended these units.

Thus, given what appears to be a serious design flaw (re water-level probes) coupled with the worst customer service I have ever experienced for a consumer product, I can no longer recommend any Slant Fin humidifiers.

I bought this product just under 3 years ago and it worked flawlessly for the first two. Large capacity water tanks can run for a couple of days and humidifies well. Anti-germ properties of warm mist+UV treatment held up as advertised.

End of last winter it stopped working, and I just got around to sending it in under warranty. (Just under the 3 yr mark) Slant Fin was helpful on the phone and promptly determined mine was DOA and sent me a new one, no charge. Can't say enough about good customer service from an appliance manufacturer - a rarity these days.

Would have given it 5 stars, but the tank's opening is small and makes them hard to clean. We have very hard water and find the anti-mineral pads don't help much to prevent scale, which we have to clean weekly.

I loved this humidifier. It is capable of moist the air within my over 400 sq. ft. room very quickly... quiet... easy to clean even with my hard well-water. Like most of the small electric applicance built nowadays, this product finally no longer worked after the 3-yr warranty was up. My hot pot has 3-yr warrantly (by another manufacturer)stopped working after it passed the warranty period, so as my toaster oven. Comparing to more 5 other smaller humidifiers I bought before, which either stopped working within the first year, or was extremely hard to clean, SlantFin 350 provides me much more value collectively. Because of this, I think 4.5 stars is more appropriate. However, I still give it a 5-star because it is still the best one among the six of them I got in the pass 5 years.

I bought this humidifier about 2 months ago, to run while I sleep. My apartment is very dry and I got tired of waking up with a sore throat. On the plus side, this humidifier works well for the price. I use it in a 14X12 foot room and it does a good job of keeping it humid.

On the negative side, the tank is NOT 2 gallons. If I run it overnight I have to leave it on Low or else it will run out of water. Worst of all, after about 2 weeks use it started getting noisy. I can't even use it anymore while I sleep because it keeps me awake. Now I just run it during the day and turn it off at night. If you only have 20 dollars to spare, this is probably the best you can do. If you have 40 dollars, buy something better.

Whenever I get a cold I develop a cough that lasts for weeks. I take prescription cough medicine, but I also had a cool mist humidifier in my bedroom to help ease my symptoms. I would run it day and night, but I didn't notice any change in the room or any improvement in my cough. This time when I started with a cold and coughing, I bought the Robitussin Warm Moisture Humidifier. I noticed a big difference right away. The warm steam helped ease my breathing and my cough stopped after a few days. It supposedly has a two gallon capacity, but it's actually a little over 1 gallon. However, that allows me to run the humidifier all night long. I do have to refill it in the morning before I go to work and again late in the evening. It does have to be cleaned once a week, but it's very easy to do so. Using white vinegar, as the instructions suggest, works very well. For anyone looking for a reasonably priced humidifier that works well in a small to mid-size room, I can definitely recommend this product.

This had the most consistant good reviews, so I thought I'd give it a shot! And I 'm glad I did. I have severely dry skin and often breathing problems. This humidifier helps both. If you are choosing to buy a humidifer, I would definetly reccomend this one. Like any humidifier, you must keep it cleaned out otherwise bacteria and just plain 'really gross' stuff will build up.

Another perk to the humidifier is that it is so quiet you won't even know that it's on. And it doesn't splatter all over!!!

I purchased this (Slant Fin GF200) warm mist humidifier with the idea of "germ free" in mind. The idea of having a germ free humidifier is great! The UV bulb killing bacteria, and the mineral pad absorbing any minerals work well (as far as I know).

I have owned this unit for approximately a month. I thought buying distilled water would be too expensive. So, I purchased extra mineral pads expecting hard water to be an issue. Anticipating the worst, I was prepared. Let me tell you, this unit reauires lots of "love" or maintenance (if you want to get down and dirty). I cleaned the unit (resevoir in particular) frequently, every 5-7 days. I replaced the mineral pads when needed, usually at cleaning time (again, 5-7 days). Scale buildup was terrible -- even with the frequent cleanings! After alot of elbow grease or grunt work (and vinegar), I got things cleaned in about 20-30 minutes.

Then, I started to notice the coating (stainless steel) on the reservoir flaking off and rusting. First it was one spot, then it was 3-4 spots. This, IMHO, is poor quality! I am currently trying to get the product returned for repair, even though I strongly believe that it would happen again. After paying close to $100 for the humidifier and extra mineral pads, I would have expected better quality for Slant-Fin!

In conclusion: If you have hard water, avoid this humidifier. The mineral pads help with hard water, but they can't take all of the minerals out of your water, to prevent the scale buildup. Unless you replace the pads every other day. If you use distilled water, you may have better results, but you pay the extra for the "pure" mineral-free water.

Pros: great idea/concept, humidifies well, simple, quiet.

Cons: poor quality, expensive, needs lots of maintenance, scale buildup, purchasing extra mineral pads and/or UV bulbs.

Update: The company has failed to reply to email for warranty service. My next step is the Better Business Bureau. Stay away from this company!!!

I usually do not write reviews here. However, because of my experience with ALL of the Slant Fin humidifiers that I have purchased over the past 4 years (GF200 and GF300), I wanted to let others know that there are issues with the products.

GOOD: Humidification: The output is not great and is not suitable for large open rooms. For enclosed rooms like bedrooms or playrooms, they work very well. The plus is the warmth of the moisture (this is essentially a boiling pot). Occasionally, gurgling aside (from boiling), they are quiet.

GOOD?: "Bacteria free" operation: UV lights and boiling supposedly make the products "virtually bacteria free," always a good thing.

NOW BAD: Cleaning and maintenance: Our water is neither hard nor soft (Lake Michigan water in Chicago suburbs). The mineral buildup/scaling is very substantial on plastic and metal parts and very hard to clean. Given that they need to be cleaned every week or so, it is very time-consuming.

NOW REALLY BAD: All of the Slant Fin humidifiers that I have owned had problems with water level sensors. The electrodes (2 each in GF 300) get corroded and rust away after 1 or 2 years (usually shortly after the expiration of warranty). The two probes (spaced about an 1/2 inch), when dipped in water, apparently transmit/receive a very low voltage electricity, completing a control circuit and indicating there is water in the tank. If they don't transmit electricity (i.e., no water in the tank), the boiling pot turns itself off.

The problem is that the metal probes get corroded and get covered with rust/corrosion. Because they don't transmit/receive electricity, even if there is plenty of water in the unit, the unit shuts itself off. Initially, you can scrape the corrosion/mineral buildup on the metal probes with your finger nails. Eventually, the metal probes/electrodes literally rust away. That literally renders the entire unit inoperable and, thus, worthless.

NOW THE ABSOLUTE WORST: "Customer Service": I have sent emails, written letters and left voice mail messages. I asked whether I could buy the probes or send the units back for service. I have NEVER received any response.

It is also very hard to get any live person. When I did get a person at the "customer service" department, that person claimed that she did not work in that department and transferred me to the "right" department, sending me into the voice mail maze hell, only to get disconnected after 10 minutes.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT: The product works well, as intended, for about a year or two. The promise of "bacteria free operation" and warm moisture made me forget about the extremely burdensome cleaning. I recommended these products to all of my friends and relatives in the first year of operation, accounting for as many as 20+ units. Given that a large majority of them are having the same problems as my units, I think this is a serious design defect that Slant Fin is refusing to address. I am sorry that I bought and recommended these units.

Thus, given what appears to be a serious design flaw (re water-level probes) coupled with the worst customer service I have ever experienced for a consumer product, I can no longer recommend any Slant Fin humidifiers.

We own two of these humidifiers and they have both worked great. They have been in our kids rooms for over a year and other than replacing the UV bulb and filters, they've given us no problem. I actually decided to get a different humidifier for myself because this one was too quiet and I wanted some background noise. I just wish it was digital to make the humididy level more precise.