Crane Drop Humidifier

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.

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.

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 had real annoyances with humidifiers in the past: bulky, white powder, damp furniture, and almost always a PITA to clean. This one works beautifully. I use filtered tap water, and the only "white powder" issue I've had is when I had it cranked up too high overnight (and even then it was a simple dust job and it was gone, no problem). I like the control: learn to mind how high you have it turned up, depending on how dry the air actually is that day. Even cranked up, I've had no problems with condensation getting anything damp. It shuts off when it runs out of water (great for peace of mind!), but leaves a red light on so that you notice the problem. It's surprisingly easy to fill from the (filtered) tap, and cleans quickly and easily. I've been using it non-stop for a month now and it's still going strong. I'm back to get another one for the bedroom, since our apartment is a bit too large for a single one to cover properly. Overall, I agree with the reviewers who point out that a lot of the 1- and 2-star complaints are easily solved by following the basic directions. Read the (short) manual and you'll be very pleased with this one. ========= UPDATE (2/8/13) A warning/tip for those who have one or are thinking of buying (from someone who now has three of them): It's tempting to try to overfill it. You fill up the tank, turn it over, and between the air pocket and the immediate drain into the basin, the tank's suddenly half empty. By the time I set up my third one, I felt like a pro, so I tipped the tank so it was almost completely full from the tap, then "pre-loaded" the basin itself with water before joining them. I thought that I'd ended up with a dud machine because when I turned it on the mist was mostly large droplets, and they only reached to the halfway point of the inside tube (i.e., nothing actually came out). After remembering a note somewhere warning not to overfill it (yeah, whatever, right?), I tried leaving it out empty overnight to dry out. Then I filled up the tank reasonably full and put it on the empty base. The tank level immediately dropped to it's half-level... but the machine worked fine. So they're serious about not overfilling it, and if you have the problem I described, it may just mean that you somehow waterlogged it. Try letting it dry out empty overnight and then filling it modestly. You may find it's not actually broken after all. :)

While most reviews are going to say good things because they were written within a couple months of purchase, I'm writing this review 14 months after purchase. In the first year or so, we loved this humidifier. It was quiet, adjustable, and very easy to use. We even carried the full container of water by the obvious handle that the instructions say not to, and that others have complained about. The handle is plastic-welded or glued to the clear water container, so I think the manufacturer is not confident enough in their design to trust the weld to hold the weight of 2 gallons of water. Worked fine for us. But after about 12 months, two modes of failure appeared. The first is that the water regulator float has a little spring in it. For some reason, the spring started rusting, and now coats the entire vaporizer area with a reddish film that we have to clean every refill. Why they didn't use stainless steel, I'll never know. Second, and the most important, is that now when we turn the unit on, the fan vibrates and buzzes very loudly. There's no way our 1 year old daughter can sleep with this thing buzzing away (about at the volume of your phone on vibrate while sitting on a coffee table--but constant). For about a month, we resolved the buzz by banging on the base with our hand until the fan settled into a normal, quiet spin. Now, we have to bang on it for 5 minutes or more. And of course the warranty is 12 months. Designed to last 1 year. For nearly $50, I expected more. [UPDATE 4/2013, 16 months] For those who experience the annoying "buzzing" sound I described, I resolved that problem. I took off the base using a long small Phillips screwdriver (I think 4 screws) and used a can of compressed air to blow out the fan area. Apparently, the fan accumulated dust and became imbalanced, causing it to buzz as it spun. You may be able to blow the dust out without taking off the base with a carefully pointed nozzle straw through the slots in the base. Yeah, now that it doesn't buzz any more, we still love the darn thing, but the spring is still rusting and causing the container and bottom bowl to get that red film (and bleach does NOT magically make the rust turn white). Not sure what's going to fail when the spring rusts to pieces. [UPDATE 2/2014, 26 months] Product has all but failed now under very light use (a couple weeks at a time, once or twice a year). The fan buzzes regularly now, although I can temporarily get it quiet by using a can of compressed air blown strategically upward into the vent slots on the bottom. The spring that was rusting has completely broken to pieces now (see my uploaded picture), so the valve in the screw-on lid no longer has a spring to close it when you fill the container and turn it upright. It will mostly close after blubbing out water a couple times due to gravity, but what a mess. So now the routine is to carry the entire unit, base and all, into the bathroom to fill the container, quickly inverting it onto the base, then carrying the whole thing back to the room. This is all caused by a cheap fan and a steel (not stainless) spring that is designed to be immersed in water--and obviously bound to fail. This would be a good humidifier if the manufacturer had any sense of quality. Look for another brand if you want something that will last.

Such a great humidifier! Easy use & easy to clean! The size is perfect.

All the other positive reviews on this product are accurate, so I'll just add what I didn't see in the other posts. The way this thing works is that the water tank just sits on top of the base with nothing but gravity holding it down. There's a little screw cap at the bottom of the base of the tank you unscrew to filler up. When you screw it back on, you can turn it over and it doesn't leak. In the middle of the cap is a spring loaded screw thingy with some water tight plastic on the inside to keep it from leaking. When you set the tank on the base the screw thingy pushes in and lets water drain into the base. The primary issue I have is when the base needs more water and the air sucks up into the tank, it's pretty loud gulp sound... like a culligan water dispenser. It can be rather distracting when you're on the verge of falling asleep. I got 2 of these bad boys and I keep them both running 24/7 about 3/4 setting. The electric motor (or whatever makes it tick) is very quiet... I really can't hear anything coming from it. The one in our master bedroom keeps the air nice and moist, and I really feel a difference. We have one in our somewhat large living area (approx 30' x 15'). I don't see much difference in there, but I don't have any way to measure humidity other than "oh, feels humid in here". Also, as other reviewers mentioned. I wouldn't put this on the floor. It needs a little elevation. I could see it moistening the foor. I have both mine up at least 3 feet. The higher the better. I'd read the directions for care and to solve the common sense issues that other's have had. Makes since to me that when you switch it on, the little light comes on and doesn't go off till you switch it off. I've forgotten to switch it off when refilling... no big deal, kept running fine. The mist is nice and cool, and I'd recommend it to anyone. If you have a large space, you might need 2.