Korean Job Discussion Forums

[charlieDD]

'Tis the season for . . talking about humidifiers. Will share my experience with them for those about to buy one.

The ultra-sound ones: Put out lots of moisture fast and quiet, but the white dust factor seems impossible to overcome no matter what the product description / promises say. The place you'll see it most are on your television and your computer monitor screen; sticks to them like iron to a magnet. Cost in Korea anywhere from 30,000 - - all the way up to 200,000 won. And no matter how nice they are or what they say, my experience is they will put out the white dust. And, . . bacteria and the minerals that are in the water will become airborne in your room because they are not separated from the water; instead they travel on the mist particles; which means you are breathing them in.

The "wick" type: Put out a good amount of moisture into the air, but can be noisy with the fan needed to pull the air across or through the wick / filter. The wick / filter gets dirty quickly, especially here in Korea, and they aren't so cheap to replace. I have been impressed, however, with a SHARP HV-50CX wick type that I got recently as a gift. It uses ultraviolet light to kill bacteria in the water while it's still in the tank. Then, it has a high-tech filter that traps minerals, and finally an impressive "wick". It can go through a whole tank of water - - about 1. 5 gallons - - in about 7 or 8 hours, leaving the windows of my apartment steamed. Don't know how much it costs as I didn't buy it (got it as a gift), but probably in the 160,000 won range, if I recall seeing it at E-Mart. A replacement filter is 23,000 won.

"Air Washer" type - - Such as Air-O-Swiss or Venta. Expensive first of all. My Air-O-Swiss was 300,000 in Korea (not much cheaper stateside). They are effective to a point - - that point being normal saturation level - - as they depend on natural evaporation of the water as it is exposed to the air by rotating discs, with a gentle quiet fan just ever so lightly blowing across them. Super quiet - for the bedroom, they can't be beat for this . . ., very easy to clean, effective for most people but . . not effective enough for me; I need some over-saturation in the winter months.

Steam type: The best in my opinion. By far the cleanest humidifying you can get. As far as I know, there is only one brand and only one model sold in Korea: Honeywell. I bought one last year at E-Mart, then bought two more from online stores in Korea when E-Mart didn't have any more of them. (One in my apartment bedroom, one in my office, and one in the officetel I keep downtown.) Price around 50,000 Won. They put out a lot of moisture and quickly can turn a small room into a sauna - - if you want that much! They produce no white dust. They don't have any of the problems of old steamers - - sputtering sound and spitting of drops - - at all.

And, they don't have the old steamers' cleaning problem with the scale buildup on the heating element. They're using a new composite metal that cleans up readily (except in the hard to reach areas). Oh, they come with some KAZ inhalant in the box (similar to VICKS) because you are able to add that to the water or put it in a small cup that sits in the steam chamber. One of the three I bought did develop a leak; could never figure out what caused it, though i suspected the plunger on the water tank was not sitting properly. It served me well for a few months, so I was okay with buying another to replace it.

In short: If you just need normal humidity in the home and can afford the Air-O-Swiss I'd go with it; if you need more humidity and / or don't want to spend so much, a steam type. The only steamer one I know of selling in Korea is the Honeywell (made in China). The model number is the . . . H610-KR. (Box is in Korean and English; instructions in Korean only). I would avoid the ultra-sound type all together!

[europe2seoul]

What's the point in them?

First over the summer we are buying products to remove moisture and now we are supposed to buy products to introduce moisture. Damn...

[Ya-ta Boy]

[charlieDD]

[Novernae]

[charlieDD]

You're right: back home, I didn't pay as much attention to humidifiers. I lived in an area with cold, dry winters most of my life and needed humidifiers - - at least one at night in the bedroom - - but it didn't seem as important as here.

The reason it became a kind of "obsession" here is the fact that's there's so much floating around in Korea - - viruses that is - - and I really started catching everything out there when I spent my first winter here. When your nasal passage / sinuses are irritated, it's an open door for the viruses. A healthy, happy nasal passage can resist -- wahing things away before they can get a hold.

I try to avoid the Korean medical system at all costs. Besides, it's no fun being sick. My humidifier is my buddy and my pal when in Korea in the winter and having to mix with the mass population.

[Novernae]

[billybrobby]

[charlieDD]

The ultra-sound ones, which 90% of the ones they sell in Korea are, emit a mist that carries minerals in it. They're not left behind like in evaporation. These are in the air and they have to settle somewhere. They get attracted to electronics. Oh, and if you have an air filter, they'll clog it up (learned the hard way last winter and had to buy a new 100,000 won filter for my Hauzen (Samsung) air cleaner when it should have lasted at least another year, according to its specs.) Of course, you're breathing these minerals in.

In the U.S. the ultra-sounds are ultra out of fashion because of the white powder problem and the health issue it raises (breathing in minerals). (I think they have shown some bacteria can travel on these particles too. They are not heated, so not killed.) The most popular in the states are the "wick" type (water soaked in a filter of sorts, a fan blowing air across the wick). But that was because the evaporative , steam type were always such a problem (see above). The evaporative / steam are starting to make a comeback for the reasons I stated above (their problems have been overcome with new materials).

[Corporal]

[deadman]

I just bought one yesterday from homeplus. 33,000 Won for a small ultrasonic humidifier. It's one of the ones where you screw a valve onto the top of a water bottle and invert it and attach it to the humidifier, meaning the whole contraption is small and light. I am worried about the white dust/bacteria issue, but i'll see if I can find deionised water, and clean the thing regularly.

The advantage of it is it's small enought to take away with me when I leave, and ultrasonic humidifiers are very useful if you wish to grow interesting mushrooms sometime in the future.

[JongnoGuru]

My cleaning-lady-type-person gave me a humidifier. It was one of those gifts where you hold out your arms to receive it, smile and thank the giver profusely, all the while reminding yourself: "It's the thought that counts. It's the thought that counts". Why? Because it's plastic, lime-green, and done in the shape of a frog. A squat, fat frog. Frog head, frog eyes (where the mist comes out), and frog feet. While not huge, it's not small enough to easily hide it behind a piece of furniture. This is it. I've never received a gift that was less me than that humidifier.

Here's what you want. Leave it to the Dutch (philips) to create a humidifier in the shape of a gigantic... well, you decide. Ladies, I give you the airtree:

[Yaya]

Also try as humidifiers mini water fountains.

http://www.bb.co.kr/main/pd_yahoo/pr_list.php?pd_id=478606

[charlieDD]

[charlieDD]