PROS:
1.This humidifier works well for me. I keep it in my bedroom and only use it at night and I like the white noise that the quiet setting gives off.
2. It does a fair job.
3. It has a digital readout (very nice feature).
4. It has a large water tank.
5. It is easy to use.
6. I have not had any mechanical problems with it.

CONS:
1. The filters have to be replaced about once a week, otherwise they get moldy and start to smell (and who wants to breathe in mold?)
2. The filters are WAY too expensive. Amazon sells them for seven bucks and this is the cheapest I have found. This is a lot of money to shell out every week.
3. Filters are hard to find. Not many places carry them.
4. The cap on the water tank is VERY hard to open. It takes forever to get it off.

Bottom line, I would not purchase this humidifier again simply because I hate shelling out 28 bucks every month for filters. Even though the cap is hard to get off, it isn't impossible and its something I can live with. Maybe HB will come out with a filter that can be reused by putting it through the dishwasher or something, but until then I would not recommend purchasing this humidifier unless you have a lot of money to put into buying filters. Even though it works well, it just isn't worth it.

piece of garbage (Rating: 1.00)
Review : After less than two months of use, I'm changing my review from 3 stars to 1 because the fan died overnight. Woke up this morning and nothing was happening. The display still works, but I can't get the fan to move so the unit is useless. Next time I'll get a Vornado. Original review below...

I had a great Kenmore humidifier but since I don't live near a Sears, I couldn't get replacement filters/wicks. Plus, the Kenmore used three of them which would mean about $50 in filters every time they needed to be changed. I went looking for something more economical and found this Hamilton Beach model. I liked that it used just one filter and that it wasn't too expensive, so changing it every 30 days or so wouldn't be a problem. I actually like the fact that it's somewhat noisy, because I need some kind of white noise to fall asleep and usually run a fan anyway.

The highest setting is really very noisy, too loud even for me. The middle setting is perfect; the lowest (Quiet) setting is too quiet for me but may still be too noisy for people who like it quiet at night.

The humidity level never seems to go above 50%, according to the LCD readout. I'm using this in a small bedroom, and figured it would reach maximum easily even on the medium setting. I now start it up a couple of hours before I go to bed and leave it running on high, and then turn it to medium when I'm ready to sleep.

Overall, it works okay but I was expecting more. I definitely don't have all the problems waking up with a dry throat/nose several times a night but it's nowhere near as good as the Kenmore. In the morning I am still somewhat dry, but not enough to keep waking me up during the night. Since the unit wasn't too expensive and the filters are cheap, I won't bother replacing it unless something happens to it but I wouldn't buy another H-B model.

Performance matches expectation (Rating: 4.00)
Review : I bought this humidifier a month ago after much research. So far, it hasn't shown any mechanical trouble. The filter is holding up just fine after 4 weeks, despite daily use. Surely the quality of water in your area dictates how frequently you will need to change the filter. Nevertheless, it is recommended that you flip the filter over (to prolong it's life)when you refill the water. In my case, filter change maybe warranted no sooner than 2-3 months.

The large capacity of the water tank is good enough for 24 hour operation (on quiet setting). I use it all day night long on the low setting and it uses up about half the amount of water in the tank. At first the low setting may seem noisy especially if there is very little ambient noise around you (like when you can hear the wall clocks in your house ticking). But after a few minutes it sounds just like a dull whirring sound that is hardly objectionable. I use it in my bedroom at night and it doesn't disturb my sleep.

It is easy to see the level of water through the tinted tank. The water tank is easily removable when handled vertically. There is no leakage/spilling when you do so. There is a wide fill hole at the bottom of tank for refilling water. There are two problems though with refilling ...firstly the tank is too large to fit under the faucet in the kitchen sink, so you need a jug or hose to fill it up or use the faucet in the bathtub...secondly, the cap on the fill hole is pretty tight (the upside is that it is spill-proof) so I wouldn't recommend the unit for feeble people.

The other part of the unit, housing the motor and fan, comes off easily too. I do wish it had a latch, because you need to be careful not to knock it off when removing the water tank. When the water tank is replaced on the base tray, some water from the container fills up the tray, making a gurgling sound. It makes the same tiny gurgling sound periodically during operation too. This water in the tray is taken up gradually by the filter (which sits under the motorized fan), to generate the humidity when the fan is on.

The digital panel is easy to read. I do not however agree with the humidistat's reading. I have another humidistat in the room that I compare the reading to. The humidifier's reading is always lower, usually by 8 to 10 percent. Setting the desired level of humidity is simple although it can be done only in 5 percent increments. The unit shuts of automatically when the desired hunidity level is reached.

The base is easy to lift if the unit needs to be moved. Of course it is much more convenient to do so after removing the heavy water tank. As long as care is taken not to slant the base tray, there is no leakage or spill.

One point to consider if you are paying heating bills in the winter is that, since this IS a cool-mist himidifier, it will make the room cooler. So you may need to turn up the heat in the room a notch.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the unit's performance and recommend it to any able-bodied adult considering a cool-mist humidifier. To sum up, here are the PROS and CONS:

CONS:
1. Water tank is too large to fit under kitchen faucet
2. Cap on fill hole is tight. Some strength required to turn it
3. Humidistat not accurate
4. Motor unit is not securely latched to base tray to prevent accidentally knocking it off when removing water tank.

PROS:
1. Very good performance
2. Low operating sound on quiet setting
3. No leakage or spilling when handled correctly
4. Portable
5. Dishwasher safe; Easy to clean
6. Desired humidity level can be set manually
7. Automatic shut-off when desired humidity reached

PRO/CON depending on whether you live in hot or cold climate: Makes the room cooler.

Really Impressed! (Rating: 5.00)
Review : I have tried many models and I'm satisfied I got the best cool-mist fan unit available. The unit comes in 4 pieces; the large fan unit section that contains the controls, the translucent 3-gallon water container, the bottom tray that both of the previously-mentioned pieces slide upright into and a hidden water reservoir tray inside the bottom tray that's not visible from the product photograph.

As for the main unit, the humidistat works very well. Although I can't comment on someone else's concern about the humidistat not being accurate, in my experience it works very well. When I ratchet it up to a high humidity level, I get lots of moist air. After you change the setting by pressing either the UP or DOWN humidity buttons to increment the humidity level in 5% increments, the display flashes for 3 seconds after which the unit responds (either turns on or off) based on the new setting. It's quick and easy.

In addition to the UP humidity button and DOWN humidity buttons, there's a 4-point switch for OFF/QUIET/MEDIUM/HIGH. The HIGH setting is really good for humidifying multiple rooms and blasts quite a strong swirl of moisture into any room in no time at all. The QUIET setting is remarkably quiet. Although no cool mist-based fan can be SILENT, I am impressed with just how quiet this lowest setting is. I was fine with it right away, and although my wife was cautious, she took to it by the morning and has enjoyed it ever since. For hypersensitive people (like my mom) where any noise would be too much noise, I'm afraid NO cool-mist system will be sufficient. I sleep with the unit on the floor in the same room I am in, slightly below the level of our bed, and a mere 10 feet away and am very pleased with the quiet hum of the lowest setting. Underneath the fan unit resides the filter which is easy to replace and sits almost too easily into a small molded, shaped guide in the bottom tray. New filters are flattened for shipping and need to be reshaped into a cylinder before replacing them - and filters seem to last longer than I expected at 1 filter every 5-6 weeks - even after which they do not look gross, moldy or dirty.

The water container is a smart design. The fill hole is at the bottom of the 3-gallon jug, but seals tightly by way of an integrated plunger built into the wide screw-release fill cap. I haven't had ANY problems with spilling, leakage or difficulty opening the fill cap as at least one other reviewer has mentioned. Since the container faces into a humid environment, it's worthwhile to shake the container once or twice before you carry it across the room to shake any droplets of humidity away. Refills are every two days for me - but we only use this in the evening and sleeping hours, so constant usage would likely require daily refills.

Every once in while, you may hear a slight gurgle as air bubbles float up from the bottom of the container while the humidifier is in use, but this also is hardly noticeable - especially since it is usually quieter than the fan itself on the lowest setting - and flat up impossible to hear if the fan is set to medium or high. This occasional gurgling of air bubbles is infrequent and no distraction at all. Finally, the 3-gallon container is very easy to fill, but because of its depth, you will need to have either a reasonably deep basin kitchen or utility sink or fill the jug up in a bathtub. Either way, 3 gallons of water is easy to heft for an adult, but may be difficult for an elderly parent or friend (consider a smaller capacity unit if this is the case). Carrying is an easy one-handed operation thanks to the white handle built into the top of the jug itself.

The 3 non-motorized plastic pieces can be placed in a dishwasher, but you will need a dishwasher with a fairly deep main section in order for the 3-gallon jug to fit. Consider removing the upper rack (if possible) for smaller dishwashers. If all else fails, the mouth of the jug is fairly wide (5" across), so a petite hand, wrist and arm could reach inside to scrub the unit if that was ever needed (it doesn't seem to get dirty, moldy or gross in the time I've used the unit). For the one piece that cannot be put into the dishwasher, the fan unit is remarkably open with a great deal of free space for cleaning. I have never seen a unit as easy and accessible as this one. Usually I simply throw out humidifiers after a season or two since disassembling them enough to clear every nook and cranny proves not worth the effort. This is the first and only unit where that has not been a problem.

With as many great things I have to say about this unit, I have one exceptionally minor complaint: the two largest units (the water jug and the fan unit) slide too easily away from the base. This is due to the shallow crevice they sit in and the lack of a clip, latch or groove that would otherwise 'lock' the two units into place. This requires the user to slide the jug straight up when removing it for refills - otherwise, you run the risk of knocking the fan unit over and onto the floor. The up-side is that - without a lock or latch to secure these two pieces more tightly, lifting the jug for refills is a one-handed operation.

I hope this detailed description helps you decide to buy this unit. After examining and using many units, I honestly feel this is the best cool-mist, fan-based unit available - and hope these insights help you make a wise choice.

Look elsewhere (Rating: 2.00)
Review : In need of a humidifier and having read some of the reviews, I decided to purchase the Hamilton Beach Humidifer.
The pros: 1. On the "quiet" setting the water usually lasts 24+ hours before needing a refill.
The cons: 1. The machine is far from quiet on any setting.
2.It humidifies far less square footage than specified, even on the highest setting.
3.It eats filters, which are difficult to find by the way. If you decide to purchase this item, buy several replacement filters.
4.The tank cap is difficult to remove and appears to have been designed for the hands of a small child, but a child with the strength of an adult.
5. It is relatively expensive. I have a warm mist model that works just as well and requires only a bit more attention to maintain.