I've owned this for an entire season and used it daily during the heating season. Here are some things I wish I'd known before buying a humidifier: First, unless you buy a really big unit, you'll be filling it twice per day (no matter what brand you buy -- it takes a lot of water to raise the humidity level in your house. Second, this unit (and I expect most other brands) can only raise your humidity 5 - 10% during cold weather. I can only get about a 10% increase from this unit in my 800 sf apartment -- far less than the size ratings would have you believe. I know this because I have a humdistat in my apartment to measure actual humidity levels. Okay, these issues apply to all humidifiers, so I can't hold that against the Hunter humidifier, right? Well, read on...

I gave this model two stars because, without a filter to change, the entire unit gets crusted with lime deposit from our city tap water. Even the top grille is covered with unsightly lime. It is almost impossible to remove it all. A replaceable filter would catch most of the lime, eliminating the need to take this thing apart every week or two and scrape/soak the lime off. Without the filter, the lime gets everywhere inside the humidifier. I'll be surprised if the unit makes it through a second season because of the mounting lime deposits -- the fan is already a bit noisy. The digital humidistat is a waste and a terrible design. Once the unit reaches the the desired humidity level and shuts off, the humidistat measures 10 - 20% above the actual humidity level, preventing the unit from turning back on. You must set the humidity level way up just to get the unit to run. On warm days, you end up living in a steam bath because of the high humidity setting. On cold days, it doesn't matter much because you can only raise the humidity 5 - 10% depending on the size of your home. A simple on/off switch would actually be an improvement over this design. I've been using a second hand-me-down humidifier with a replaceable paper filter to supplement this unit on cold days, and I think it works better. Next time, I'll get a model with a replaceable filter.

I have had my Hunter 34357 for four weeks now. It has been a great product so far. It helps reduce my respiratory allergy and helps me sleep better since the first night I have it running.

I love the digital himidistat that maintains my desired humidity level 24/7. The low fan speed is still loud but I get used to it now. 3-1/2-gallon tank is good enough for several days. The niteGlow light is nice to avoid kicking the unit when walking in the dark.

I was skeptical about Hunter humidifiers because others complained about water dumping into their floors. I bought 34357 model with hope that Hunter fixed the problem with new tray designed. It appeared that the new design fixed the problem.

I would like it to have a third speed on the low side so it can run low and more quiet constantly instead of on and off quite often. The whole unit would be more stable if the tray is thicker. I worry that the tank handle will break when I carry a full tank of water. It can be built with better design or material.

Northern Californa had a bone dry week last week and my bedroom area feel really comfortable but not my living room and family rooms areas. I bought this unit to humidify the whole house but it couldn't handle the 1800sf house.

Despite the things that need improvement, I give it 5 stars since it helps me sleep well for four weeks. I have been suffering with sleep less nights for years so you can guess how happy I am now. I didn't loose sleep even in the week of 20% humidity.

I Just ordered a second unit for my sister who also suffer from allergy.

I bought two of these Hunter humidifiers at the same time, and they did a good job of humidifying a 2000 square-foot house (1 upstairs; 1 downstairs). It seems like they operated non-stop during 4 very dry winters. Both units had similar problems during their 4-year lifetimes, but my issues weren't specified in the manufacturer's warranty so I never pursued replacement or repair. Since my cost-per-year (based on total purchase price) was $20/unit, I simply treated them as "disposables" and discarded them after the 4th year. This Fall I'll decide whether to replace both with the same models or choose a competitor product.

This is not a "cool-mist" humidifier -- it is an evaporative unit with a fan. The motor turns the fan and also drives a simple plastic impeller pump that circulates the water. There is a float connected to a power switch that will turn the unit off when the water level in the pan is low. My problems: both NiteGlow lights stopped working prior to the end of the 1st winter. I had assumed that the units would use a long-life LED, but that obviously wasn't the case. During the 2nd winter, I had problems with one of the "float" systems, but was able to repair it myself. During the 3rd and 4th seasons, I had problems with the plastic fans rubbing the plastic case and causing noise - especially on "Hi" speed. For their last year of use, I could only operate the units on "Lo" fan speed. The fans would still rub the cases intermittently, and it was very annoying in the middle of the night or while trying to watch TV.

On extremely dry days, the output capacity on "Hi" fan speed can truly be 3-1/2 gallons every 24 hours when the humidistat is on a high setting. Fortunately, the "Tote Away tank" is convenient to transport and easy to refill at a bathtub or deep kitchen sink. The fans were never "whisper-quiet" even from day-one, but you will tune them out as background noise after the first week of use. The digital humidistats worked fine until the 4th season when one died abruptly. They automatically turn the fan off when the pre-set humidity level is reached. For me, they sometimes stopped working temporarily after the units were cleaned, but they always started working again after the units had fully dried.

I always had trouble with buildup of minerals on the filter, pan, and chassis, but this is presumably the price one pays for not having paper filters? The water in the bottom pans of the units tended to concentrate our local pinkish "Serratia marcesens". This could probably be overcome with diligent (i.e. weekly) emptyings and cleanings. On Lo-speed, the water doesn't seem to move fast enough to prevent mild stagnation in the bottom pan, and if you continue to use the unit once the ambient humidity naturally returns in the Spring then you may have trouble with moldy/musty smells since the water won't be cycling very frequently.

The pan and filter frame do clean up easily by hand or in the dishwasher (after the PermaWick filter has been removed). I only had a single "overflow" onto the floor by one unit after 4 years of use. That should be physically impossible based on the design of the unit, so I don't know what caused it. I suspect that I was responsible for it in some way. Nevertheless, had an entire 3+ gallons spilled onto the floor (upstairs!), it could have caused some major damage. If I use these units again in the future, I may set them inside some large plastic storage boxes (or an unused bathtub) as a secondary overflow prevention.

Positives: No paper filters! No white residues since the units are mist-less. The PermaWick filters lasted for 3 seasons, but they were inexpensive and easy to replace. The units are attractive in design, easy to use, and the non-moving parts (except for the nite-lite) are rugged. Ideally, the units should last for longer than 4 seasons, but at an average cost of approximately $20 per winter one can't complain too loudly about the limited lifetime. If Hunter builds added quality into the unit, then the market price will undoubtedly increase to match.

I'm on my second one. The first started making a noise,so I contacted the company. They sent me postage to send it back,and they sent me a replacement.Now the second one has the same noise,and they want me to pay the postage. Besides that they said I never sent the other one back.These people need to get a system. I'm not sending this back since they want me to pay the postage. I'm just hoping it doesn't start a fire or something. The noise is on and off.I will never buy another Hunter product.It's not a good product. Save your money.

I have been using this humidifier in my kids room now for about a week. I have tried many other humidifiers, and this is my favorite one so far. I was looking for one that would hold more than a days worth of water and would make a little "white noise" to help the kids sleep. It does both of these things very well. It was super easy to set up, and I have only put water in it twice. I only run it during nap time and during the night. The water tank is pretty heavy when full, but that doesn't bother me - just thought it worth mentioning. I really like the "white noise" it makes - I don't think it's loud enough to bother anyone - it just helps cover up the other noises in the house, which is what I wanted.