SU-3750: Penguin Ultrasonic Humidifier

This is an excellent product. We own three and have used them for two years now. We even take one with us when we travel. Some of the common problems people have mentioned with this humidifier are easily solved if the unit is used correctly. For problems with the unit running for hours without the water level dropping, you have not properly seated the tank on the base. You need to be sure the white valve inside the tank pops up when the tank is placed on the base. If it is not properly seated the water will not enter the base, thus no mist. Next, for problems with the mist sinking to the ground, we had this problem before I realized what was happening. I had one unit placed on a thin fabric placemat thinking to protect the wooden nightstand. This only caused a problem. The unit needs to be placed on a completely flat, solid surface, not fabric of any kind. Try it - place the unit on a fabric surface and watch the mist fall. Then place it on a solid surface and the mist rises beautifully. I was making a problem where there wasn't one. Without the fabric the unit performed beautifully and the mist has never damaged the beautiful cherrywood surface. With the fabric underneath, the mist sunk and soaked said fabric, causing problems unnecessarily. Lastly, as to the comments about unit running, all put together properly, but no mist, we also had that issue. This was due to the base of the unit getting overfilled. Not sure how we managed that, because if you seat the tank on the base properly, only the right amount of water passes through. Easily solved, however. I dumped the water from the base, and put the filled tank back on and voila! Misting perfectly again. This product is super easy to fill, inexpensive, requires no filters, and works GREAT. It does require a little care, as the problems outlined above are all due to human error. If you have hard water it will definitely cause a white dust to form on the unit and possibly surrounding surfaces. This is easily cleaned and hasn't damaged anything we own, but you will have to do the appropriate cleanings as recommended. The only imperfection we found was that the light on the front to indicate the unit is on burned out quickly on all our units. This was not a problem for me, as I did not care for the bright red light anyway, as these are used in bedrooms at night. But for someone who relies on seeing the light to remember the unit is running, this could be an issue. Since it happened to all three of ours, I suspect it could be a broad issue. But it has no effect on the efficiency of the unit. The unit is cute but not cutesy. My kids love it, and my husband doesn't mind it. As with anything, you have to teach your children proper care around an appliance. The good thing is that the mist is cool, so no chance of burns. It's also quite sturdy and solid, it's not easy to knock over. We've had them for over two years in three rooms with kids who are now 3 and 7, and never yet had an incident. Not to say it couldn't happen, but with proper care this product should serve you well for a long time. I highly recommend this product.

The unit worked well to start. After 2 or 3 weeks we had a few instances where it wouldn't turn on right away - we changed outlets and it still didn't come on. Then it came back to life, so we didn't think much of it. After 4 weeks, it would come on for a minute, and then power would shut off. It would not come back on for at least a few hours. Then it would cut right back off again. There is only a 30 day return policy from manufacturer (convenient, right!?). So, now they tell me I can send it to them in CA for repair. I have to pay shipping to CA, but they will repair and ship back for free. OK - by the time I package this thing up and ship it to CA it will come close to or exceed the purchase price. NOT a good deal. Amazon's return policy is only 30 days as well, so again, it is not worth shipping it to KY for partial credit. Throwing this piece of junk in the garbage! What a waste.

I like to make it short Pro 1) Quiet 2) put out just right amount of mist for my 20 x 16' bedroom 3) Cheap and good looking design 4) Filter-less - save money on filter Con 1) White dust build up if using tap water - 2 days of using it 2) Expensive if using distilled water as recommended by manufacturer- $1/day - I used distilled water for 3 days and it is free of white dust I ended up using filtered water after 5th day instead for cost saving, but I have to let it stand for 24 hours before I fill the tank up just to let the fluorine getting out. This works best me. No more white dust, no more frequent trip to grocery store for distilled water, and best of it, no filter replacement but just my drinking water filter only

This humidifier seems to be a bit buggy at first. Our first one so much so that we had to return it. The penguin wouldn't power on till we tilted it forward, even then it would only stay on 5 minutes or so till we had to tilt it even farther. There was no way to sustain it long enough to use it. Thankfully Amazon is quick with replacements. The second penguin also wouldn't start till I tipped it forward, but it stayed on and after an hour or so it would even work on a flat surface and has given us no problems. I'm wondering if the reservoir inside the penguin has a sensor and needs time to build up water, though no information to that effect is supplied in the manual and no mention of what seems such a common problem. As others have mentioned that LED power light is POWERFUL. We made shadow puppets with it from across the room. Some heavy heavy tape and a dark marker should fix that though. Otherwise its an excellent humidifier, nice and cool, plenty of mist and hasn't soaked its surroundings yet.

So first what's good: its cute and looks good in a child's room. Also its compact so doesn't take up much space. Now for not so good: The "visible" mist isn't always guranteed specially after a refill! The reason being the base stores a LOT of water and when refilled, the water in the base doesn't let the mist rise!! I have a work around of emptying the water in the base each time after a refill. It is almost a must to do so else there will be lot of water spilling outside because as I mentioned there is a LOT of water stored in the base!!! The other issue is the power indicator lights up with a delay! The first time I plugged it right out of box, it took it almost 2-3min to light up!! And I was afraid that I got a defective product! Update after 9 years of use! It's still going!! It still has its quirks, but it works