Bionaire BWM5075

I have to admit, i actually bought this item second hand, so it was considerably better value for money than if bought new. I think they're a little pricey when new. If you do buy, it's worth looking at amazon or argos and doing a few searches as prices can vary by quite a bit.

I bought this because during the winter season my son gets a lot of coughs and colds (mostly from the nursery he attends). Like many people i would put a cup ...
...introduce a little moisture into my sons bedroom at night, along with tilting his bed up slighlty. A towel or cup just doesn't put enough moisture into the air though, so i looked into buying a humidifier, which are much more popular in North America, where a lot of people use them over winter, especially when temperatures drop and the air is very dry.

I duly bought this one, not the top of the range, but a decent looking budget model. ... more

I have to admit, i actually bought this item second hand, so it was considerably better value for money than if bought new. I think they're a little pricey when new. If you do buy, it's worth looking at amazon or argos and doing a few searches as prices can vary by quite a bit.

I bought this because during the winter season my son gets a lot of coughs and colds (mostly from the nursery he attends). Like many people i would put a cup of water or a damp towel on a radiator to introduce a little moisture into my sons bedroom at night, along with tilting his bed up slighlty. A towel or cup just doesn't put enough moisture into the air though, so i looked into buying a humidifier, which are much more popular in North America, where a lot of people use them over winter, especially when temperatures drop and the air is very dry.

I duly bought this one, not the top of the range, but a decent looking budget model. It did what i wanted, put moisture in the air. The resevoir on this one will last about 8 hours continuously, but i don't recommend you use it for that long.

It has two control dials, one turns the humidifier on and off, the other turns the gentle green night light on and off. If your child sleeps with a nightlight normally, i don't think this one is good enough to replace it, but it certainly adds a nice gentle green glow to the surrounding area.

It also has two lamps, one to tell you the humidifier is on and working and the other to tell you that there isn't any water left. Cleverly, the heater will shutdown if it detects that the resevoir is empty.

Another useful inclusion is the water filter. This sits underneath the resevoir and removes some of the heavy metals and minerals from the water so that limescale build-up is reduced on the heating elelment itself, although you will still probably need to descale it periodically for optimum operation, unless you live in an area with very soft water.

It also has a small well on top, just next to the vent for the steam. One can put things like olbas oil in here, which then gets taken up with the steam and can help to decongest a stuffy nose.

The machine works well, and you really do feel the moisture in the air. As the steam is warm, it also helps to keep the room a little warmer. I really do believe this humidifier has allowed my son to breathe easier in the night. It loosens all that nasty stuff that gets stuck in you nose and throat, and helps stop you coughing and sneezing all night.

My one word of warning is this though. If you leave it on all night, or for more than a couple of hours at a time, the room can get quite moist. If you have cold windows, water will condense onto them and this can end up with mildew forming quite rapidly. This happened to us. The window sills would be sopping wet in the morning if the humidifier had been on all night, and mildew started to grow within a week.

What we do now is turn it on just before he goes to bed, and leave it on until we go to bed. Then turn it off. This leaves enough moisture in the air to keep him sleeping comfortably, without having wet windows in the morning. You could also use a timing switch, to have it come on once or twice in the night for an hour.

Overall then, this is a useful thing to have for cold winter months. I don't think it's great value for money, but if you suffer a lot from coughs and congestion and snotty noses, this may help you sleep a lot better. 

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