VENTA LW44 Air Humidifier and Purifier All-in-one

It has been over 5 years since my original purchase. I now own dozens of these either in my homes or in my laboratories or offices. I use the LW25's in guest rooms or smaller rooms and the LW45 (and now the new 6 series). I have to say the Venta is the best of all humidifiers, on all points. It has the most intelligent and easy disassembly of any humidifier I've owned, making cleaning it a simple breeze. It is quiet on high speed and pumps out a LOT of humidity. Every single component is EASILY replaceable and very inexpensive, direct from Venta Germany (with free shipping). No other humidifier on the market has every single component replaceable. NONE. Something breaks on ANY other humidifier...you must buy a whole new unit. These are pricey for what they offer and has rather simplistic technology... but they ARE effective and very quiet. If I was going to space on a long journey, you would want to take one of these. With the minimal amount of moving parts and components, this has a very low failure rate, and in the rare situation when it might fail, at least you're not at a total loss and can easily replace the failed component. However I have used mine 24/7/365 for over 5 years and JUST this year in 2019 I replaced a single motor in my LW25, for $30 direct from Venta. For me, dust levels around all of my robotic and computer equipment was a major focus of effectiveness. In my laboratories maintaining the precise humidity is critical for the specimens. I had purchased over 23 other humidifiers and none of them compared to the Venta. Some reviews complain about the grime or "white crust" in the humidifier after a few weeks. This is your poor quality hard water mixed with dust that the Venta has collected from cleaning your air. This is not some magical biological production from the Venta. Cmon people, simple science. You do not have to purchase the bacteriostatic agent from Venta (the cleaning fluid) although I recommend it because it is better for the plastic (less chemically abrasive) and reduces the amount of any algae or bacteria in the unit over time. If you are cheap you can always buy a $3 bag of pool shock (Calcium Hypochlorite) and mix half a TSP with 1 gallon of water. The $3 bag should make approximately 3500-4000 gallons, so as long as you store it properly, it will last you a lifetime. Apply 30ml of the Calcium Hypochlorite (pool shock) mixture to your (already filled with clean water) Venta. This will assist in bacterial reduction but it is more chemically abrasive than the Venta fluid. I have used this method in a couple of my laboratory units and this has not damaged them over several years, however if you dose too much of the Calcium Hypochlorite, the area will smell chlorinated like a pool/spa. Keeping the unit from any direct sunlight also helps tremendously in preventing any bacterial buildup. If you choose to not use anything at all, over time you will experience calcification on the inside, the dust being captured by the fans will eventually fall into the water reservoir and eventually the (over time) fishy smell of the algae and bacteria will attract fungus gnats. Real swampy ecosystem without cleaning. Just like any humidifier on the market. Except that this one is easily cleaned...and again, has all replaceable parts. For my home...With 1 LW45 Venta inside a 600sq ft room, there is a large difference in reduction of airborne dust and smells within 15 minutes. Sinuses feel much clearer with humidified air. This means no crusty boogers and a less likelihood of snoring. Specifically during Winter when the heater is running more, the humidity in the house plummets, causing dry nose and dry lips, the Venta units fix that. Simple science people. So for $400 you get cleaner air which is better for your skin and lungs and no crusty boogers or snoring from your spouse. I'd say that's $400 well spent. Only wish I'd have purchased the white one.

Great hunidification, the air cleaning works amazing as the water is definately getting very dirty, and the reservoir size is good as it last a one full day. Living in Canada in Kelowna in winter, which is dry. Took the humidity of a 900 square foot space from 21% to 42% in about 4 weeks. The surrounding area takes time to absorb and humidify so it does take time to get to the specified humidity but it does work very well. Great product!

I liked the air washer a lot. Cleans and humidifies the air. But it depends on a cheap plastic gear and coupling that fails, sooner rather than later. And when it fails, the unit makes a loud and constant clicking noise as the gear cant engage. Forget using it a bedroom. So they charge you $50 (for a 50 cent piece of plastic). One replacement worked ok. But the next one didn't. Keeps on clicking. For $500 and german engineering, one expects and heck of a lot better than this.

The idea behind this humidifier is fine. It uses evaporation to humidify the space claimed. That makes it efficient and avoids some of the problems of both boiling and cold water humidifiers. It is pricey, but I thought it would be worth it. The problem is that it came with a 10 year warranty and broke in 2 1/2. I know this is an unusual time because of Covid-19, but they claim to be working from home. I have not been able to contact customer service and make a warranty claim. I will update this if they ever get in touch and give me satisfaction. When I examined it after it stopped working, I found that there is a flimsy piece of plastic which is at the heart of the mechanism. Basically, a powered fan drives the humidified air into the space. That fan also spins that flimsy piece of plastic which spins 2 collections of wheels that collect the water from a reservoir and then expose the wet wheels to the air. The water evaporates off the wheels and the vapor is distributed by the fan. I don't see how that piece of plastic could last ten years under the constant flexing and turning. I gave it low stars for cleaning because only part of it is easily cleaned. The reservoir is a cinch. But the wheels and the fan are a tedious pain. According to their claims, they shouldn't need to be cleaned because the minerals should remain in the water reservoir. The water is covered with a lighter than water compound that is supposed to suck up all the minerals. But the fan and wheels did get caked with minerals The minerals stuck hard to the other parts. In some cases, only a tooth brush could get in. Some parts of the wheels cannot be reached. Because it works by evaporation, there is a lot of of surface area. The amount of space on the wheels is directly related to the amount of evaporation. Most of that surface never really came clean after the minerals 1st attached. I am pretty handy and would have tried to fix it myself. But it is under warranty and that piece of plastic is unique. Right now the device is a brick.

This is the second Venta Airwasher I've purchased. I bought the LW25 earlier this year and the LW45 arrived today. Every good thing you've read in the overwhelmingly positive reviews of this humidifier/purifier is true. Every element of this device is superb and when I had a question on opening my LW45, the answering operator at the toll-free number easily guided me through the issue. Details, briefly, on my experiences with the two units: 1. Securely packed. They know what they're doing in shipping at Venta. 2. Quality components. When I read in reviews before purchasing my first unit things like "built like a tank", I was a bit surprised when it arrived and wasn't enormously heavy. "This is just a bunch of plastic parts," I thought. I know much better. Everything about this unit is sturdy and solid (without being bulky). Everything that needs to fit precisely ... fits precisely. Everything that needs a bit of operating space (like the rotating disk stacks) has exactly that amount of operating space. Simple operating instructions and minimalist buttons and lights. When I needed to open the upper housing on the bigger unit, there are two buttons to push on top of the unit. When you push them, the panels unfold with origami-like precision. 3. So quiet I initially doubted it was actually running. The LW25 has 2 speeds and on the higher speed, you can barely hear it. The LW45, designed to purify and humidify an 800 square foot space, has 3 speeds and on the 3rd speed, you can hear it hum a little. 4. Does what it's supposed to do. I live in Arizona and dryness and lack of humidity are an issue, along with a few allergy-intense periods (for me). I don't know how to quantify the ABSENCE of allergies and dryness in the air, but those things are absent. We also had some intense issues with pet odors. I had the LW25 in my home office and, after the pet-odor situation got so hit you walking into the house, I temporarily moved the LW25 to our central family room/kitchen area. This was the medium unit and our house is pretty wide open so I didn't know how much of a change to expect. Someone with a much more sensitive sense of smell than me told me after one day the difference in pet odor was substantial. After nearly five months with the first unit, I immediately ordered the LW45 for that large, open area. 5. Maintenance is simple. Easy instructions, easy to wipe or sponge or squirt clean. Easy to add the water treatment additive every two weeks. Easy to fill. If you don't put water in and the tank empties, it stops running and a red light goes on. 6. Customer service was great. No recorded message, no impersonal call center, no transferring around to tech support, or need to have anyone call me back. The operator was courteous, understood my problem (a red light went on when I first plugged in the unit). She quickly and carefully suggested I open the upper housing (and walked me through that), unplug the power adapter from the unit, replug it in, and try again. It worked immediately.