Dreo 6L Top Fill Humidifiers for Bedroom, 60H Runtime 28 dB Quiet Supersized Cool Mist Air Humidifiers for Large Room, Baby Nursery, Plant, Indoor, Night Light, Easy to Clean, Precise Humidity Control

The best of a problematic product line!
Why are humidifiers a problematic line? It’s because in using them to solve one issue (dry bedrooms), you are often causing a myriad of other problems such as mold growth, and emitting solid particles (read allergens) from water into your air, as well as additional cleaning chores … as if a home weren’t replete with enough items to clean and maintain.I honestly did not want to spend this much on a unit. A budget of $30 was all I wanted to blow on something that I might use for a few months and then store forever because of the “solving one problem to create many other issues” scenario. Anyway, I did spend a couple more Hamiltons than I wanted to and here are the reasons it seems to have been worth it.1. Lower maintenance. Don’t get me wrong, you will HAVE TO clean the unit for 30 minutes each week with something like a vinegar, or hydrogen peroxide, and water solution (ask Ai how to do this). There is no getting around the issue that mold and bacteria form will inside the unit in a week or even less. You will even see it inside when you remove the tank … yellow (and black if you wait too long) formations of growth that accumulate in lines, pockets and circles inside the unit. You know what I am talking about — if you have a water purifier pitcher in your fridge, or God forbid outside your fridge, that you don’t clean often you’ll see them there too, except you’ll be drinking those ughhhhh!!! That growth with be dispersed into your bedroom in the form of millions of water droplets. Think of them as microscopic cocoons.Let it suffice to say of all the units I have owned or purchased and returned, this one is one of the easiest to clean, but you will HAVE TO clean it.2. Size of water tank. The water tank is 6L so you won’t have to be filling it up every 6 to 8 hours with water from your beloved and hopefully clean water purifier pitcher in your fridge. The other option is to keep gallons of distilled water all over your bedroom to fill these units up. That is yet another issue if you go that route. In any case, tap water is not a good idea because it typically has more minerals and chemical such as chlorine in it that will also be broken up and dispersed in the water vapor to the chagrin of your poor, delicate lungs.3. Humidity sensor. The built-in humidity sensor is a big plus in this unit. It is very accurate as the readings consistently match my hygrometer (kind of thermometer that gives humidity readings) that sits on the other side of the room. So why is this a such a plus? First it keeps your room from getting overly clammy which can lead to mold growth on your walls and floating around in the air you breathe. Second, it makes your use of water very efficient. The unit emits water vapor only when the ambient humidity is lower than whatever setting you easily choose on the control panel. I keep mine at 45%. Anything over 50% accelerates mold growth in your room and anything below 30% is like not having a humidifier at all. So, it only uses the amount of water necessary to keep it with a couple of points of your setting. The 6L of water lasts a whole lot longer between tank replenishment. You may get several days out of one tank-full. Third, it shuts off when there is no longer water in the tank. It’s nice to have an electrical device smart enough to know when not to be on.So, if you have problems with dry air and you are willing to add cleaning chores to fix the problem, this unit is about the best of a problematic product line that does its job, but potentially creates other issues equal to or greater that the problem you set out to solve.Just keep it clean and you will be as satisfied with your purchase as I am so far.

A better humidifier
The humidifier meets my needs, so I am happy with it. I purchased this one because I had a positive experience with the smaller Dreo 4L (model HM311S) that I bought a few weeks earlier. I should note here that my only prior experience with humidifier’s was with basic on/off models of yesteryear. And that was what I was looking for when I purchased the first Dreo. The Dreo just happened to be on sale at a price equivalent to older type device, so it made sense to me to try it. I am glad I did.There are a few things about these humidifiers that you would not necessarily think you need until you have them.First, they are quiet. Very quiet.Second, you can control how much humidity they produce.Third, they have a night light – which is kind of helpful as you get used to where you placed them. The light does change colors normally, but I think you can control that. It’s a gradual change and the colors all seem to have similar luminance.Fourth, the footprint is smaller which gives you a lot of options for placementFifth, you can direct the flow forward or back by tilting the plastic output piece.Sixth, they stop running when the water is empty. And when you refill the water, it keeps the settings you had.Both models display the percentage humidity in the room. I think the 4L HM311S model works better than the 6L model HM524 because its reading tends to more gradually change. This might be a function of the room and placement. I am not sure that the sensor can measure the humidity much further than the device – I got the impression that the sensor might be picking up the humidity the device is producing at times (probably because of changing currents due to the A/C running).The pad on the 4L HM311S model seems more intuitive than the one on the 6L model HM524. Though I had no trouble getting either set up for my needs.Both come with some pieces for maintenance that do not attach to the devices. There is some risk that one might lose them or forget about them.One thing to note about these newer humidifiers is that manufacturer suggests using distilled water. Distilled water is relatively cheap as far as purchased water goes, but it is getting harder to find. And if you need to run these a lot, it can be kind of expensive. I ended up using filtered water from my fridge and just clean them more often. It is very possible my choice may lead to an earlier demise, but I reasoned out that it would like cost me way more in distilled water then the device itself.The 6L model HM524 seems to go through water faster when it gets toward the end of its tank. Again, could be the room.These are kind of tall and narrow. I did have a concern that my cats could potentially knock them over. It has not happened. The water adds a fair amount of weight to these so that probably helps. I doubt it would help if they engaged in rambunctious play and slammed into it. Larger animals and small children could certainly be a risk.The room size ratings Dreo provides are likely accurate, but there are a lot of factors that can influence that. It does make sense to have a larger capacity device for a larger area.Overall, I am very pleased with these devices.

This is a really nice looking humidifier that doesn’t detract from a rooms aesthetics. It’s quiet and efficient and is also suitable for the bedroom if you don’t mind an almost indistinguishable hum.Although mostly made of plastic it seems well constructed and should last a long time. The cord is 5 feet long which is a pretty perfect length for most use cases.It’s especially nice that it includes a humidity sensor for effective control of your rooms humidity. The fact that the colour of the light reflects the humidity level is also a nice touch. However if you’re not into coloured lights in your house and switch it off, the display also turns off meaning you have no ability to see how it’s performing without turning them back on. These should be independent switches in my opinion. Also the buttons themselves are not illuminated making it difficult to know which one you are pressing especially if you’re not in a bright room.Having a top fill tank has its benefits, but it also means you have to have a spare jug lying around. And because this is 6L you’re going to have to make multiple trips, unless you refill it more frequently than it needs (which kinda defeats the purpose of getting a large capacity humidifier)In the instructions they do recommend using distilled water and descaling once a month which is all a bit of a pain and would’ve been nice to know before purchase.

I have other top fillable humidifiers in between the 5-7L range and love how much easier they are to use compared to the older models of yesterday that you have to take apart and lug a tank to the sink to refill. This one from Dreo has the same capacity range, but in addition has a built-in humidity sensor, easy to ready LED, plus 3 different night light colors that correspond to the humidity level of the room, so you can even see from a distance how the humidity level is doing. In auto mode, it will keep the humidity level you select, as opposed to the usual low, med, high power level limitations of my other humidifiers. Plus it also has a timer function so it will turn off after the number of hours you select. I absolutely love the addition of a handy essential oil drawer. There is a pad in the drawer for you to add a few drops of the oil of your choice. It is not as strong in terms of scent dispersion as I would get from a regular oil diffuser, but it is a good compromise and makes this humidifier way more versatile by eliminating the need to run both a humidifier and an essential oil diffuser over winter.Overall this is an easy to use, good size humidifier with all the features I would want. The only thing missing is maybe smart APP control, but not a deal breaker. To note, Dreo also makes a slightly smaller 4L smart model for those wanting smart APP control.