1970 Humidifier Treatment (1 Pack)

I bought this product in the hope that it would make the Essick Evaporative Humidifier that I had purchased a couple of months ago actually useful. Now what do I mean by that? How could a bacteriostat make a humidifier useful? Here is my experience. I bought the humidifier because in PA, the winters are cold, the air dries out, and I was seeing large gaps form in my new hardwood floors. Gotta get some moisture into that air! I pondered a few solutions, such as a professionally installed whole house humidifier, but decided on the Essick humidifier because it was a bargain and it suggested being capable of whole house performance. It did perform reasonably well in that regard, however, I had to stop using the humidifier. Why? Because it was altering my sense of smell. I put regular tap water into the unit, I ran it 3 days, and then I started to smell smoke. There was no actual smoke. I was just experiencing phantom odors. Not just at home, but at work, out shopping, etc. I had no idea what was causing this. Googled it ... saw that I could have a brain tumor, seizures, early onset dementia ... oh boy. I doubted that it was anything major, but one does wonder. The timing of the onset of the symptom was a big clue, though, that it was no major medical problem. I discontinued using the humidifier and waited a while. After about 10 days, the phantom odors were decreasing in frequency. This was promising. After a couple of more days, they were gone. I refilled the humidifier and waited. Within about 4 days, the phantom odors were back. I turned the unit off and pondered. Then I came across this bacteriostat. I suspected that something about the water was the source of my phantom odor problems ... perhaps some low-grade bacterial or fungal sinus/olfactory infection. So I decided to give the bacteriostat a try.BIG WIN. First I disassembled the humidifier and cleaned the base with a mild bleach/water solution. Swished some of that around in the bottle. Bought a new wick even though the original one was only used about a week (the top portion of it was orange-ish ... gotta love PA water). Turned the humidifier back on and waited. It's been running a week now and NO PHANTOM ODORS. My nose is great, the humidity is back at good levels, and the world is filled with peace and prosperity. Ok I made up the last item, but I'm VERY HAPPY about the first two!!So, for a quick hit list of PROS and CONS:PROS:It WORKS! Whatever was being aerosolized and messing up my sense of smell, it's gone and I'm super happy. I was facing stopping use of the humidifier, because it was driving me nuts smelling burning smoke on and off all day long.Inexpensive. You only use about 10 mL total per filling for my humidifier model, and this is a good-sized bottle. I think it's going to last a couple of years. For the measurement part, buy yourself a small shot-sized measuring glass. It has mL and oz and cup markings ... you can probably get one here at Amazon or certainly at the Bed/Bath/Beyond chain.Should keep the humidifier cleaner. Not going to make any recommendations for you, but I'm sure that as it inhibits bacterial growth, it's going to make cleaning the unit easier and faster. Not so much to have to clean.Pretty blue bottle. Ok that's reaching for it. But blue *is* my favorite color.CONS:Pouring. To be fair, a full bottle of anything is hard to pour in small quantities. I have this problem all the time with a new bottle of olive oil that I want to drizzle over pasta. Having read of other peoples' issues when I received this product, here is the solution I came up with: Don't remove the foil seal. I made a puncture with a pen barrel for the pour hole, and a smaller puncture to allow air to escape while pouring with the pen point. MUCH easier to pour this way. Try it and see if it helps!That's it. I can't think of a single "nother" Con.You may not have experienced the weird olfactory issues I did with your humidifier, but when used as directed, this product is just going to improve the performance and healthiness of your humidifier.Highly recommended. A Crabseye favorite!

This humidifier treatment is great! Don't be discouraged by reviews mentioning breathing problems, those folks used far too much product. If you follow the instructions and use 1/6 ounce, which is about 1/8 cap, 1 tsp, or 5mL, you'll do fine. Err on the side of caution to prevent issues. Like any product made to kill bacteria, algae, etc, wear gloves or be sure to wash hands thoroughly after use. I poked a few holes in the protective seal so I don't use too much, and it always drips down the side of the bottle. Like with any strong cleaning product that drips down the side of the bottle, I rinse the bottle after each use and wash my hands well. I haven't experienced any breathing issues with this product. In fact, I experience fewer issues than using my evaporative humidifier with no additives. After a few days if running the machine with my reverse osmosis water, the pond scum starts building up and my body can sense it. With this product that process takes about 8 days.There are 946mL per bottle, which can treat about 189 gallons of water. If you go through roughly 2 gallons of water in your humidifier a day that is a little over 3 months per bottle, or about 15 cents per day. That's worth it to me to only have to clean my humidifier once a week versus twice a week. Additionally, since my water tanks aren't covered with that invisible layer of scum on the inside, I'm able to use less water and bleach when I clean them out. I have a Vornado Evap40, which has two 2-gallon tanks. When I fill them I'm essentially dripping in some bacteriastatic treatment with the water, it couldn't be any simpler.I almost didn't buy this after reading the reviews noting breathing problems. Then I looked up the humidifiers a couple folks mentioned, calculated tank size, and realized one person used enough treatment for 16 gallons in a 5 gallon humidifier, so no wonder they experienced breathing problems! It only takes a couple squirts of Dawn Powerspray before I need to walk away from the sink because the fumes or whatever makes it hard for me to breathe, and that's just dishsoap. So really, if you use this Essick product properly there should be no breathing issues at all.