BIONAIRE BWM5700 REVIEW

Firstly, though, I should say that this is my first humidifier, so I've given a neutral 3 stars since I have nothing to compare this to. Even without that caveat I would say it's been a pretty average experience; I am not yet thanking God for my marvellous machine, yet neither am I kicking it around the house and shouting at it.

I was worried about the reliability of the product, having read the reviews before purchase. I have had problems with the unit telling me that the water tank is empty when clearly it is not. However, I think I've identified when this happens, and perhaps it isn't a problem once you know:

1. The instructions tell you to place the water tank on the unit when the unit is switched off. If you do this and switch on immediately I think the water does not have time to feed through to the trough where the element is housed and it complains that it is empty. Switching on 30 seconds after putting the water tank on seems to get round this.

2. The instructions tell you that the unit needs maintenance AT LEAST once a week. The unit complains that it needs refilling when the element trough is becoming full of debris. Giving it a clean seems to sort it out. I live in London and this machine has seriously made me wonder what London's water supply is like. After a week there's all this MATTER in there, clogging it up... it's like crushed autumn leaves in colour and appearance and has the consistency of frost when crushed between the fingertips.

There are 3 main parts that require cleaning. 2 of these are removable and user friendly, no more a challenge to clean than a cheese grater. However, the trough with the element in, which houses the bulk of the dirt, is not removable and you can't place the whole unit under the tap. You'll need to improvise some kind of implement to deal with this, perhaps an old toothbrush. Even then it is difficult to gouge out the mess; this is a real pain in the backside - and needs doing once a week AT LEAST remember.

The unit has it's own humidity reading, but I wouldn't place too much store by it. The sensor is attached to the power lead and there's no way to place it very far from the unit itself. It seems logical to conclude, therefore, that the sensor is pretty much bathed in the humidity generated by the unit. I have another hygrometer on the other side of the room which, rather predictably, gives a much lower humidity reading.

Having said all that, it heats up the water quickly and it comes out very hot. I'm not sure this is a huge achievement, but that's what it's designed to do. And do it it does.

If anyone knows of a humidifier that's easy to clean and works well I'd like to know about it.

I should note that I have been using the product for just 3 weeks, whether reliability will become an issue later; well, fingers crossed.