Honeywell HEV685W

“This year I got two small YoungTech evaporatives off Amazon at $130 each. I am getting older (55) so toting water and cleaning the units made me choose the small units this time. Now I can pick it up and fill it in the kitchen sink no problem, as well as clean the tub out without having to use the bathtub like I used to. This also allows me to flush the filter daily since we have hard water. I can run the filter through the dishwasher as well, a perk that I absolutely love. I was hesitant at first but one unit I got at Thanksgiving, still has the first filter in it and has gone through the dishwasher on the bottom rack 3 times now without any issues. Filters run $30 a piece, and are built to last. Downside of going with the smaller units is that they run dry twice daily. After testing out the first unit, I got a second for my bedroom, at Xmas. I use a white noise machine, plus the humidifier and sleep like a baby. If I were younger, or had a larger home, I would probably go with two of the larger top fill models. In the past I ran the Evap40 for a couple of seasons, using water treatment, but being a little lazy, still wound up with mildew in the tanks, which I couldn’t scrub out. The glug glug noise didn’t bother me, but it an issue for some. But the whole process of bleaching out the tanks, scrubbing the base, and having to replace the filters on a regular basis got old after two seasons. I did save $ by using an after market filter. But since the filters were just paper with no plastic housing or fabric mesh outer lining for protection they tended to shrink and break down more quickly when I rinsed out the hard water residue buildup. Not to mention the inevitable small water spills while flipping the tanks to put them back in the base. I just used a towel under the unit and kept in on a small table off the floor. I have also ran ultrasonics but I’m not fond of having to buy and tote a bunch of distilled water weekly. I run through 4 gallons a day in my units for my 1100 sq ft TH. That’s 30 gallons a week. That just not economical for me. Last year I tried to get around this and went the stainless steel route and got 3 Jack and Rose units, ultrasonic. Liked being able to run the metal tubs through the dishwasher. But, I still wound up with pink mildew in the housing and the floating ultrasonic unit in the tub. Plus, the floating unit did make a little noise in the tub sometimes. Although they designed a baffle to counteract this. I’ve also had a Honeywell evaporative in the past. A larger top fill model. I was in an apt then so less area to deal with. Still tended to spill water when filling, but didn’t have to fill as often. Used water treatment and had no mildew issues. I got a second one, but the plastic was a lot cheaper the second time around. The plastic build on the YougTech model I went with this year is impressive. I was happily surprised, and know it was hold up well overtime. The plastic tanks on the Evap40 are super solid, but th”