As the weather gets colder, the dryness is becoming increasingly severe.
My dog Chamggae’s skin started flaking badly, I felt dryness in my nose after waking up, and finally, the discomfort from asthma symptoms increased. So, I took out the humidifiers I had in storage.
I brought out three humidifiers: the once-popular ‘Miro’ humidifier, a medium-sized one, and a very small one. I tried running them, but while the humidity rose quickly, the mist was excessive.
I decided that ultrasonic humidifiers weren’t the right choice. I looked into steam (heat) humidifiers, but there were issues with explosion risks… Eventually, I started looking into evaporative humidifiers.
At first, the LG evaporative humidifier caught my eye, but I passed on it because the price was high for such a simple structure, and the cleaning didn’t look that easy. Then I looked at the Xiaomi evaporative humidifier.
The Xiaomi one was affordable at just over 100,000 KRW, and you only had to clean the filter every two weeks. I considered it, but since it was a Chinese company, I passed and kept looking. That’s when I discovered the Philips humidifier.
The exact name is the NanoCloud Evaporative Humidifier, model HU5710/00.
Purchase and Unboxing
The price of the Philips NanoCloud HU5710/00 is 160,000 KRW. You could probably get it cheaper with discount coupons. I purchased mine using Korean Air miles.
The box isn’t that big.
When I opened it, there were instructions and about three cotton-like pads. Apparently, you can soak those in aroma oils to add a scent.
I took out the main unit. This is what it looks like.
There’s a taped section with a handle on the back or side.
You can open it to add water.
When I lifted the top part, there was a filter inside.
Looking at it, the filter looks just like an air purifier filter.
The bottom part has nothing in it—it’s just a water tank. You can fill it up to the water level line for a maximum of 4.5L.
Looking at the underside of the top unit, there’s nothing special. There’s a gold-colored part on one side that seems to act as a sensor to check if it’s connected to the bottom. In the center, there is a fan. It seems this fan spins to evaporate the water naturally.
I put the filter back and assembled it.
There is a place to put the aroma pads. I don’t think I’ll use it personally, but I might try it later.
I filled it with tap water and set it in its place. The blue point that allows you to see the water level from the outside looked a bit awkward design-wise, but it’s actually very helpful for checking the level.
Usage Experience
The mood light works well, and it operates quietly. There are no wet spots around the humidifier. Now that the dryness in the house is gone, it’s much more comfortable. Cham-kkae’s skin flaking has decreased significantly, and the stuffiness from my asthma has also lessened.
- 4.5L Capacity: On the first day, I had to refill the water three times. I thought, “I thought they said 4.5L was plenty…” but once the humidity in the house went up, I only needed to refill it about once a day. If I don’t ventilate the house for cleaning, refilling every two days might be enough. The tank capacity seems fine.
- Convenient App, But…: After installing the Philips Air+ app and syncing it, you can easily adjust various settings. It even notifies you of filter cleaning and replacement cycles. However, the connection drops occasionally. I’ll have to keep an eye on this. I set it up on an Android phone for now, but I should try setting it up on an iPhone as well.
- Humidity Discrepancy: I have two ‘AcuRite’ hygrometers at home, which are known for being relatively accurate. However, there is a 10% difference compared to the humidity shown on the Philips humidifier. The Philips one reads 10% higher. If I set it to 55% on the Philips, the AcuRite reads 45%. Even when placed right next to each other, there is a difference. I suspect it’s because the sensor is built into the unit.
- Ease of Cleaning: The manual says to clean the filter once a week. You can soak it in water with citric acid for about an hour, but there is also a Quick Dry mode. This is a function that dries the filter internally, and they say you can just use this. For reference, the filter should be replaced every 6 months and costs about 30,000 KRW.
- Sufficient Humidification: Even when it’s on, it’s so quiet that you can’t tell if it’s working. However, seeing the humidity rise even in the bedroom while the unit is in the living room, the humidification volume seems sufficient.
Final Verdict
I think I made a very good purchase. Aside from the app connection dropping, there’s nothing to complain about. Since the bottom tank just needs to be washed, management is easy.
The humidification is good, the 4.5L capacity is sufficient, and there is almost no noise—sometimes I don’t even know if it’s on. I think I can leave the humidity control in my house to this Philips humidifier from now on.