Hi Stuart,
I read of this on Reddit after opening my new PH04 a few hours ago. At first run, over maybe two hours, humidity climbed from 26% to 28%, and when it dropped back to 27% and stayed, I did a deep clean. I had also already rinsed the pump base cap — and confirmed that the evaporator was wet after that first run. In the hour since the deep clean, using the same settings — humidity target 70%, air flow 10, purify off — I’ve watched humidity slowly climb from 25% to 30%. It’s been some time now since that last jump between 29% and 30%.
I hope you won’t mind if I jump in with a few quick questions:
- The pump base cap — how do you recommend cleaning it, and both its inner (hidden) side and its external side? Is this the only part of the pump base that should be cleaned?
- to paraphrase a piece of advice from Reddit: if, after a run, the evaporator is wet, the unit is not defective; in fact, it’s trying the hardest it can. True?
- I’m running this in the middle of a very small living room of an NYC prewar apartment that is terrible as far as energy efficiency. Do you think realistically I should not expect the unit to be able to humidify the room to 40% humidity, if it cannot do so when brand new, and just after a deep clean?
I have health problems made far worse by the lack of humidity — among them, Sjögren’s syndrome, which makes my eyes so painfully dry that I can no longer wear even glasses, and psoriatic arthritis — and I can no longer work, subsisting on disability benefits. Early in the pandemic, I learned I had lung cancer, which worsens all, as I’m sure you can imagine. So, my brother bought this unit for me, as he has most things for many years.
That said, I won’t keep this if I can’t expect far more significant improvements as far as the humidity in the room the unit is meant to improve. My brother has spent far too much already.
Thank you much,
AT