Our review of the Sunpentown SU-4010 Ultrasonic Dual-Mist humidifier comprised over several weeks, with each member of our team testing this humidifier in their homes.
To check how it performed in different weather conditions, we sent it to our friends in Phoenix, Arizona, and Fairbanks, Alaska – the hottest and the coldest cities in the US, respectively. Then, on hearing their response, we checked this humidifier in our lab for factors including its ease of cleaning, humidity output, operating safety, and filter maintenance.
With so much work in the background, here’s what we learned about the Sunpentown SU-4010 Ultrasonic Dual-Mist Humidifier.
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PROS
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CONS
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Sunpentown SU-4010 – Features
During our testing, we divided the features of the Sunpentown into two key categories: key features and good-but-not-great ones. Let’s start with the former to know how it fared.
- Dual Mist
In stark contrast to most humidifiers on the market – which either produce warm or cold mist – the Sunpentown SU-4010 produces both, which means it is more suitable for people with varying needs. That is, if you just want to humidify your ambience to make it comfortable, you can opt for the humidifier to deliver cold most. However, if you have an allergy or asthma patient at home, the warm mist might prove to be more helpful. Still, before we move forward and look at other features, here’s a warning: this humidifier tends to get hot-to-touch when you run it on its warm mist setting. So you need to be careful with this setting if there are children and/or pets in your home.
- Ion-exchange Filter
Most humidifiers nowadays rely on either a microporous cartridge filter or ultrasonic radiations to purify water in their tank. Needless to say, then, that the SU-4010 is different as it has opted for an ion-exchange filter. This filter works by removing the hazardous calcium and magnesium ions from its water and replacing them with the innocuous sodium ions. The addition of sodium isn’t merely for the show, instead, it helps keep mineral dust and microbial growth in check. That said, while the ion-exchange filter no doubt works, some users claim that it is difficult to clean. And if you don’t clean it good enough, a mildew tends to form inside the filter.
- 360* Adjustable Nozzle
This feature is important if you plan on using the SU-4010 in your central living room. For, by allowing you to adjust the direction of its nozzle, this humidifier is allowing you to adjust the direction of its humidity. Put simply, since you can rotate its nozzle 360*, you could select the areas of your home which need humidity the most. Or, to put it differently, you could make sure that the humidifier only moisturizes those areas where moisture is needed.
- Auto Shut-off function
To kill two birds with one stone, Sunpentown has provided this humidifier with the auto shutoff feature. For, this function serves two purposes, the first of which is saving electricity as it would turn off the humidifier sensing low water levels to make sure it doesn’t keep running in vain. Second, turning off the humidifier when its water level is down making sure the humidifier doesn’t get overheat. That means that while it won’t make the humidifier ultra-cold-to-touch, the auto shutoff function would reduce the potential for fire.
- Less Frequent Filter Replacement
Ask your friends using a humidifier – and provided they aren’t using the Sunpentown – most of them might complain of having to change their humidifier’s filter every month, which translates to more running costs. Thankfully, the SU-4010 poses no compunctions. Its ion-exchange filter despite working overtime will require replacement only once every 6-months. And that too if you run the humidifier every day.
- Considerable Runtime
Since this is a dual-mist humidifier, the SU-4010 boasts different runtimes on both the cold as well as the warm-mist settings. Fortunately, while both of them are different, none of the runtimes are lackluster. For, when you run this humidifier on the cold-mist setting, it would require one refilling once every 12-hours of use. Conversely, if you’re looking for some warm mist, it would need water once every 10-hours. And if you are like the majority of humidifier users – which don’t run their device for more than 12 hours a day – you’d need to refill this humidifier’s tank only once per day.
- Coverage Area
According to the National Association of Home Builders in the US, an average bedroom in America measures 146. Sq. foot in size. In other works – and getting back to our topic – the Sunpentown SU-4010 produces enough moisture to humidify three average-sized bedrooms in the US. Yes, it is true, for the SU-4010 has a coverage area of 500 sq. feet regardless of whether you’re using it on its warm or cold mist setting. So, while it won’t be enough for a whole home, the Sunpentown produces enough moisture to be adequate a large part of it.
- No Humidistat Humidistat
is a gauge which lets you check the output humidity level of the humidifier. In most high-end humidifiers, this feature comes built-in. Unfortunately, the Sunpentown SU-4010 doesn’t provide this feature in the package. That means whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with adjusting the humidity of the SU-4010 with its three-speed settings which, at best, only provide a guesstimate of the humidifier’s moisture output.
- Not Easy to Clean Despite
the fact it provides a cleaning brush in the package, the Sunpentown SU-4010 isn’t easy to clean. So you might have to expend more-than-usual effort to clean this humidifier.