Air Innovations, 1.6 Gallon, Top Fill Humidifier MH-901DA, Platinum

Q: I have a unit by innovations and it says if your water is hard, do not use tap water, only bottled or distilled water. is this unit the same?

I have found that in any cool mist humidifier, (I don't use warm mist), to use distilled water is best. It's cleaner, runs cleaner and I have found it reduces the need to clean the humidifier but once per week, as it doesn't seem to cause mold build up very fast. Don't get me wrong, it still needs a good cleaning weekly or mold will build up, but not as much as you would need to not using distilled water. I use a white distilled vinegar soak once a week to clean it, and then just refill as needed. Before, using tap water, it had to be cleaned every other day as tap water has some bacteria in it, not to mention minerals that build up on the unit. Distilled water, thankfully, is not expensive. I don't have hard tap water, but for purity sake, I only use distilled. Hope this helps.

Q: Does it auto restart? IOW are the settings retained in the event of power loss?

No, the unit resumes with default settings.

Q: I understand the nozzle sprays in two directions. Can you set it to spray in only one direction?

Absolutely. It is 2 separate nozzles each with a 360 degree movement. Just turn the 2 nozzles so one is resting on top the other and they will both spray the same direction.

Q: When the humidity is low how many gallons per week does it require to keep the area humid?

Thank you for your question. Water consumption will depend on several factors such as humidifier setting, room size and atmospheric conditions. A full tank (1.6 gal.) in a 600 sf room may provide approximately up to 100 hours (approximately 4 days) of humidity if the unit is set on low and the humidistat function is set to 40 RH. In general, most users prefer a setting of 65% RH, and for the comparable sized room this would provide between 1.5 to 2 days of the generally preferred humidity level. We hope this information has been helpful. Air Innovations Customer Care Team