I bought one last fall and have been using it quite regularly during the winter. The humidity in my bedroom has been dipping down to 20-30%, and I prefer it to

I bought one last fall and have been using it quite regularly during the winter. The humidity in my bedroom has been dipping down to 20-30%, and I prefer it to be 40-50%. I started with distilled water, and it worked great - the wick/filter stayed in pristine shape for the 3 weeks I did so. However, buying distilled water was about twice as expensive as changing the filter every two weeks: $0.99/gal at 1-2 gal/day vs a $6.99 Walmart-brand filter. I haven't looked around to see if I can find cheaper reverse-osmosis water. I have not had to clean the fan yet, but that does seem difficult. My biggest issue is the fan noise. The machine only works well when set to the highest speed, but the fan is quite loud at that setting. I have the machine a few feet away from my bed, and High makes it hard to sleep. Medium/Low are no problem, so I just leave it on all the time on Medium. Refills are only an issue if you carry the tank by the handle. I only use the handle to take it out of/put it into the unit, and carry it upside-down in my arm when taking it to the bathroom to refill.