The Venta Airwasher Does Good Work!

It is COLD out there! It’s time to break out things like sweaters and humidifiers. So when I went to a conference late last year and was introduced to the Venta Airwasher, I wanted to give it a try! Venta graciously sent me a unit that I promptly filled and started running. There were two main things that I was personally looking for when testing out this unit. First, it gets very cold in Chicago and my house gets very dry. We have run smaller humidifiers in the past, but I can’t say they’ve made a huge difference. Second, I have an anaphylactic cat allergy. I am extremely sensitive to cat dander and when we have family and friends come over who are cat owners, I often get sick (I have meds and an inhaler, so no worries!) I was super curious to see if the Airwasher would have any effect on this as well.

But let’s start at the beginning! What is an Air Washer? You can read here how the Venta Airwasher works, but basically it is a combination air purifier and humidifier with no filters to clean. Here is the description of the unit that I received:

Our LW45 Airwasher is the best large room humidifier and air purifier on the market, and has been engineered to capture more allergens and particulate matter than any other model, for areas up to 800 square feet. Our dual-action air washer system not only cleans the air, it adds the right level of moisture to it giving you and/or your coworkers top of the line humidifier and purifier benefits. As with all Venta Airwashers, there’s no filter, eliminating any concern about hygiene or messy clean up. Developed with advanced German engineering, our air washers are used in homes and offices worldwide.

The unit is not particularly large, so it doesn’t get in the way of anything, and it is sleek enough looking that it is easy to position in most rooms. Although the recommendation is that you place the unit in the middle of a room, we placed ours against a wall in our dining room that adjoins to our living room. It has been there for a few months now and here’s what I can tell you for sure:

1. It is extremely quiet. You would never notice it was running unless it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Not something that happens a lot in homes with children!
2. It requires refilling approximately once per day. I took that to mean that it was doing the job it was intended to do. Less water in the unit means more moisture in my house.
3. It does not “feel” humid. Unlike a humidifier, which you can hold your hand in front of and collect water droplets in moments, the Venta Airwasher does not make you feel moist. My husband and I both feel that the house feels less dry, so I absolutely believe that is a result of the Airwasher working well. The game “shock mommy” from the static cling and dryness has not been taking place this year!
4. It does not reach everywhere, so keep that in mind. We have living spaces on the main floor of our house, in the attic and in the basement. The Venta Airwasher reaches well into both our living and dining rooms as well as some additional rooms on the same floor, but it does not appear to have any effect on either of the other floors. It says that this unit covers areas up to 800 square feet and my experience says that’s true. If you plan to get a Venta Airwasher, you will want one on each floor to maximize the benefits.
5. There is no filter, so maintenance is very easy. Fill your unit with water and set it to run. Done! Every two weeks or so, you wash out the unit in the tub or sink, add some fresh Water Treatment Additive and you’re good to go! If these options don’t work for you, much of the unit (just remove the motor and the cord) is also dishwasher safe.
6. I could not get a good read on the cat dander issue. What I know for sure is that I did not have a major reaction to anyone visiting in the last few months and even after my meds wore off, I seemed to be okay with the residual “catification” that might have been left on furniture. That says to me that – if absolutely nothing else – the Venta Airwasher didn’t assist in spreading the allergens around IN the existing air and potentially removed some as well. This was really tough to measure, but I’m certainly leaning toward it having been more beneficial than not. Which I’ll take in this area!

All in all, I would say that the Venta Airwasher is something we will continue to use. I think it’s really doing it’s job well and with such little maintenance, it’s something I can handle with my busy schedule. You can currently find sales on them through Amazon and additional products on the Venta website.