Works GREAT!!! The summary: Easy set up (fill, turn on, presto), more than enough volume of humidification, super simple care (empty, let dry, done) all make this one awesome penguin! Irritating night light that can't be turned off results in the loss of one star. The story: Coming from a bottle top type humidifier (looking for something small but effective) that didn't put out anything more than a whisper of mist, I was seeking something more substantial. Enter Mr. Puffington (yes, ahaha, they gave him a name, and put it right on the box) and his misty beak. Although larger than I'd hoped (about the girth of an official-size basketball, with a penguin head on top) he sits nicely atop a surface, taking up just slightly more table space than the average toaster, and the payoff in performance is more than worth it. I was likely dreaming, thinking that any small solution would pump out serious humidity, so I'm happy to have the volume from this device, despite needing to clear some space to find a place to put it, both when using it, and when allowing it to dry out the next morning. Why the penguin? Hours of reading Amazon reviews! And, thanks reviewers for all the great information! Among the available choices, this humidifier is very well reviewed, set-up and operation is super straight forward, it has no filters to mess with, has minimal cleaning needs, produces lots of humidity, and, while the "penguin" design might seem trivial, it's actually the wide mouth beak that is responsible for the nice spread of mist -- as opposed to the "non-animal" version from Crane, which just has a round spout, which seems less effective than this handy "diffuser" type opening provided by the "beak" design. And, hey, it's humidifier that doubles as a conversational pop-art piece, ahaha, so how cool is that.... So, it accomplishes all I was looking for, and works flawlessly! The only drawback, and I have no idea why manufacturers don't think of this, since it seems a common theme these days, is the overly bright function light which, in the case of Mr. Puffington, blazes a green glow into the room, indicating that the device is on -- which seems obvious due to the plume of mist shooting out of Mr. Puffington's beak, as well as due to the fact that, more than just plugging it in, you actually have to turn it on, to operate it. So thanks Green Lantern, but I know my humidifier is on, and I don't need you. Unless I am shopping for a night light, when I purchase devices, I am not looking for a night light -- why is that not understood? Seems so many things now just have to have a small sun illuminating the room -- I get that there is an intent to let us know when a device is "on" but, really, the light could be dialed down in intensity, or placed more out of direct view. I suppose the point, in this case, is to let you know it's on, in case you DON'T see mist coming out, which would tell you to troubleshoot, but, then again, it has a dial (for how much mist you want) with a very noticeable "click" when rotating it from the off, to the on position, so, again, not sure why the light needs to be so obtrusive, especially for a device that many folks, like me, will obviously use at night. Plus, it has a red light to tell you if it is "on" but out of water (in which case it shuts down the humidifier function anyway), so it seems just that warning light, if even needed, would have been fine, without the additional light telling you what you already know, when it's working. So, I will need to pull out the black electrical tape, yet again, which is always annoying since it gets gloopy over time from the tape's adhesive, and it seems a shame to muck up Mr. Puffington's flawless penguin suit. But it really is annoying at night, so...not much choice. The dial, it should be noted, works great, and definitely adjusts the amount of mist produced. The penguin runs very nearly silent, with only the occasional faint gurgle or glub from his "tummy." The slight noises are not disruptive, although, as I say, the bright green light is -- seems odd they would promote the quietness of the device, yet put such an irritatingly bright light right dead center, facing out to the room. Yes, I'm still griping about the light, ahaha, because it really is so pointless. I guess I could consider turning his body around, since his head freely rotates, but then it would just back-light the wall in a kryptonite glow and I don't know if it will function as effectively with the head backwards, although it really is just a collection kind of lid -- the head sits over the main misting tube, the mist filling the head and flowing out the beak, so I guess any head angle would work about the same. I'll probably just settle for the black tape. So, overall, I do love it, and such love would be worth five stars, but, the ridiculousness of such a disruptive light that serves little purpose (and could be less annoyingly done even for what purpose it serves) is what lost a star for my review. If they ever fix the light issue, I'd be in for ten stars! If you're looking for a great humidifier, and don't mind a green sun in your room, or have a roll of electrical tape handy, grab this penguin fellow, because it really is an epically terrific humidifier! Despite the light issue, I'm gladly keeping him, and will use him daily, although he'll sport a black belt at his waistline now. Against everything else on the market, Mr. Puffington is easily a hands down winner. I highly recommend!
