20 Most Recent Vicks Warm Steam Vaporizer 1.5 Gallon Humidifier - Page 5 Questions & Answers

When you say you added apinch of salt I asked my wife and she says that is the measure that she uses. I doubt that you have to much salt but you can flush out your vaporizer with warm water while the unit is running. I would run two or three times for 1-2 hours each then remove element and rinse withe warm water.Also rinse out container and refill with warm water to fill line,make sure you don't overfill as this can cause the spitting. I would add about 1/4 cup of pure vinegar and let unit run. If you have hard water or high mineral content this should help to clean it.
I hope this helps you but if it doesn't I would return it as defective. Thank you

If you have hard water and theres scale present you will need to clean the heater in the bottom.when you remove the heater the scale will sometimes crumble by just squeezing it although a few times Ive had to use a descaler like CLR and a pick to get it off.

Here is a Direct link to the Owners manual provided by The vicks Company for model V150SG

http://www.vicks.com/Assets/Documents/en-us/PDFs_ProductManuals/Vicks_Vaporizer_150sg%201.5gallon.pdf

SPECIAL NOTES
Discoloration/Black Particles
After use, the water residue in the bottom of the container may contain black particles, and, in
some areas the water and the bottom of container may discolor. These conditions are normal and
do not effect the purity of the steam or medicine. The container is easily cleaned with soap and
water. Rinse and dry the container after cleaning.

This was taken from the manual that comes with the humidifier...

Good day. Here is the link for the manual. Please note page four which shows your issue and some solutions. Let us know what works.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http://docs.google.com/viewer%3Fa%3Dv%26q%3Dcache:pbhjzMo9E3sJ:www.kaz.com/kaz/support/manual/%253FProductManualAction%253DrenderProductManualById%2526ProductManualId%253D5faaee9ab20669a0a26a9fb6e6bb99f8%2Bvicks%2Bvaporizer%2Bblack%2Bparticles%26hl%3Den%26gl%3Dus%26pid%3Dbl%26srcid%3DADGEEShoMFRd7NbKZtGZM-qKr0_rmMQA7bQYO-r4VBGXLFKF1WnqeeQZDdU6pMTOMcxsZMFqdAfWvECyUPTLsoW2KBMr3QBWzicSiUPyG1F8iW4Wmil0atnkfBT1ulKofnvo5HX1DBdR%26sig%3DAHIEtbS-BI2SvXCl3TTlcQduwYAGXqORQg&ei=nuZFS7_EPMiVtgf65bDrAQ&sa=X&oi=gview&resnum=2&ct=oth

Hi,
They usually are 300 watts... actually not that big of a heater... that is why they use a small chamber to heat the water in and as the stem goes out a bit of water comes in to replace it...

heatman101

could be faulty element or earth leak - as it is new - I strongly advise you to change it at the store you purchased it from.

Just a pinch.About 1/2 teaspoon.

You added too much salt. Clean it out, start over with less salt.

Hi no i would buy some smoke pellets for a smoke test they have more power to do the job save the vick for when you have a cold .............

read owners manual, make sure all controls are in the proper position, all fluid levels are correct, plug it in, turn it on ,wait a reasonable amount of time, if it don't work, empty it out, repack it, take it back to store where you bought it for exchange or refund

Is the water in your area soft? If so, add a few pinches of salt. Vaporizers boil the water by running electricity through it. If your water is too soft, no electricity and therefore no steam.

If you have hard water, and the unit must be cleaned, try soaking it in vinegar.

Dec 06, 2009 - found solution: if unit is truely clean, unplug unit then mix about a teaspoon of iodized salt (table salt) to the water. Reconnect unit wait about 1 - 2 minutes, unit will start to make a grinding sound but shortly after steam will produce.