Crane Drop Review

The Crane company started in 205 with a few designs and continued to add to its collection each year. The company works out of Itasca, Illinois, and is part of the Wachsmuth & Krogmann, Inc (W&K) company. Crane strives to design products that are efficient and stylish with designs that bring a smile to your face. Crane produces humidifiers, air purifiers, fans, and space heaters to increase personal comfort, no matter the climate.

Performance Comparison

You will need a bottle brush or some kind of tool to get the inside of the Drop clean as your hand is unlikely to fit inside.

Credit: Abriah Wofford

Ease of Cleaning

The base of this unit has only a few small nooks and crannies, which made it relatively easy to clean. However, the water tank presents more of a problem and resulted in the Drop earning a lower score for ease of cleaning.

The lid on the Drop will require a smaller brush to get in all the nooks and crannies.

Credit: Abriah Wofford

The tank opening is too small for hands, and the longer shape makes it challenging to reach the bottom with a standard bottle brush. It does have a minimal number of parts, but keeping the ultrasonic plate clean and free of deposits was difficult and a hit or miss operation that caused a significant drop in mist production if not tended to regularly.

Cleaning the base takes some patience and some smaller brushes to get in the smaller spaces. The manual also has instructions on cleaning more depth.

Credit: Abriah Wofford

We find scraping around the washer increases mist production, but the sensitivity of the ultrasonic plate to cleaning causes concern about the overall longevity of the unit.

This photo shows the dust created by the Drop during a full run until the vessel was empty.

Credit: Abriah Wofford

The Drop proved to be relatively effective in tests compared to the competition.

Credit: Abriah Wofford

Effectiveness

This humidifier produces better mist than some of the competition with a higher than average output. It takes a little longer to get going than similar options, but within the first 14 minutes, it catches up and surpasses the lower-producing machines. Though the size of this unit still makes it best for smaller spaces or right near the crib or bed.

The Drop has a quiet operation compared to the competition with only one option in our tests rating higher.

Credit: Abriah Wofford

Noise

This unit is one of the quietest in the group. It is similar to the other Crane we tested and is sure to help little ones stay asleep.

The user interface ON the Drop is straightforward with one dial that turns it on and increases or decreases mist volume.

Credit: Abriah Wofford

Ease of Use

The simple design of this humidifier made it easy enough to put together and operate. The single mist jet is easily adjustable to change the direction of the mist, and the continuously variable mist output knob allows for good control over the output. The compact design makes it ideal for placement on a nightstand.

We find the "on" light on the Crane to be distracting at night - and you can't turn it off, but by turning the unit to face the wall, it is less bright.

While there is an obvious handle on the top of the Drop, it also says not to use this grip point as a handle. Wait, what?

Credit: Abriah Wofford

Finally, we were put off by the design of a handle on the tank with a "Do not carry full tank by handle" instruction embossed into the plastic. Although it appears that you can use the handle with an empty tank, we feel that any handle included in the design of a humidifier should be able to support the tank, whether it is empty or full.

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