I bought several Hey Dewy humidifiers this winter and soon realized we needed to buy quite a lot of distilled water to operate them without causing buildup and damage. We bought maybe 10 gallons at the store before I had done my research and purchased this distiller. I'm glad I did buy those because now I have lots of convenient jugs to fill! I run this as often as needed, using some extra space we have in the room with a big slop sink and our overflow fridge and freezer. You will want to set it up near a power outlet and a sink, and keep a towel handy for those times that you remove the lid to refill. You can easily wipe out the tank with some paper towels - ours has a bit of rust-colored residue in the bottom after one cycle but not too much. It shuts off nicely on its own. It also puts off quite a bit of heat which in the winter time is very welcome. In the summer I will probably need to open the window in the room where this is set up, or else the AC will have to compensate for the heat this is releasing. The investment was well worth it, and if even I find it easy to use then it truly is EASY TO USE. A very sturdy and capable little machine, and easy on the eyes as well (I purchased the red color). Very happy! :-)