Xiaomi Humidifier Bacteria and Mold Cannot Be Cleaned Properly

During winter, the air in our home gets dry, and since we have a young child, I purchased two Xiaomi Humidifier 2 models. It’s been only a month since I bought them, and I’ve been diligent about changing the water daily and cleaning the tank with vinegar water every four days. However, after about 10 days of use, the devices started emitting a sour smell. I continued using them for a while, but when the issue didn’t resolve, I switched to cleaning the tank with vinegar water every two days—still no improvement. The other day, I noticed air bubbles in the section where the water evaporated (while the device was off). When I emptied the water from that part, I was shocked to see mold, bacteria, and stains inside! It’s only been a month since I bought these devices—how could this happen so quickly? And this is despite my regular cleaning and maintenance efforts, as I described above! I managed to clean that part with a baby bottle cleaning brush, but here’s the problem: I shouldn’t have to put in this much effort to clean the device. There are warnings on the device advising to avoid getting certain areas wet, and I’m extremely careful about that—it’s incredibly difficult, and I’m not willing to continue because eventually, water will get into those parts. Some areas cannot be properly cleaned, meaning the cleaning process isn’t truly effective or hygienic. There should either be an easier way to clean this device, or I’ll have to return it, as using it is far from healthy. Instead of improving our health, it’s putting us at risk. This week, my child developed an eye infection, with redness and discharge for the past two mornings. This is most likely caused by the device. I expect an urgent response. I’ve already reported this issue to Mieko and Xiaomi’s official email addresses, but I haven’t received a single reply.