The first cold night arrives, the furnace turns on, and the air inside the house goes dry right away. You bring the console humidifier up from the basement, fill the bottles at the kitchen sink, and set the fan on high. Morning comes, the bottles are still full and the room still feels dry. You open the cabinet and find the wick from last winter, stiff and crusted white across the top. That wick cannot absorb water anymore. A fresh Essick 1043 wick puts the machine back to work, and we stock it. This guide covers the two labels on the same wick, the consoles it fits, why the old one stopped working, and the swap.
Essick 1043 and Bemis 1043 are the same wick
Two names exist for this one part. Bemis sold its Home Comfort Division, including the humidifier line, to Essick Air Products, and Essick Air continues the machines under the Bemis by Essick Air brand name. The factory makes one replacement wick for both brands. We sell the Essick 1043 Humidifier Filter for $26.99 and the Bemis 1043 Humidifier Filter for $26.99. You get the same price on both pages and the same wick in the box. Order by whichever label your manual uses, and the part that arrives is the same.
The wick measures about 10 1/2 inches long, 4 to 4 1/4 inches wide and 12 1/2 inches high, and it is made in the USA. It slides into the plastic frame of your console. The wick carries a MicroFree antimicrobial treatment, which helps protect the wick material itself from the growth and migration of mold, fungus, algae and bacteria. Our Essick and Bemis collections both list it.
Which humidifiers take the 1043 wick
The 1043 fits console humidifiers from both brands. Console machines sit on the floor, hold large water bottles and humidify several rooms at once, and the wick sits in a plastic frame inside the cabinet. A wick that fits well absorbs water across its whole face. A wick that fits poorly lets dry air bypass the paper. Read the model number on the sticker on the back of your machine or on the cover of the manual, and find it on this list. The 1043 wick fits these machines:
- Bemis Space Saver 800 series and Spacesaver 800 series consoles.
- Bemis Series 800 to 899 console humidifiers.
- Bemis models 821-000, 821-001, 8266 and 8268.
- Bemis models 826-000, 826-600, 826-800 and 826-900.
- Bemis models 831-000 and SS390DWHT.
- Any machine that calls for a Bemis Water Wick 1043.
- Essick Air EP9 500, EP9-700 and EP9-800.
- Essick Air EP9R 500, EP9R-800 and 821 000.
Every machine on that list is a floor console that pushes moisture into several rooms at once. If your model number sits on the list, the 1043 is your wick. If it does not, call us with the number and we check the fit against the other wicks we stock.
The wick is the whole output
A console humidifier is a simple machine. The fan moves the air, the bottles hold the water, and the wick does the work. The fan draws dry household air into the cabinet and through the wet wick. The wick stays wet because it sits in the water tray, and the air picks up moisture as it passes through. The more saturated the wick, the higher the output. A new wick that absorbs fully can add gallons of water to the dry air of your home.
Tap water carries dissolved minerals, and that is the problem. The wick absorbs the water and the minerals together. The fan carries the moisture away and leaves the calcium and lime behind in the paper. The scale builds into a hard crust, the crust limits how much water the wick can absorb, and the fan pushes air through dry patches. The room stays dry with the tank full. A scaled wick kills the output of the machine, and a new wick brings it back. The fan and the motor are fine. The paper is the part that wears out, and the paper is the part you replace.
How to change the 1043 wick
Replacing the wick takes a few minutes and no tools. The manual for your model shows the exact orientation of the wick in the frame.
- Turn the humidifier off and unplug the cord.
- Open the cabinet and lift the water bottles out.
- Lift the wick frame out of the water tray.
- Open the frame and remove the old wick.
- Rinse the tray with warm water to wash away loose scale.
- Wipe the tray dry.
- Seat the new wick in the frame and close the frame.
- Set the frame back into the tray.
- Refill the bottles and lower them into the cabinet.
- Plug the cord in and turn the fan on.
The new wick starts to absorb water as soon as the bottles feed the tray, and the fan sends moist air into the room within minutes. Wash your hands after you handle the old wick, and let the tray dry before you set the new frame in place if the scale was heavy. The frame opens and closes by hand on these consoles, and the wick seats with light pressure.
When to change your humidifier wick
Essick Air sets the replacement interval for this wick, and we publish none. General practice on wick filters is a change at the start of each heating season, when the machine comes out of storage, and a second change mid season. A winter of heavy use wears the paper out faster, and hard water fills the wick with minerals within weeks. Water hardness drives the schedule more than any other factor. Our guide on when to change a humidifier filter covers the other wick styles we stock.
The machine shows you when the wick is done. You see stiff white scale on the top, a crust on the sides, or a brown color in the paper. The cabinet develops a musty smell. The clearest sign is the water level: a tank that empties slower than it did last month, or a room that stays dry with the tank full. None of these signs is an emergency. A new wick fixes it.
Set the reorder on Subscribe and Save
The winter gets busy, and the room goes dry before you remember to order. Our Subscribe and Save program ships the wick on a schedule of three months, six months or a year, with a standing 5 percent discount on every recurring shipment. On the 1043, 5 percent off $26.99 is $25.64. The six month interval puts a fresh wick in your hand at the start of the heating season and again in midwinter, before the scale stops the moisture. The discount applies to every scheduled shipment, and you can pause the plan through the summer months when the console sits in storage. Our Humidifier Filters collection holds the wicks for the other machines in the house.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Essick 1043 the same as the Bemis 1043?
Yes. The two names refer to the same wick. Bemis sold its Home Comfort Division to Essick Air Products, and Essick Air sells the consoles under the Bemis by Essick Air brand. The factory makes one wick for both lines, and both part numbers cost $26.99 in our store.
Does the 1043 wick fit my Bemis console?
The 1043 fits the Bemis 800 series and Space Saver 800 series consoles, the 821, 826 and 831 model families, the SS390DWHT, and any unit that calls for a Water Wick 1043. It also fits the Essick Air EP9 and EP9R consoles. Read the model number on the sticker on the back of the machine and match it to the list above.
How often should I change a console humidifier wick?
The manufacturer sets the interval for your unit. General practice is a change at the start of each heating season and a second change mid season in a home with hard water or heavy use. Water hardness sets the speed of the mineral buildup.
Can I clean and reuse a 1043 wick?
No. The minerals bond to the paper fibers and form a stiff crust, and rinsing does not dissolve the scale without destroying the paper. Replace the old wick with a new one, and rinse the tray while the frame is out so the new wick starts in a clean tray.
Order your replacement wick today
The furnace brings dry air, and your console keeps the house comfortable when the wick can hold water. Order the Essick 1043 Humidifier Filter before the first hard frost. Call 855-789-3278 with your model number if you want us to confirm the fit. We answer the phone Monday to Friday, 9 to 3 Central, and you can email info@poseidonfilters.com. We are Poseidon Filters. We sell the wick, and we do not repair humidifiers.
Reviewed by the filtration specialists at Poseidon Filters, who match residential and office systems to the correct replacement filters every day.