Terms of Use & Waiver of Liability

1. What the Product is

The Product is a general-purpose cold atomizer. It converts a liquid placed in its vial into a fine airborne mist by mechanical vibration. It is a container and a delivery mechanism — nothing more.

The Product is not a medical device. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate or prevent any disease or condition. It is not a nebulizer, an inhaler, a therapeutic aerosol generator, a sterilizer, an air purifier or a filtration device, and it must not be used as a substitute for any of those. No statement made by Monarch Hydration, on the Site or elsewhere, has been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration or by any comparable regulatory authority.

2. There is no heat, and therefore no sterilization

This is the single most important thing to understand about the Product, and you acknowledge that you have read and understood it.

The Product does not boil, heat, distill, filter, purify or otherwise treat the liquid you place in it. Mist is produced by vibration alone. A steam device leaves most dissolved minerals, contaminants, bacteria and other matter behind in the reservoir when it boils; the Product does not.

Consequently, whatever is present in the liquid you load — minerals, additives, botanical constituents, essential oils, preservatives, residues, particulates, bacteria, mould, or any other substance, intended or otherwise — may be carried into the air, onto your skin, onto surfaces, and into the breathing space of you and anyone else nearby. The mist that leaves the Product is a faithful reproduction of the contents of the vial.

You are solely responsible for knowing what is in the liquid you load and for judging whether it is safe to disperse into the air you and others will breathe.

3. You choose the substance. You own the outcome.

Monarch Hydration has no ability to observe, monitor, control, restrict, test, approve or have any knowledge whatsoever of what any user chooses to place in the Product. That choice is made entirely by you, outside our presence and beyond our control.

The Product is a general-purpose instrument in the same sense that a cigarette lighter, a spray bottle, a kettle or a hand tool is a general-purpose instrument. The maker of a lighter supplies a controlled flame; it bears no responsibility for what its owner elects to set alight. Monarch Hydration supplies a means of atomizing a liquid; we bear no responsibility for what you elect to atomize, for the consequences of atomizing it, or for any injury, illness, sensitisation, irritation, allergic or respiratory reaction, chemical exposure, property damage, contamination or loss of any kind arising from it.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Monarch Hydration accepts no responsibility and no liability of any kind for the outcome of atomizing any substance whatsoever, whether or not that substance appears among the fills we describe on the Site, and whether or not you believed the substance to be safe.

4. Recommended use, and what to keep out of it

We designed the Product around distilled water, hydrosols, and a small number of drops of essential oil in water. We recommend distilled water because it keeps mineral scale off the atomizing element and mineral residue off your skin. These are recommendations, not guarantees of safety — see Section 3.

• Never load flammable or combustible liquids, solvents, fuels, alcohols, or aerosol propellants.

• Never load cleaning products, disinfectants, bleach, pesticides, herbicides, or industrial chemicals.

• Never load prescription or over-the-counter medication, supplements, or any substance intended for inhalation therapy. The Product is not a nebulizer and must never be used as one.

• Never load anything you would not be willing to breathe continuously for the duration of a full vial, in an enclosed room, at close range.

• Do not use undiluted essential oils. Do not exceed a few drops in a vial of water.

• Patch test any hydrosol, oil or blend on a small area of skin, and know your own sensitivities and allergies, before atomizing it near your face or in an enclosed space.

• Do not use the Product on, around or in the breathing space of infants, children, pregnant people, pets or birds, or anyone with asthma, COPD, reactive airway disease, fragrance sensitivity or any other respiratory or dermatological condition, without first consulting a qualified medical or veterinary professional. Birds in particular are acutely sensitive to airborne compounds.

• Do not atomize into the eyes, into an open wound, or directly into the mouth, nose or throat.

• Empty, rinse and dry the vial between different fills, and do not leave liquid standing in the vial, in order to limit microbial growth.

• Keep the Product and its vials out of the reach of children. Do not disassemble, modify or repair the Product, and do not use it if damaged.

5. Assumption of risk

You acknowledge that use of the Product carries inherent and unpredictable risks, including but not limited to: skin irritation, contact dermatitis, sensitisation and allergic reaction; respiratory irritation, coughing, wheezing, bronchospasm and asthma exacerbation; eye irritation; headache, nausea and chemical sensitivity responses; exposure of other people, animals and plants in the vicinity to whatever you atomize; slip hazards, moisture damage, staining, mould growth and damage to surfaces, furnishings, textiles and electronics from airborne moisture and residues; and electrical and battery-related risks common to rechargeable devices.

You knowingly, freely and voluntarily assume all such risks, both known and unknown, whether arising from your own act or omission, from the act or omission of any other person, or from the condition of the Product, and you accept full and sole responsibility for any resulting injury, illness, death, damage or loss.

6. Waiver and release of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you hereby release, waive, discharge and covenant not to sue Monarch Hydration and its owners, officers, members, employees, contractors, agents, suppliers, distributors and successors (together, the "Released Parties") from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, causes of action, liabilities, damages, losses, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) of any kind, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability, product liability, statute or otherwise, arising out of or in any way connected with:

This waiver is intended to be as broad and inclusive as is permitted by law. If any portion of it is held invalid or unenforceable, the remainder shall continue in full force and effect.

• any substance you or any other person places in, atomizes with, or disperses using the Product;

• the composition, purity, concentration, quality, labelling, storage or provenance of any liquid you use;

• any inhalation of, contact with, or exposure to the mist produced by the Product, by you or by any other person, animal or plant;

• any use of the Product that departs from the recommendations in Section 4;

• any property damage, contamination, corrosion, staining or moisture damage caused by the mist; and

• any use of the Product by anyone to whom you supply, lend, resell or give access to it.

7. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Released Parties from and against any claim, demand, proceeding, liability, damage, loss, cost or expense (including reasonable legal fees) brought by any third party — including any household member, guest, tenant, customer, client, employee or animal owner — and arising out of or connected with your use of the Product, the substances you atomize, or your breach of these Terms.

8. Disclaimer of warranties

The Product and the Site are provided "as is" and "as available". To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Released Parties disclaim all warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, statutory or otherwise, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, and any warranty arising from course of dealing or usage of trade.

No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained from Monarch Hydration or through the Site, creates any warranty not expressly stated in these Terms. Specifications described on the Site, including runtime, reflect the current state of the Product and are subject to change and to normal variation in use.

9. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, in no event shall the Released Parties be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or business interruption, arising out of or in connection with the Product or these Terms, whether based in contract, tort, strict liability or any other theory, and whether or not the Released Parties have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the total aggregate liability of the Released Parties for any and all claims arising out of or connected with the Product or these Terms shall not exceed the amount you actually paid to Monarch Hydration for the Product giving rise to the claim, or, where no amount was paid, zero.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or the limitation or exclusion of liability for certain damages. In those jurisdictions, the exclusions and limitations above apply to the maximum extent permitted, and nothing in these Terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

10. Not medical advice

Nothing on the Site or in any material accompanying the Product constitutes medical, veterinary, dermatological, toxicological or other professional advice. Descriptions of hydrosols, essential oils and other fills are general and informational. Consult a qualified professional before using the Product if you are pregnant or nursing, if you have any respiratory, cardiac, dermatological or immune condition, if you are treating a child, or if you keep birds or other sensitive animals in the space.

11. Availability and invitations

The Product is currently offered on an invitation basis. Submitting a request through the Site creates no obligation on Monarch Hydration to supply a Product, to respond, or to hold any unit, and it creates no contract of sale. We may decline any request for any reason or for no reason.

Information you send through the Site is used only to evaluate and respond to your request. We do not sell it. Messages are delivered to us by email through a third-party email provider, and are retained only for as long as they remain useful for that purpose.

12. The beta programme

Monarch is in an invitation-only beta. Units are assembled by hand in small batches and released to a list rather than sold from a storefront. If you receive one, you are among the first people outside the workshop to use it, and you are buying it on that understanding.

What that means in practice:

• Units are made by hand in small numbers. Finish, texture, colour, fit and mist output vary slightly from unit to unit, and from the photography on the Site.

• The Product, its parts, its finishes and its packaging may change between batches without notice. A later unit may differ from yours in appearance, materials, runtime or behaviour.

• The price and the contents of the kit may change. A later batch may cost more or less than you paid, and may include more or less than yours did.

• We do not promise that vials, wicks, cables, spare parts, accessories or servicing will remain available, or that any future version, revision or upgrade will be produced, offered to you, or offered to you at a discount.

• Beta units are supplied for your own use. Do not resell, rent, redistribute or offer them commercially.

13. Payment and shipping

Nothing is owed when you request an invitation. If we invite you and you accept, we ask for your chosen finish and a full delivery address, and we issue a PayPal invoice for the price of the Product plus the actual cost of shipping to that address. A contract of sale is formed when you pay that invoice, and not before. Until you pay it you may walk away at no cost, and so may we.

We aim to ship within three weeks of payment, and often sooner. Delivery timings are estimates rather than guarantees, and we are not responsible for delay caused by a carrier, by customs, or by an address given to us incorrectly. Any import duty, tax or customs charge levied by your own country is yours to pay. Risk of loss passes to you on delivery.

14. All sales are final

All sales are final. Because each unit is built to order in a small batch during the beta, we do not accept returns, exchanges or cancellations once an invoice is paid, and we do not give refunds. In particular, and without limitation, we cannot take back or refund a Product because:

• you changed your mind, or no longer want it;

• it did not suit your skin, your hair, your routine or your space, or did not produce the result you had hoped for;

• a hydrosol, oil or other fill you chose smelled, felt or behaved differently from what you expected;

• the mist output, runtime, noise, weight or finish differs from what you pictured from photography or written copy;

• it varies cosmetically from another unit or from a photograph on the Site;

• a later batch, revision or version is offered at a different price, in a different finish, or with different contents; or

• you no longer wish to take part in the beta.

You are trying something new and largely unproven, and in accepting an invitation you knowingly take that risk. That is the bargain, and the price reflects it.

Nothing in this section removes or limits any right you have under the law of your own country that cannot lawfully be excluded or waived. That includes, for buyers in the United Kingdom and the European Union, the right to cancel a distance purchase within fourteen days and rights in respect of faulty or misdescribed goods; and, for buyers in Australia, the consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law. Where such a right applies to you it applies in addition to this section and prevails over it to the extent of any conflict. Nothing here affects any right you may have to raise a dispute or a claim with PayPal or with your card issuer under their own rules.

15. If a unit arrives wrong

All sales being final does not mean we walk away from a unit that is genuinely wrong. Tell us, and we will put it right — at our option by replacement, by replacement parts, or by refund — in any of these cases:

• it never arrived, and the carrier confirms the parcel as lost;

• it arrived visibly damaged in transit, provided you tell us within 7 days of delivery and send photographs;

• it arrived dead — it will not charge, will not power on, or will not produce mist on a correct fill — provided you tell us within 14 days of delivery; or

• it arrived in the wrong finish, or with a vial, a wick or the cable missing from the kit.

Write to us first, and before you open a payment dispute. Use the request form on the Site, describe the problem, and include photographs where the problem can be seen. Do not send anything back until we have asked you to, because a parcel that arrives unannounced cannot be matched to your order or credited. Where we do agree a return, we pay the return shipping. Original shipping charges are not refundable except where the Product never reached you.

What we offer in place of a returns window is us. For as long as you own the unit you can write to us about anything — a battery that will not hold its charge, a vial that weeps, a mist that has weakened, a question about a fill — and a person will answer and work through it with you.

16. Lawful use

You are responsible for ensuring that your use of the Product, and the substances you atomize, comply with all applicable laws, regulations, ordinances, tenancy agreements, workplace rules and venue policies in your jurisdiction. Some substances are restricted or prohibited; determining that is your responsibility, not ours.

17. Changes, governing law and severability

We may update these Terms from time to time. The version published on the Site at the time of your use governs that use, and the date of the current version appears at the top of this page.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Product shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in the State of New York, and you consent to the jurisdiction of those courts.

If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, that provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, or severed if it cannot be, and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of it. These Terms are the entire agreement between you and Monarch Hydration regarding the Product and supersede any prior understanding.

18. Contact

Questions about these Terms, about an invitation, or about a unit that has arrived wrong can be sent through the request form on the home page of monarchhydration.com.