Vicks Vaporizer with Nightlight

I saw the question about deposits in the vaporizer and the answer.  But, this is really bothering me.  Where is this gunk from?  It was in there the very first time I used these vaporizers. 

Thank you in advance for answering this question.

We received this product as a gift last Christmas and tucked it away until several weeks ago when the weather changed in our area and it became very dry. 

The device worked well the first week..  The steam output was excellent.  I followed the instructions in the product manual to clean the machine.  When I plugged the machine in, after waiting one hour, I had absolutely no steam output.  (yes, I had added salt and that worked great the first week of usage and yes, the night light was on indicating the system was working fine.).  The water in the cylinder was hot but still, no steam. 

I cleaned the machine a second time and still no steam.  I called the customer service number and reviewed all of the steps I had followed with the representative.  She could think of nothing else I could try.  She indicated the only thing left was for me to return the machine at my expense to the company.    She indicated it would take 10-12 weeks for the company to send me a replacement.

Our experience has been very disappointing.

After using it only once, it seems to work just fine.  Thanks.