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Whole House Humidifier
I think that Lily has one, but does anyone else have a whole house humidifier that connects to your furnace/ductwork?
If you do - tell me about it, please. How often do you have to clean it, is there a filter you change, what brand do you have, did you DIY, how well do you feel it works, do you have to fill it or do you have a water-in line connected to it, etc etc.
My concerns are that it could get moldy/mildewy, that it would be difficult and time consuming to clean and that it would be an overall pain in the butt to use.
My skin is DRY DRY DRY already, and it's hardly winter, so I need to find something that works besides a small unit we would put on a surface in our room. We've always done this, but I feel like I'd appreciate something more permanent and out of sight.
jack | born 9.13.12 at 40w4d | 9 lbs 12 oz | 23 in
my puppy loves - chloe & jenson
pregnancy blog | chart
Re: Whole House Humidifier
We have an Aprilair that's attached to our furnace. LOVE it!
I clean the filter 2 or 3 times per year - I just pull it out wash it and stick it back in. I also change the drain lines to it because they were super gross (I don't think the previous owners even knew that they were supposed to clean the filter!). The water lines are hooked up to it and it's easy to switch it off or on super low for the summer months.
Ditto This! We love ours. We did have someone come and set it up for us. But we were also getting a new furnace at the same time!
ours is also an Aprilaire. it's awesome. parker hasn't had one bloody nose since we got it and he used to get them frequently before we installed it.
ours has a waterline connected to it and it's right on our furnace. we clean the filter a few times a year and we think it works great.
we had standard heating install it since my mom's boyfriend is part owner.
We're having one installed this afternoon. We got tired of having multiple humidifiers all over the house last winter.
Andy did some research (he's freakish about doing research and reading consumer reviews). He decided that the best option was a Honeywell model that you can buy at Home Depot for $189. It was the top-rated one by Consumer Reports.
We're having someone install it for us, which actually turned out to be free. We hired the guy to install a water softener for us a few weeks ago, and he threw in the installation of the humidifier for free. I'm not sure how difficult the installation is, but neither Andy nor I are really handy kind of people when it comes to that kind of thing, so it's usually worth it to us to have a professional install it.
Since we haven't used it yet, I'm not sure about the frequency of changing filters, etc.
That last post was me.
Ha!
Forgot that I was logged in under the new name I created yesterday. I wanted to post a question on the MM board that had a little too much personal financial info to post under this account. Then I decided it was stupid to ask the question to a bunch of internet strangers when I should really contact a financial planner, so I never asked the question anyway.
Back to my real name now ... that other name will probably only have 1 post ever ... about a whole house humidifier. :-)
Mr. Sammy Dog
I posted on Twitter about it and got this response from the Minnesota Energy Challenge people.
http://mnenergychallenge.wordpress.com/2010/11/05/should-i-use-a-whole-home-humidifier/
I trust their advice on other issues, so this gives me something to think about. I think I need to consult a few other people first before we decide to do it.
jack | born 9.13.12 at 40w4d | 9 lbs 12 oz | 23 in
my puppy loves - chloe & jenson
pregnancy blog | chart
We have read that you have to monitor the moisture levels carefully to avoid the problems listed in that blog post. If the moisture levels are too high it can cause problems (mold in the ducts, mold in the attic insulation, etc.)
There seem to be a lot of benefits (especially considering how much of our house has hardwood floors that will dry out without a humidifier), so we're willing to get one installed and monitor moisture levels to make sure we're reaping the benefits but not causing damage.
Mr. Sammy Dog
I'm just curious - how do you plan on monitoring the moisture levels? Aside from peeking in the attic & the duct work, which isn't always convenient. I wouldn't mind just keeping up with things and monitoring it, but how would you feel like you really checked everything?
jack | born 9.13.12 at 40w4d | 9 lbs 12 oz | 23 in
my puppy loves - chloe & jenson
pregnancy blog | chart
Mr. Sammy Dog
I'm sorry.. I realize I could just google it, but you always seem to have done your research! Do you mind explaining a bit more? How does a hygrometer work, and how do you use it?
jack | born 9.13.12 at 40w4d | 9 lbs 12 oz | 23 in
my puppy loves - chloe & jenson
pregnancy blog | chart
The info Andy found said that the humidity levels in a house should range from 30-50%, depending on the temperature. Humidity levels are higher in the summer with warmer temps. In the winter, humidity levels are ideally between 30-40%. Without a humidifier, levels can drop into the low 20's on the winter. If you have a hygrometer in the house (I bought this one), you'll always have a humidity reading. If it gets above 40%, you're supposed to turn off your humidifier (or turn it down).
Also, it's suggested that you get the ducts cleaned once a year to avoid dust and other particles from starting to mold (this can happen in the summer too, even if you don't have a humidifier running in the winter).
Mr. Sammy Dog
i would assume that all humidifiers have the same thing but the control on ours lets you pick where you want the humidity. we keep ours at 30%. we never have moisture inside the windows unless i'm boiling water with the lid off in the kitchen so i think it's doing it's job. i've seen it go as high as 47% when it pours out for days but it also doesn't run then, it's just giving a read out of the humidity in the ducts.
We have a small (700 sq ft) condo and use a simple plug-in humidifier in the winter due to the try air being torture on DH's guitars. We run it pretty much all winter as our place gets incredibly dry (even without hw floors) - but we also keep our humidity level pretty high - always over 50% (again for the guitars).
We bought a cheap plastic hydrometer at Home Depot - I think it was about $3. I'm not totally convinced of its accuracy though and might get a better one this winter.
We're getting a new furnace, air filter system and a humidifier installed on Tuesday. I read around on a few of those links in that blog post and found this..
The ?right? humidity
level
What is the right indoor
humidity for winter? Health
professionals usually
recommend a range of 35
to 65 percent relative
humidity. However, typical
buildings cannot sustain
those wintertime humidity
levels. We recommend
that you do what you can
to avoid condensation on
vulnerable surfaces. This
will reduce the chance of
mold growth and the
resulting damage to the
building. As you update
your home by improving
windows and doors and
adding a mechanical
ventilation system, you will
be able to increase indoor
humidity levels and avoid
damaging the building.
I think watching for any kind of moisture on your windows and pipes if your pipes in your laundry room are exposed at all would suffice to monitor the moisture to outside temp ratio, which is what causes the damage.
We'll still be having ours installed. Like PP mentioned, reap the benefits while watching for potential problems.