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Article Title: Whole House Humidifiers Types and Humidifier Maintenance
Author: Dariusz Rudnicki
Category: Home Improvement
Word Count: 1188
Keywords: whole house humidifier, furnace humidifier, whole house humidifier
maintenance
Author's Email Address: [email protected]
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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A whole house humidifier or furnace mounted whole house humidifier is just
another example of an extremely neglected component of our house - on top of a
brick chimney, an attic, and a crawlspace, which fall into the same basket.
If you are not going to maintain it is probably a bad idea to get a whole house
humidifier. Since it is attached to a forced air heating system that constantly
circulates air throughout the house, poor maintenance can create environment
attracting mold growth and help reproduce of dust mites.
Properly operating and maintaining a whole house humidifier helps us relieve
many physical discomforts associated with cold / dry weather, including
respiratory problems and dry skin and lips. It also lowers or completely
eliminates static electricity, cosmetic wall trim separations, cracks in
finishes, separating hardwood floor boards, etc. The trick is to balance the
amount of moisture in your home at such a level which will benefit your health,
living environment, and save energy instead of creating conditions which
sometimes cause mold or other biological organism growth (excessive moisture
could do that).
For proper humidity balancing, you either have to observe and monitor your
environment, or purchase an electronic device which will do it for you. In
general, the humidity in your house should not exceed 50% (35% - 50% is the
most comfortable). Higher levels will usually create condensation on windows,
sometimes on walls and ceiling surfaces, or possible mold and mildew growth.
No matter how advanced the whole house humidifier system installed on your
property is - it will require regular maintenance because it will not work
properly or at all without it. The truth is - I rarely see one properly
maintained or even operating at all.
There are basically 5 types of whole house humidifiers:
1. Flow-Through (bypass) Whole House Humidifiers (passive and fan assisted) -
they use a so-called water pad made out of foam, expanded aluminum, and some
other materials. The water drips on top of the square pad and the air from the
heating system flowing through the pad picks up the water particles and carries
them through the air ducts and around the house. The remaining water (whatever
was not picked up by the air) drains through the base of the whole house
humidifier.
A whole house humidifier's water pad has to be replaced once a year before
every cold season to perform efficiently and to prevent mold growth. For the
homes utilizing private well or other sources with high levels of minerals,
cleaning might be required more often.
For every gallon of water evaporated into humidity, Whole House Flow-Through
Humidifiers waste between 5-8 gallons down the drain.
2. Drum Whole House Humidifiers - they have a drum shaped rotating frame
(powered by a small, low voltage motor) and a foam or fabric sleeve pulled over
it. The bottom section of the drum is always submerged in water which keeps the
rotating foam / fabric moist and allows air flowing through the drum to pick up
that moisture. The foam / fabric and the water in a small reservoir under the
drum require regular maintenance! If you leave that water standing in an unused
humidifier (for example during the summer), and then just start the whole house
humidifier unit without cleaning it first, I guarantee that you will be
spreading mold spores through the entire house.
3. Wick Type Whole House Humidifiers - assembled out of a small reservoir and a
filter (wick) that absorbs water from it. The entire humidifier is mounted
inside the air duct, and in order to inspect it, you have to unscrew the cover
plate and remove the entire unit - I don't recommended it, is cheap and easy to
install, but that's all.
4. Spray Mist Whole House Humidifiers - as the name suggests, they spray water
mist into the air duct and the mist is picked up by the flow through the air
duct. Do not even consider this type if your house has a private or community
well - it will contaminate the spray head immediately. Those are one of the
cheapest and easiest to install types out of all the whole house humidifiers.
5. Steam Whole House Humidifiers - being the most expensive to purchase /
install and not that cheap to operate, it consists of advanced technology and
complicated designs. Steam whole house humidifier might operate with or
independently from your system heat cycle. Whenever the humidity drops below
the setting, they will activate your furnace blower and get the humidity to the
right level independently from the thermostat settings.
One of the known problems associated with this type of the whole house
humidifier is that the water distributed with cold air (with operating furnace
blower only / no heat) does not completely evaporate. Condensing on the air
duct cold walls might sometimes cause bacteria and mold growth. If you like new
gadgets and do not mind spending some serious money for it - go ahead - but it
sill does require maintenance.
One more type of a Flow - Through type humidifier but this time almost 100%
efficient (as claimed by the manufacturer).
Rotary Disc Furnace Mount Whole House Humidifier by Desert Spring: To be honest
with you, I can not say much about it except for relaying information from the
manufacturer's website, forums, and discussion boards. It sounds great because
it is (as claimed by the manufacturer)
* the most effective furnace-mount humidifier on the market
* 100% efficient - 1:1 conversion of water to humidity
* uses only 4 Watts/hr of energy
* drain-less system - there is no need for a drain in your utility room /
furnace location area
* very little maintenance with Auto-Flush accessory (you can do it manually
every few days, depending on usage, minerals would only need to be removed
every month or two in most regions of North America)
* never needs filters or pads replacement - uses self cleaning
polycarbonate discs (non-absorbent plastic)
As with every product, there are those who love it and hate it.
Whole House Humidifier Maintenance:
1. Check your humidifier unit visually on a regular basis (it's hard to
remember it especially if your whole house humidifier has been mounted in the
crawlspace or attic area)
2. Make sure that there is no water dripping from the whole house humidifier
itself and any of its components (water supply line, drain line, shutoff valve,
enclosure, area underneath the unit, or furnace itself)
3. Replace the whole house humidifier water pad / evaporator pad / filter /
foam on seasonal basis (or more often if required). Make sure that you
re-assemble everything correctly to prevent water leaks
4. Clean the whole house humidifier components contaminated with mineral
deposits after the heating season ends - it will be much easier to do it when
everything is still wet and soft. You can use 50/50 vinegar-water solution for
heavier contaminated components. Just soak them for 15-30 minutes (or longer if
necessary) and that should help with cleaning.
Dariusz Rudnicki is a licensed Illinois home inspector who has been in this
business for over ten years. Are you preparing your house for sale or looking
for an advice on any type of problems with your house? All you need to do is
visit http://www.checkthishouse.com and ask him for help.
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