Room Humidifiers: Need Recommendations

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

What are the good ones?

 

[FNG]

Hatted Frau,

I've found the ones that work best for me are the ones that don't use some sort of filter. Those things get funky after awhile. Hunter makes several versions. Easy to refill, and keep clean, and pretty inexpensive. They seem to work for me in a small bedroom I use for my guitar room.

Here's a similar version to what I use. Cool mist.

http://www.bing.com/shopping/33201-2-ga ... &FORM=HURE

Of course, I live in Florida, so I dont' use it year round, just in winter when I have run the forced air heater. My airconditioner has a humidity control function, so I can keep the indoor humidity around 50 the rest of the year.

 

[adorshki]

No kidding, ever thought about a swamp cooler?
Might want to do a little research, unless the water supply is an issue.
Not sure if it would raise humidity enough though.
Wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler
:wink:

 

[JavelinaJoe]

Having lived in Phoenix a good part of my youth I can tell you a swamp cooler will definitely raise the humidity, maybe too much. Of course that usually happens when the outside humidity is already high. The rest of the year its pretty bone dry.

I use a Vornado humidifier in the room where I store my harem, and a Honeywell 9 gal. whole house humidifier for the rest of the house. I run them all through the winter months until its time to fire up the ole swamp box, usually around the beginning of May. Both units use wicks which must be replaced about twice a year. The water tanks have to be refilled a couple of times a week as well.

If I had air conditioning I would consider having a humidification system added. Less maintenance and effort. I'm considering adding air conditioning this year just to use during the monsoon season when the humidity gets really high. I'll still use my swamp box the rest of the time, mainly because its cheaper to operate then air conditioning. I need that extra cash to fund my GAS. :lol:

 

[Bikerdoc]

This is what I use in one room. I don't use a whole house humidifier, just one for the guitar room

http://www.simplygoodstuff.com/ironmist_fountain-2.html

 

[davismanLV]

Darryl, I've been using Sears Kenmore humidifiers for years. They work really well and although humidifiers require attention, these are easy to clean and fill and the controls work well. 4 fan speeds, automatic humidity settings (I keep mine at 45%) and wicks that are fairly easy to change. However, as much work as these things do, I buy the wicks by the dozen. That will last me a year. Take a look, these are not very expensive and I've had GREAT success with them here in the land of the parched. Mine is working away out in the living room where the guitars live.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...urifiers&Dehumidifiers&sName=Humidifiersmv=rr

 

[GardMan]

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...urifiers&Dehumidifiers&sName=Humidifiersmv=rr

I've been using one of these in the basement (the room adjacent to my Guild cave) for the last five years or so. The wicks aren't cheap... but I can get thru the winter with two wicks (I am pretty anal about using a bacteriostat in the water... as long as I do, I don't have problems with mildew or bacteria. Just hard water deposits). I really like it. The only thing I don't like, if the power goes out, the unit goes off. For a while, I actually had mine on a cheap uninterruptable power supply (UPS; battery backup like might be used for a computer)... but the humidier outlived the UPS. They used to make a somewhat smaller one... 6 or 8 gal, as I recall. During the dead of winter, I have to fill it ~every two days. It's right under the cold air return to my furnace, so sort of gets the whole house. I have a smaller "Moist air" brand evaporative humidifier in my cave... just as a top off. In winter, I only have to fill it about once a week.

I WOULD ONLY use an evaporative humidifier (the ones with wicks/filters).

The warm mist ones are courting disaster... IMO. Because they heat the air they are "moisturizing," it will hold more water than the surrounding air. Condensation will then form on cooler surfaces, like walls... and expensive guitars. I never ruined a guitar... but I peeled some wallpaper using one of these once. Because our water is very hard, we also get a good coating of limestone on the heating element.

I have also tried the "Cool mist" ultrasonic humidifiers... these use ultrasound to form tiny water droplets that are expelled from the device, and evaporate in the room air. The problem is... anything in the water (bacteria, minerals, etc) also ends up in those droplets, and when the water evaporates, is left behind in the air to settle on every surface in the room. The water in Utah is hard as a rock. Despite all attempts to use deionizing filters (either built into the device, or separate on the faucet), everything in the room becomes covered with a fine white (slightly abrasive) mineral powder.

So, an evaporative humidifier is my recommendation... in principle, the only thing added to the air is water. Minerals are not volatile, tho' they will harden the wicks (reducing efficiency) after a while. If you use a bacteriostat, you can keep bacterial growth under control.

 

[davismanLV]

Dave, I replace the wick and clean the machine about every 1.5 months. When the wicks get stiff and mineral buildup from the hard water here, they lose effectiveness and the thing runs constantly and can't get the humidity above a certain level. That's when I change them. I use the bacteriostat solution sparingly because I find that when I use it too much, the wicks seem to clog up way faster than normal. Have you found this to be true?

I have to fill mine morning and night because I only have the smaller version now. My older one (that I found by the side of the road years ago) finally quit, so I have to replace the larger one.

I get the wicks at Walmart but you have to buy them all in the winter because somehow they're "seasonal" items. You can only buy them for about 3 months or so. I pay $10 each for them. You can also order a Sunbeam universal filter for about the same price from Sunbeam directly.

I spend about $100 a year on products for the humidifier. Seems like a lot but, what choice do I have?

It's better for my guitars and ultimately better for me.

 

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

Sounds like David and Davis have the right one for me. I think I'll get one.