Home Humidifier Recommendations?

[temporalillusion]

I'm building a new house. 2500 sqft or so, and it has two furnaces.

I have hardwood throughout the main floor and in some rooms upstairs.

Any experience with a good humidfier?

I've used the drum types before and they seem to get gunked up very quickly (hard water).

I've heard some people talk about the flow-through ones that they're a lot lower in maintenance, but waste a lot of water.

I've also seen this one on the Internet and at Rona.

http://www.highqproducts.com/

Seems like a cool idea, anyone have any experience with this one?

[sleepyguy]

We had one of the 'rotisserie' old skool ones and damn it was filthy! I replaced it with a med-KING one... cost around $150 I think... so far so good! Mind you our house is only like 1400 sq/ft... so you may have to go with something like the $200-$250 model. I like it... it's relatively quite and easy to install instructions.

[bionicbadger]

We had one of the 'rotisserie' old skool ones and damn it was filthy!

I hate those damn things. I went through a few motors on mine then said screw it and got the flow through type. No problems in the last couple years.

[mart242]

I've got a flow through "general humidifier" that's hooked up to my furnace. I paid 400$ for it installed (+ taxes I think) and I wouldn't do it again. It only runs water through when the furnace is on and heating which isn't much if you've got a recent house and good insulation. In my opinion, it doesn't bring the humidity level high enough in the house, I still end up with a dry nose all the time in winter. Plus, at 400$, I felt ripped off. Installation is super easy, I should have done it myself on a 100$ unit from home depot.

[Shifty]

A new, properly built home will likely not need a humidifier at all, unless you also have an HRV/ERV. With everything sealed up tight, there should be plenty of moisture in the air just from living in the house.

Best bet might be to get a hygrometer and monitor the homes humidity for awhile before you go and buy anything.

[jed]

You've got to have one with hardwood, in case you need to add humidity (of course). Never assume you will have enough.

[Shifty]

It's quite safe to assume that with a new home, actually.

[dgg]

i am thinking of doing this as well, and also have a newer house. Wouldn't a humidistat counterbalance the issue with the humidifier turning on only when the furnce turns on?

why does the heat exchanger make such a big difference on whether or not to get a humidifier in a new house?

[Shifty]

By heat exchanger do you mean an HRV? If so, it makes a difference because it changes the air in your house continuously, therefore expelling moist air in winter and bringing in dry air, which is bad for hardwood. Without an HRV, a new home does get enough air changes to get rid of the moisture that comes from showering, cooking, breathing, etc, and as I mentioned in another thread, this actually leads to an excessive humidity level in the house.

[galanz]

A new, properly built home will likely not need a humidifier at all, unless you also have an HRV/ERV. With everything sealed up tight, there should be plenty of moisture in the air just from living in the house.

Best bet might be to get a hygrometer and monitor the homes humidity for awhile before you go and buy anything.

You obviously don't live in Alberta.

[temporalillusion]

You obviously don't live in Alberta.

Lol I was just going to say that.

Calgary in the winter is like having negative humidity.

[ipfree]

I've got a flow through "general humidifier" that's hooked up to my furnace. I paid 400$ for it installed (+ taxes I think) and I wouldn't do it again. It only runs water through when the furnace is on and heating which isn't much if you've got a recent house and good insulation. In my opinion, it doesn't bring the humidity level high enough in the house, I still end up with a dry nose all the time in winter. Plus, at 400$, I felt ripped off. Installation is super easy, I should have done it myself on a 100$ unit from home depot.

I agree. I got the General flow through humidifier as well and it doesn't appear to bring humidity levels up very high at all.

[galanz]

Lol I was just going to say that.

Calgary in the winter is like having negative humidity.

My place is about 9 years old and I have two room humidifiers and a cheapy thermolec on the furnace and it's just comfortable. This is only 1,500 sq ft over three stories.

[ultra]

I'm also looking to buy a humidifier. Is flow-through any good? Does it use lots of water?

[mart242]

I'm also looking to buy a humidifier. Is flow-through any good? Does it use lots of water?

If installed properly, it uses water only when the furnace burner is on. If you have a recent house, that's only a few hours per day. I don't think that it uses much water.

[Centauri]

I installed a Desert Spring humidifier. Works great with very little maintenance.
As for water supply, I have a line from a water distiller connected direct to the humidifier.

[jed]

On the radio today they said that Calgary in the Winter has less humidity than the Sahara.

We've got a drip thru on one of the furnaces, and it can put moisture on the inside of the windows. Plumber said it would be about $400 to put one on the other unit. I however don't see the need.

[pluto]

I installed a Desert Spring humidifier. Works great with very little maintenance.
As for water supply, I have a line from a water distiller connected direct to the humidifier.

Did you purchase the AutoFlush system as well? I'm considering one of these units, HighQProducts sells the base system for $259USD plus $20USD shipping, my local Rona has the system w/ autoflush for $399 cdn and they don't carry the system without the AutoFlush.

I'm not sure if I really need the AutoFlush

[rb]

Yep agree with coments on flow thru Humidifier , doesn't pump enough water into the house, we use a coupld of room sized ones for the bedrooms at nigh else we all end up with dry itchy skin

[fireburn64]

hmm im not sure if i need a humidifer but sometimes my throat and skin is pretty dry.....my house is pretty old too, not sure if there are any leaks for moisture though......would it be a good idea to get one???.............or how would u know u need one?

[pluto]

how would u know u need one?

I picked up a hygrometer from Rona for $18

It tells me my main level of my house is sitting around 20% humidity (low) and with my Honeywell cool-mist room humidifier running I can get up to 31% max and it's still lower upstairs... my furnace mounted drum style humidifer is turned off due to it leaking and I want to replace it.

[jwinnfield]

OK, It looks like I REALY need your help:
I have a 1 year old house.
I use a portable (cheap) vaporizer in one of the bedrooms.
In my bedroom (without humidifier) there is moisture on the windows, however
I get dry skin and VERY dry nose.
I was planning on getting a "Central Humidifier" but it looks like I need to go to "Humidifying 101" school first. Please share your knowledge/experience.
Thanks.

[eXpedite]

Great thread. This just made me realize how much I need a humidifier too. Just not sure which one to go out and get. I don't want to waste water, nor do I want one that will cause me to spend much time in maintnance, or money in replacement filter costs.

[krazykanuck]

Great Thread indeed....


I'm looking at either getting a Carrier flow-thru design or going to my local Rona or Cdn Tire and picking up a Air-King design. I'm looking at either the Air-King 6000 or 7000. Space is limited around my furnace, so a drum unit may not be the best solution.

Is there much a difference between manufacturers for the flow through designs.?! From what I've seen, they pretty much all have the same main features...

[jwinnfield]

OK, so I bought a hygrometer. It reads 29% - pretty low. I understand the flow-through humidifier doesn't do a great job. Any advice?

[joo]

If you have a forced air heating system then the best route to go is the ones that install into the furnace. Be sure to get a good quality one with a humidistat.
The humidistat gets installed next to your thermostat and you control the humidity just like you control the temperature.

The best ones I know of are the ones that have a honeycomb element where the water drips through it and the warm air passes over it.

The one I have is from Aprilaire. When we moved into our current house 15 years ago we replaced the furnace and inquired about replacing what looked like a very old humidifier. The heating contractor said "buddy, you have the best humidifier on the market. I'm not going to sell you something you don't need."