House so dry it leaks?

[FR9Ford]

Ok, so this might sound insane, but hear me out. I purchased my very first home 3 months ago. Its a 2200 sq ft ranch, and i installed a buck 94nc in the old masonary fire place. The attic is insulated to heck and back, and 3/4 of the outisde walls are insulated. It has all brand new anderson double pane windows, brand new doors and seals. One of the first things i did before i bought it was check for air leaks, and couldn't find a single one. I've been burning my stove 24/7 since November, and now, it seems ive dried my house out pretty good. I can look at metal and get static shock. But also, I've noticed my window trim is shrinking and some of the windows are letting in just the smallest amounts of air. I didnt have this issue until about 2 weeks ago.

Looking for recommendations on a whole house humidifier, or what you do to soggy it up a bit. Bear in mind im not the sharpest tool in the shed but i can figure stuff out. And if i am crazy about it being that dry, what say you?

 

[Dmitry]

This is a common problem. Don’t want to upset you , but your house is not 100 airsealed. Some of the cold air gets inside of the house and drives your humidity down. Since you think that you did everything to keep house air sealed ,there is two ways to resolve the situation. You can add outside air kit to make up for air that used by stove . Another way is to add whole house humidifier. I use one from Lowes for about $200 and it does job for 2000 sq ft and moves air around

 

[Dmitry]

https://m.lowes.com/pd/Idylis-4-Gallon-Console-Evaporative-Humidifier/4777918

That’s what I have

 

[FR9Ford]

I didnt expect it to 100%, however it didn't leak like it is now lol. An oak is not an option unfortunately. But im definitley interested in a humidifier.

 

[Dmitry]

Lower temps outside might cause air to be drier inside . You should be fine with whole house humidifier . You can set desired humidity level and it’s going to keep it up. I’ve noticed that my expensive kitchen woodwork started to show gaps when air was too dry

 

[FR9Ford]

Yup, im in the same boat. I made custom framing for my windows and doors and its shrinking, bumming me out. Im looking ssf some furnace mounted ones for the same price as a floor unit. Wonder if that would be better to have, if it'll run with just the furnace fan running...

 

[Dmitry]

I have old whole house furnace humidifier but choose to operate portable one. Reasons:
No programming needed to run it. You can set humidity level and forget
You will find that air is much drier in a room where your stove is . No need to blow moist air in bedroom with 45% humidity. You can put humidifier in stove room and it will even it out.
No danger of condensation and mold in ducts.
And finally it moves air in stove room a bit . You can set it on low when you don’t hear it , or you can push some air on High.

 

[cjgoode]

Fresh air intake to the stove would help a lot. In the 70's sealing your home was a big thing, and a neighbor sealed theirs up and they could no longer even light a fire, could not get a draft. The stove creates a vacuum in your house and pulls in the dry air, allowing the stove to suck air from the outside and not from inside you house would make a big difference.

 

[Dmitry]

My insert doesn’t have an option of outside air intake , so I don’t have to decide if it worth it.

 

[FR9Ford]

Im going to grab a humidifier today probably. I dont have a good way to get outside air to my stove without removing it from the fireplace, and its a 600 pound stove. Maybe next year

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

Im going to grab a humidifier today probably. I dont have a good way to get outside air to my stove without removing it from the fireplace, and its a 600 pound stove. Maybe next year

well check reviews and grab a good one. I got an AirCare humidifier for xmas and its complete junk. Basically a box fan on a pail of water that does pretty much zilch in raising humidity. You need something that mists it into the air i think.
I have thin pine strip boards on my den wall and ceiling (i forget what they are called) but they all fit tongue in groove with the next piece and they are all drying out and shrinking so much they are beginning to fall off. I average around 35-40 % humidity in the room.I'll be buying a mister type humidifier here soon.

 

[kversch]

My house feels so dry lately I've been looking for similar answers. I think we're averaging 30-35 rh. I've been just boiling water on the stove to try to help but it doesn't seem to keep up. Humidity levels rise a bit but quickly fall right back down in the 30's

 

[FR9Ford]

Well i went to lowes and they literally had nothing. I hate lowes so much. But i may try just putting a pot on the stove and just order a humidifier off amazon.

 

[yooper08]

There's a few of us with this humidifier that we all seem to like. You might be able to find a better price, but it works pretty well.

You don't need a misting humidifier. They're more maintenance, more likely to fail IMO and experience.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

pot of water on the stove doesnt seem to help much either and $123 for a humidifier isnt in this poor mans budget either. I must invent a humidifier for the wood burner type person and make my millions that way i guess. Look for me on Shark Tank someday soon, but first its time for a nap.