Humidifier

[RORY12553]

I'm sure there are posts on this topic of a humidifier. I have a 2400 sq ft bi-level with the stove downstairs. The house tends to get very dry to the point of warping moldings etc. Do I buy a whole house humidifier? Where do I place it? Better to buy smaller units to place throughout the house?

 

[pen]

Does the wood stove heat the entire home?

If it heats the whole place naturally, I think I'd be inclined to place a large humidifier in the same room as the wood stove and let the natural convection of heat carry the moisture with it. If that doesn't do the trick, then perhaps consider a secondary unit in the next warmest part of the house, on the next level.

Not sure if that's the absolute best way to go or not, but that's what I do in my home and have made out well. If I'm not careful with humidity, the wife gets nosebleeds like crazy, and since running things this way, we've been good.

The humidifier I use isn't made anymore, and wouldn't be big enough for your place anyway, but hoping you may hear some other recommendations from folks.

Good luck,

pen

 

[Shane Collins]

You should search the forums. I don't know what the truth is but it seems a lot of people say the best way to fix your humidity is to seal your house tighter. Throughout the summer I did what I could to seal my house a little more. Last year we were using a forced air furnace. Now we have the BK Ashford. Since switching over I shut all the registers and with the little I did to seal the house tighter our humidity does seem to be much better. I don't recall what it was last winter but I'm sure it was in the low 30's. I still run our humidifier in our bedroom (which I was doing last year) right now we're at 46% humidity which is perfect. I've not seen it drop below 41% so it seems to be a lot better. Check the forums for some of the other posts I've read as they seem to have some good information. Try to do what you can to seal your house a little more. I also only run the humidifier at night when we're sleeping. I honestly think sealing the house up has been the major factor in increasing our humidity.

 

[pen]

I honestly think sealing the house up has been the major factor in increasing our humidity.

I agree, but for this to work well the stove needs to have an OAK installed, (outside air kit) so that the cold / dry air it sucks into the home so it can run goes directly to the stove, and not through every nook and cranny in the house, then to the stove.

pen

 

[TradEddie]

I'm going to sound like a crotchety old man here, or perhaps just a broken record again, but please don't blame the woodstove. The quantity of air that a properly operated stove consumes is small compared to the overall air leakage in a typical home and likely not much more than a gas/oil furnace would. Normal household activities (breathing, washing, showers, cooking) generate humidity, so the less of that you lose by letting outside air enter, or humid air escape, the less you need to humidify, and the less you need to heat. It's a double saving. Only once you've air sealed to the point of diminishing returns is an OAK going to offer much improvement.

I've got a whole house humidifier and rarely use it since improving my airsealing.

TE

 

[RORY12553]

Thanks for the feedback. My house was built about 10 years ago and I'm sure has some leaks that can be addressed. Maybe my first step should be getting a meter to see what the humidity is in the house and go from there.

 

[TradEddie]

And to beat a dead horse to death, be sure you understand the difference between relative humidity and actual moisture content (usually given as dewpoint).

If you take a cold room at 50%RH and 60F, then heat that room to 80F, the RH will be about 25%, yet you haven't removed moisture. If you humidified that warm room up to 50%, then let it cool back overnight to 50F, you'd have a room full of condensation.

TE

 

[Soundchasm]

Whatever you do, go BIG. Those 1GL ionizers don't cut it. As much as I don't enjoy another fan running, those wet wheels seem to do the best. If you can chuck a gallon of water an hour into the air, then you've got something you can measure and feel. The cold water fans are passive, so you can't evaporate more than the air can absorb. It's theoretically possible to over-saturate with steam.

 

[Wood Duck]

Do you use an electric clothes dryer? The exhaust from a dryer is hot and humid and can be vented into the house. My laundry room is near my stove and in the winter I vent the dryer into the same room as the stove. It makes a big difference in the humidity inside the house. You need a filter over the exhaust to prevent lint from getting all over the place.

 

[pen]

Do you use an electric clothes dryer? The exhaust from a dryer is hot and humid and can be vented into the house. My laundry room is near my stove and in the winter I vent the dryer into the same room as the stove. It makes a big difference in the humidity inside the house. You need a filter over the exhaust to prevent lint from getting all over the place.

That lint is nasty stuff, not just for cleaning up the dust that gets by a filter, but for the lungs as well.