When we use an ultrasonic humidifier we are getting a white film on everything, wipes up easy with a damp cloth. It’s not ash because if we dust everything and don’t use the humidifier then no white film. We’re on a well with fairly soft water, no idea of the minerals in the water. I suggested to my wife we try the steam humidifier and see if it’s related to ultrasonic humidifier. Any thoughts?
White film with Humidifier
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It might need to be run with distilled water if the house water is mineral rich.
https://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-White-Dust-from-a-Humidifier
https://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-White-Dust-from-a-Humidifier
Yeah, sounds like minerals. Turning it to steam first could solve that issue.
Burnin Since 1989
Member
Pretty much what they said!
I had to switch to an evaporation humidifier as the distilled water is too expensive. We have also installed a water softener system to cut down on the amount of minerals. The water here eats water heaters alive. Hoping the water softener helps both issues.
I had to switch to an evaporation humidifier as the distilled water is too expensive. We have also installed a water softener system to cut down on the amount of minerals. The water here eats water heaters alive. Hoping the water softener helps both issues.
Dieselhead
Minister of Fire
Whitenuckler
Minister of Fire
I use distilled water in my CPAP. Walmart sells it for $1.50 CAD per jug. I use humidifiers that take a wick, and I put a little bleach in the city tap water too. They make bulk distilled water using a steam process so it should be cheap now.
....my only other thought I have to add the above replies is to just skip the humidifier entirely...water will evaporate and add moisture to the air no matter what.
I have a fairly large jar that I keep filled with water tucked behind our wood burner. I've always thought one of those cast iron dragon humidifiers sitting on top of our burner would be attractive but just haven't bought one yet....the jar works fine and it was free.
My in-laws dump water into a pie pan that they have inside the hot air vent of their hallway (one of those big floor grates; they have forced air heat). Anywhere a shallow container can be tucked away and easily refilled will work.
We have hard water and the few times that I used a humidifier for the kids when they were sick made it look like it had snowed in their
room! Sometimes we need water to moisten the air faster than others so a humidifier is good to have...but in the general day-to-day, natural evaporation should be ok.
I have a fairly large jar that I keep filled with water tucked behind our wood burner. I've always thought one of those cast iron dragon humidifiers sitting on top of our burner would be attractive but just haven't bought one yet....the jar works fine and it was free.
My in-laws dump water into a pie pan that they have inside the hot air vent of their hallway (one of those big floor grates; they have forced air heat). Anywhere a shallow container can be tucked away and easily refilled will work.
We have hard water and the few times that I used a humidifier for the kids when they were sick made it look like it had snowed in their
room! Sometimes we need water to moisten the air faster than others so a humidifier is good to have...but in the general day-to-day, natural evaporation should be ok.
Thank you for the replies. Distilled water would be too expensive, we tried the pot on the stove but it just doesn’t kick out enough moisture to make a difference as measured by our Inkbird temp/humidity monitor. We’ll give the steam humidifier a try, nothing to lose. At least with the steam humidifier we’ll see how much mineral content is in the water by how fast the minerals gum up the heating element.
Agreed, however it’s my wife that finds it too dry and we all know if the wife isn’t happy then nobody’s happy!
bogieb
Minister of Fire
Before I got humidifiers, my house would get down to 20% humidity using pellet stoves for heat. Low humidity makes 68-69* feel a lot colder than it is. No, I'm not turning that up because then it is way too hot - especially after coming in from single or negative digits outside.
I prefer humidity in the 30's and I'm sure my HW floors like it better. Probably the exposed beams in the basement do too (the ceiling is not finished). The higher the humidity, the less static electricity from the few area rugs/cloth furniture, clothing/blankets and petting the cats. Actually, that is pretty much my gauge for when I need to set up the humidifiers, when static electricity becomes an issue. I just use a couple of tabletop cold humidifiers - one in each room that are occupied the most and have most of the electronics in them.
Will admit that the windows get more condensation on them during the cold months when the house humidity is a bit higher - which is one reason I don't try for somewhat higher levels of humidity. I just want to be somewhat comfortabel and not get zapped at every move.
That's interesting about the low humidity making you feel colder in winter.
It's the exact opposite for me.
In NJ damp humid air at 57f or 59F or even low 60's makes me feel much chillier than the same temps in super dry Utah.
Humidity can be in the teens easily in my area of Utah.
Maybe that's because it is sunnier in Utah?? In general, the drier the humidity, the faster moisture evaporates from the skin which makes it feel cooler.
If your indoor humidity is low in heating season, it's a sign that your house is very drafty. Sealing up air leaks will go a long way in improving your comfort and reducing the amount of humidification you need. With that said, I do run a humidifier in my house as it is an old house and not possible to seal up fully. Evaporative humidifiers do not send the minerals into the air and instead the minerals will build up on the wicking element which needs to be replaced periodically. I don't recommend an ultrasonic humidifier unless you have a source of ultra pure water to put in it.
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bogieb
Minister of Fire
Not like I keep my house in the 50's - LOL. In the 60's, yes, more humidity makes it feel warmer.
Burnin Since 1989
Member
I checked the humidity in my house last night. It was 67 degrees and humidity was 51%. I fired up the woodstove about an hour later and this morning at 0600 (6am) it is 74 and 35% humidity. I don't normally get the temps that high, I prefer a little cooler.
It's 42 degrees outside. The humidity is 63%. It is windy out of the West at 11mph.
The woodstove knocked 16% of the humidity out of the air. And if you compare it to outdoors, well it's pretty dry in here. The evap humidifier goes on soon.
Dieselhead
Minister of Fire
Not always true, my house is 10’ build, rated excellent with a door blower test. Still get into the low 20s for humidity if I don’t run the humidifier with the wood stove. Humidity has to come from somewhere, 4 people breathing, showering and occasionally boiling water for cooking in a large house just won’t do it.
Burnin Since 1989
Member
Went out and played a short round of golf. Get back home and it's a respectable 68 in here, but the humidity in this room is 21%. It's about 40% outside. The woodstove greatly affects the humidity level.
Whitenuckler
Minister of Fire
Once I start heating I need to switch from dehumidification to humidification in the house. From what I read low humidity is worse for your health than high humidity. Anyway if I don't keep the house at 40-45 my nose will not like it
Burnin Since 1989
Member
Believe it or not the air at 68 degrees with 21% RH contains more moisture than 40 degree air at 40%.
www.calculator.net
Edit: NOT saying it won't feel drier, as it's the RH that matters for that. Just thought it was interesting.
Dew Point Calculator
This free dew point calculator calculates dew point, relative humidity, or air temperature if given any of the other two values.
www.calculator.net
Edit: NOT saying it won't feel drier, as it's the RH that matters for that. Just thought it was interesting.
Lose the Ultrasonic and get "Vicks WarmSteam 1.5 gal 12 sq ft Automatic Steam Vaporizer" It's just Minerals. I use home Humidifier run thru HVAC Heat Pump. Then switch to these if Heat Pump is not being used. https://www.acehardware.com/departments/heating-and-cooling/air-quality/humidifiers/4237319
bogieb
Minister of Fire
I will admit that my house isn't tight, but it is much better than when I moved in in 2013. It was built in 1960 and is 2x4 build, so not much room for insulation (I did tear out all drywall and put in R13, and put up vapor barrier the summer after moving in). There is no house wrap under the siding, and I'm not tearing it up to do that.
There is one person in here showering and breathing (the 3 cats probably don't exhale very much moisture), so even in a smaller house, there isn't much producing of moisture.
Woodstoves seem to dry the air out even more than pellet stoves. So far, my rooms are mainly around 50% humidity (it gets wicked high in the summer). I keep temp/humidity gauges in 3 rooms on my main floor plus 1 gauge in the basement and right now they are reading from 48 to 52%. Depending on how the winter progresses, inside humidity may not get low until early to late December.
Humidity outside is 55%, but it is 38* out there too.
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