One of the last projects I had on my list for this year was installing a whole house humidifier. With our heat being forced air, it gets very dry in the winter time. This gets just plain uncomfortable with the static electricity and dry skin (I've never had allergy issues in the winter before - last year I did. The air was so dry my skin required an antihistamine to keep from being red and itchy).
Typically, I've used a single room standalone humidifier. They generally come in two types - cool and warm mist. Cool mist humidifiers simply blow air over a pad that is soaked with water, while warm mist humidifiers essentially boil the water into the air. I initially started with a cool mist one, but it was a pain to keep operating because it depended on vacuum pressure to draw water up to the top of the unit where it would pour over the pad. Half the time, the vacuum was insufficient - so it constantly required meddling.
Then I got a warm mist humidifier. Much easier to get going, but over time the crud builds up on the heating element and just gets nasty.
Both suffer from requiring regular refills. Doesn't sound like a big deal - but when you have to refill the damn thing 2 times e-v-e-r-y-d-a-y, its a pain in the butt. Of course, larger capacity humidifiers are available, but they take up more floor space - something we dont have.
In some ways, I'm a lazy person. I dont mind doing some grunt work or putting forth effort - but I'm usually looking for a way to do something more efficiently. So when I heard about the concept of a whole house humidifier, one that attaches to your duct system and has its own endless water supply, I said "WANT!".
So this past weekend, I went to Lowe's and picked one up for about $80. The design is pretty simple - you just have to muster up the gumption to start cutting holes into your HVAC ductwork and do some plumbing work. This can be somewhat intimidating - HVAC systems aren't cheap, and a screw up and be costly to fix.
The first step was to get water to the unit. The humidifier kit comes with a saddle valve - which is intended to wrap around an existing 1/2" copper tube that supplies water to some other fixture, and pierce a small hole through the copper tube to draw off water. These are commonly used for ice makers and other relatively small water volume uses.
Last year when I was installing a utility sink in the basement, I anticipated needing a water source for a whole house humidifier. So I ended up leaving myself with a T in the cold water supply that I capped off. This allowed me to avoid the saddle valve solution, which I was glad about. For one thing, the person at Lowe's informed me that their use is not up to MA plumbing code anymore, and for another - I just anticipated the possibility of leaks. Furthermore, when talking with a neighbor about using a saddle valve, he relayed his experience with using one, where the minerals in the water end up gumming up the tiny hole, reducing flow to a trickle.
So, next was to clean off the end of the copper tube, solder a valve in place, and run a length of 1/4 tube to where it would be needed. The valve used also reduced the 1/2" source to 1/4" compression-style fitting, eliminating the need for a reducer and an adapter.
Cleaned tube end Valve soldered in place Running tube The next step was to cut a hole in the hot air side of the ductwork. This is done to draw hot air from the furnace and route it to the humidifier. The fitting for the flexible duct to be used is 6" in diameter. I started by using a borrowed pair of tin snips....
Creston Hearsay AdvertiserFight fall allergies with easy at-home stepsCreston Hearsay AdvertiserBe sure that humidifiers are set so that the air in your home has between 35 percent and 50 percent humidity. Air that is too dry can prompt to dried-out and more »
Maidenhead AdvertiserHospice boutique struck by flooding after burst pipeMaidenhead AdvertiserCharity volunteers have been mopping up not hold up under after Helen and Douglas House store was flooded last week. The have faith in Maidenhead High Street has been closed
Consolidate North Tahoe's green home constructionSierra SunDisplays will group home-energy monitoring and home automation; LED lighting; elevated-efficiency furnaces and steam humidifiers; energy-finalize insulation and more »
List Price: $99.99 Price: $82.64 You Save:$17.35 (17%)
Adjustable humidity lead with 3 moisture settings; 30 percent quieter than other steeple models; runs up to 24 hours per filling
Antimicrobial-treated cheesecloth helps prevent migration of mold, fungus, algae and bacteria
Measures 21 by 17-1/2 by 13 inches (HxDxW); uses HC-14 replacement filters; 3-year pledge
Humidifier Media
The pop in from the repair guy finally prompted me to do routine maintenance on my humidifier.
These are the old, moldy humidifier plates, which are Putative to be changed every year. Based on the fact that four are almost entirely split / rotted away, and the other was green...
Photo by Jeffrey Guterman.
These are the new fiberglass plates for the humidifier. $7 From Johnston Stock on Elston.
The flap of the box had a warning to turn off the furnace before changing these, to steer clear of blowing LIME DUST into your face. I'm guessing there is lime impetus on these plates as...
THERMOMIST WHOLE HOUSE HUMIDIFIER EVENMIST TM2000 BOXED 
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Creston Hearsay AdvertiserFight fall allergies with easy at-home stepsCreston Hearsay AdvertiserBe sure that humidifiers are set so that the air in your home has between 35 percent and 50 percent humidity. Air that is too dry can prompt to dried-out and more »
![Hospice shop struck by flooding after burst pipe Maidenhead Advertiser]("http://nt2.ggpht.com/news/tbn/Yt_lbL7U3NrlPM/6.jpg")
Maidenhead AdvertiserHospice boutique struck by flooding after burst pipeMaidenhead AdvertiserCharity volunteers have been mopping up not hold up under after Helen and Douglas House store was flooded last week. The have faith in Maidenhead High Street has been closed
