Room Humidifier Recommendation

Status
Not open for further replies.
MolaKule

MolaKule

Staff member
Joined
Jun 5, 2002
Messages
24,030
Location
Iowegia - USA
Now with cold weather and dry air I decided to buy a new room humidifier. The old one was noisy and made a mess every time I filled it up. It has filters and a foam ring that made refilling a "wet" proposition.

I settled on a Hunter Model 31026,7 and have been using it for three weeks now and it's great.

This is an Utrasonic humidifier and has no noise associated with it whatsoever.

I highly recommend it.
 
Last edited:
I guess I'm jealous of those that have dry air problems. I have to run a dehumidifier year round. If I don't the RH rises to near 60% and I get a ton of condensate on the windows that turns into a moldy mess.
 
I also like the ultrasonic humidifiers for use in individual rooms. And I can't recommend a whole-house humidifier enough if you live in a place what gets actual winter temps and the associated dry air. Our house had one when we bought it and at first I thought, 'yeah right, how good can this actually work?'. The first winter without any hangnails, split knuckles, split lips or nosebleeds I got my answer!
 
I bought a big 11 gallon Honeywell unit, because my furnace doesn't have one, and I plan to move in the next year or so. It's a bit noisy when the fan is set to high, but is tolerable on medium and low fan settings. The filter has to be soaked in the sink every month because of minerals in the water.

Judging by the frozen condensate on my windows this morning, it seems to be capable of providing ample humidity for the whole house. Temperature has been fluctuating wildly this winter, so I have to set the humidistat accordingly.
 
I agreee with Mola, ultrasonic humidifiers seem to me to be the best way to go.

Be careful though, make sure you have enough airflow, like a ceiling fan running to keep the mist particles afloat until they evaporate. We had a lot of towels on the carpet two weeks ago because the mist was reaching the floor and making the carpet wet...
 
We run a big Emerson/Kenmore evaporation unit for the entire house, and it uses between 3 and 5 gallons a day this time of year and keeps it spot on at 45% RH. The furniture and the skin are both happier.

Filling couldn't be easier: twin tanks that you carry to the sink and fill in about 90 seconds each.

OEM filters are about $15 a set and last all season. A gallon of bacteriostat is about $10 and lasts a couple seasons.

Not sure I'd use it for one room, but we're happy enough to talk out of topic in case someone needs more than a room humidified.

Ultrasonics are nice for smaller areas, but one needs to be careful what you put in it (usually distilled water, which can get expensive).

Of course, in another five months, the dehumidifier goes back on.
 
I have 2 single room humidifiers, ReliOn (walmart) wick filter type and Vick warm air type.

The wick filter type is noisier over time as the fan wear out, it doesn't evaporate so much water that it causes the room to be too humid, and if you fill it correctly it didn't leak (at least my 6 year old one didn't), but I always under fill it so in the morning the filter will be completely dry, to avoid mold growing on the filter. I've only thrown away the original filter and get one replacement filter ($8 a few years ago) because the paper collapsed. The new filter has a metal frame inside to hold it up. You do have to soak it in vinegar or something to de-mineralize it if you use tap water.

The warm air one works without filter, is not really that quiet (you can hear the water boiling inside), and generate a lot more moisture than the wick filter one. It condense inside a small chamber inside and you have to be careful not to spill it when you refill or drain it out. If you use tap water, the heater will have calcium build up that you have to scrap out or soak in vinegar about once a week or so. There is no mold build up, but you have to turn it low as it can add too much moisture to the air.

The point is, all humidifiers have mineral buildups if you do not use distill water, either in the filter or in the evap chamber.

Then there's always the rice cooker if you don't want to buy something that you rarely use, which works great.
 
Last edited:
I use a ReliOn one.....typically one month out of the year...lol. Typically January through February....hehehe. Seems to be the WORST time for dried skin, cracking lips, heels, etc.....

I just keep it on the lowest setting, and yes, have the ceiling fan running to recirculate.....never have a problem with water on the floor....but my bedroom is kind of big.....20 feet x 10 feet or so.

But yea, I was looking at Walmart the other day, they got neat looking "filter less" ones now even....I was like wow, that's kinda cool.....curious how well they work though....and HOW they work.....kinda like the idea of the filter in there trapping the minerals and [censored] in our semi-hard water....
 
Originally Posted By: ahoier
I use a ReliOn one.....typically one month out of the year...lol. Typically January through February....hehehe. Seems to be the WORST time for dried skin, cracking lips, heels, etc.....

I just keep it on the lowest setting, and yes, have the ceiling fan running to recirculate.....never have a problem with water on the floor....but my bedroom is kind of big.....20 feet x 10 feet or so.

But yea, I was looking at Walmart the other day, they got neat looking "filter less" ones now even....I was like wow, that's kinda cool.....curious how well they work though....and HOW they work.....kinda like the idea of the filter in there trapping the minerals and [censored] in our semi-hard water....


Wicked filtered humidifier will never evaporate so much water that it condense on your floor. It may leak if it wasn't designed right (like the newer ReliOn with a separate filler than the spring loaded plunger.

The filterless one either use ultra sound or heating element to evaporate the water. The cool one uses ultra sound and the warm one uses heating element. Both will scale if you use tap water (although the filter one will too but it stay in the filter that you replace once in a blue moon).
 
I'm not a huge fan of HVAC mounted humidifiers. Particularly if you are ducted with fiberboard trunks (and most newer residential installs are), the mold risk is just too great, especially if there is any unit malfunction, IMO. You can confirm with the HVAC installer/service community, but that's my understanding on them.

There are some very good whole-house capable console models out there today. That's what we use.
 
Originally Posted By: benjamming
Are UV kits necessary for those mounted to the HVAC? If so, why?


You do not want bacteria growing on a standing pool of water.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

A
Here is a sound bar recommendation - JBL BAR 500
Replies
3
Views
1K
alarmguy
T
How dry does the engine bay stay in a downpour?
2
Replies
34
Views
1K
The motor guy
G
A/C compressor clutch squeal
Replies
16
Views
776
SHOZ
B
Uncle Cooper knows nothing about tires
Replies
6
Views
2K
benjy
N
Recomend grease on this snow blower differential bevel gears.
2
Replies
39
Views
2K
KrisZ
Back
Top