Oakvillian

a bit of silly advice from somebody who couldn't understand why a humidifier didn't seem to make any difference, before a helpful neighbour pointed out the bleedin' obvious... is there a damper in the airflow path between the humidifier and the main airflow from the furnace? If there is, check it's not closed (may be a "summer" setting) otherwise the moist air will never make it into the ductwork...

bpc123

That's a good point. Some humidifier set-ups have a plate or damper to prevent air from flowing into the humidifier during the summer (not that it makes any difference, because in the summer the humidity should be high enough that the furnace and humidifier will never come on.

The most likely reason you can't get the humidity up is for the reason I previously stated. The humidifier will only operate (water will only flow into the drip style humidifier) when the heat is running. Unless you plan on dialing the heat up to 30C and sweating it out for two days, you won't be able to raise the humidity appreciably. The portable floor unit will do the trick, because it will run independently of the furnace and will pump about four gallons of water into the air within 24 hours. It will also have a setting so you can adjust the humidity level, and then it will cycle on only when needed. Once the humidity level is up to where you need it to be, the drip humidifier on the furnace should be able to maintain it at that level.

Canada2006

The building inspector who came for our house purchase told us to turn it off immediately. With a disgusted look on her face, she told me it spreads bacteria.

johnh009

I also got rid of mine for the same reason. I bought a stand-alone unit from Sears which is much easier to keep clean.

Maedros

Finally, I understand why I was getting that c-ap all the time! I can't move in my place without getting an electric shock! So thats why!

G77

I can't see anything obvious cutting off the air flow for summer. I guess I need to get the pad replaced.

For a floor model - any recommended makes/models?

We're up to about 28% now - which is better than it was, not getting quite so many static shocks..

bpc123

Holmes and White Westinghouse (same machines) are good brands. You can find them at most major hardware type stores like Home Depot.

Take a look at http://www.bionaire.ca/holmeshumidifiers.html and scroll down to the "Whole House" humidifier section. Model HM3500 is what I have, and it's an excellent high capacity machine that will humidify your entire house (you can also find the exact same machine under the White Westinghouse brand). It has a 6 gallon capacity tank (dual) and can pump out 9 gallons of moisture per day, if needed. That would get your humidity up to where it needs to me in short order.

The funny thing is that I was out with eight people visiting from the U.K. yesterday, and every time they touched something, they were sparking. They thought it was a problem with our electrical systems here, because they had never encountered static electricity before. None of the four 'locals' in the group got a single spark. The reason is that we use fabric softener here to prevent static, and they were wearing everything they brought from the U.K. (no anti-static softener required over there), so the simple act of moving was creating a static charge due to their clothing. It was quite funny watching them jump every time they touched something while the rest of us were unaffected.