Humidifiers

[Huskyman]

My 5 year old Lasko Humidifier seems to have stopped working. Usually it stops working and I need to clean out the hoses and inlets and outlets as some type of slime will build up but this time they are clear and free and it is not working anymore. I also noticed that water is no longer going through the filter and I can not figure out why. I guess it's time for a new one. I liked this one as it holds 4.5 gallons of water and only needed to be refilled every couple of days. Amazon has a million but im not seeing anything close to my old one and its not made anymore. I see misting humidifiers now? Is misting ok? The room is just a back bedroom and it's not very big, probably about 12x12.

Any ideas would be appreciated. I would like to keep it at around $100. Thanks.

[Chipotle]

Misting humidifiers aren't advisable. They throw solid particles into the air as well, and eventually a white dust coats everything nearby.

There are plenty of evaporative humidifiers available, in many sizes and prices. I like my Vornado Evap40, 4gal capacity, $113.

(I just noticed that Amazon search also pulls up "cool mist" humidifiers; ignore those. Just look for ones that say "evaporative".)

[KevinH]

+1 on the Vornado. In my case (roughly 120 sf room in a temperate climate), I need to refill around every 6 days. The two 2-gal tanks are easy to remove and refill. It's reasonably quiet. I'm sitting about 3 ft from it now and its averaging around 57 dB with the fan on medium - which is about like normal conversation level. Mine only needs to run a few minutes every hour or so, depending on the outside humidity and whether the door to my guitar room is open or closed. YMMV.

The only thing I don't like about the Vornado is the analog humidistat, which is crap. By itself it gave me a 15% swing in RH. A common problem with many of these humidifiers is that the sensor is very close to the humidifier and depending on its location it may or may not be good at maintaining a reasonably constant RH. A 10% swing should be fine. In fact, the 15% swing I saw probably wouldn't be an issue, but it didn't sit well with me. If that ends up being an issue, you can buy a humidity-controlled outlet on Amazon for $25. It's basically an extension cord with a hygrometer attached that turns the power on or off depending on the set point. That gets the sensor well away from the humidifier.

And, yeah, generally stay away from cool-mist humidifiers, unless you're diligent about using distilled water and cleaning them every day or two. Google "Korean humidifier scandal" for an example why.

[Huskyman]

Originally Posted by Chipotle

Misting humidifiers aren't advisable. They throw solid particles into the air as well, and eventually a white dust coats everything nearby.

There are plenty of evaporative humidifiers available, in many sizes and prices. I like my Vornado Evap40, 4gal capacity, $113.

(I just noticed that Amazon search also pulls up "cool mist" humidifiers; ignore those. Just look for ones that say "evaporative".)

Thanks. Looks like a good choice.

[Huskyman]

Originally Posted by KevinH

+1 on the Vornado. In my case (roughly 120 sf room in a temperate climate), I need to refill around every 6 days. The two 2-gal tanks are easy to remove and refill. It's reasonably quiet. I'm sitting about 3 ft from it now and its averaging around 57 dB with the fan on medium - which is about like normal conversation level. Mine only needs to run a few minutes every hour or so, depending on the outside humidity and whether the door to my guitar room is open or closed. YMMV.

The only thing I don't like about the Vornado is the analog humidistat, which is crap. By itself it gave me a 15% swing in RH. A common problem with many of these humidifiers is that the sensor is very close to the humidifier and depending on its location it may or may not be good at maintaining a reasonably constant RH. A 10% swing should be fine. In fact, the 15% swing I saw probably wouldn't be an issue, but it didn't sit well with me. If that ends up being an issue, you can buy a humidity-controlled outlet on Amazon for $25. It's basically an extension cord with a hygrometer attached that turns the power on or off depending on the set point. That gets the sensor well away from the humidifier.

And, yeah, generally stay away from cool-mist humidifiers, unless you're diligent about using distilled water and cleaning them every day or two. Google "Korean humidifier scandal" for an example why.

I do have a stand alone humidity gauge I use in my room. That would work, correct?

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by Huskyman

I do have a stand alone humidity gauge I use in my room. That would work, correct?

That would be fine for monitoring the RH in the room. To get better consistency in the RH, I was referring to a controller - something like this on Amazon for example. I couldn't find the $25 one I'd seen earlier. The idea is you just turn the humidistat all the way up on the Vornado, so it will always come on when it has power. Then plug the Vornado into the outlet on the controller. Its a simple way to get better regulation of the RH.

But, you may find that the Vornado works fine on its own. Best to just try it and see. I know other people on the forum have used them as is. I'm a little unnecessarily obsessive when it comes to controlling humidity. If you can keep it somewhere in the range of 40% to 55%, you're probably fine.

[MakingMusic]

I recently bought one of those "cool mist" humidifiers on Amazon and wish I had the advantage of reading this thread first as I can attest that the cool mist leaves a white film on everything nearby. Too late to return it but cheap enough to just toss. I'll try the Vornado or some other evaporative humidifier next.

[Dbone]

Originally Posted by MakingMusic

I recently bought one of those "cool mist" humidifiers on Amazon and wish I had the advantage of reading this thread first as I can attest that the cool mist leaves a white film on everything nearby. Too late to return it but cheap enough to just toss. I'll try the Vornado or some other evaporative humidifier next.

They don’t leave any white dust if used properly. It says right in the instructions of these things not to use tap water.

[Dbone]

Aircare MA1201 is a good evaporative unit.

Cheers

[Mike McLenison]

In AZ humidity is very low. I was using a $15 Vicks vaporizer in the room I kept my acoustics but it's around 600 watts and could be costly. I came up with an idea that seems to work well. I have an Epiphone hard case that when I place my Martin in it it leaves enough space to fit a coffee cup + 1/2." I fill the cup 75% with water and boil it in the microwave oven, then place it at the end of the case with a insulation barrier to the headstock. The water will accelerate evaporation while I keep the case closed. When the water is room temperature it it continues to evaporate in the case although at a slower rate. I also keep a Nomad humidifier in the sound hole. Again, it seems to work well and fret ends are no longer sharp due to fingerboard dryness.

[Kittoon]

When you’re absolutely fed up with yucky wicks, filters, White dust, any negative effects of “mist”, annoyingly noisy fans, look into the Venta room humidifiers. I own two. Very simple system. They went from a 2 year warranty to a 10-year warranty when brought here from Germany because the people in the US complained about cost. The thing is, no wicks/filters to constantly purchase. Steinway pianos recommends the product I read somewhere. About $400 for their medium sized unit. $300 for the smaller one. I have one of each and know several people here in lovely Minnesota who use the Venta in their music room!

[Rev Roy]

I’ve been using a Vornado for the last few years. Gets the job done well...

https://www.amazon.com/Vornado-Evap4...-garden&sr=1-4

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by Dbone

They don’t leave any white dust if used properly. It says right in the instructions of these things not to use tap water.

True, but are you willing to buy distilled water at $1 per gallon, sometimes using several gallons per day? Expensive proposition. In the long run, evaporative is easier and less expensive.

[Pura Vida]

Originally Posted by Dbone

Aircare MA1201 is a good evaporative unit.

Cheers

+1 for this recommendation.

I have an open floor plan (4000+ sf), and my guitars sit out on racks in an open loft room. I'm running two of these, located on opposite sides of the second floor (with the loft room in between), and it holds the entire house RH at 40% or above. I also have one large dehumidifier to control my RH on the high side (set at 45-50%).

The MA1201 isn't perfectly accurate, but it is fairly consistent, so you can set it, and it will maintain a constant RH level. In the winter, when it runs at its peak, I'll empty both units (3.6g each) in 1-2 days, so I can displace up to 7.2 gallons of water per day throughout my house. That's a lot!

[Rinaz]

Does this evaporative humidifier produces heat? My room is pretty small and hot in the summer.

And how about dehumidifier? What do you guys recommend?