Great way to humidify the house

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I invested in a Bemis console humidifier this year and I couldn't be happier. Usually my skin is so dry I itch and scratch until I bleed. Hasn't happened so far this year. Yay!

The relative humidity in the house hovers around 39%. The instructions say that for comfort it should be around 50% but that just seems a little high to me.

The humidifier holds over 5.5 gallons of water and I have to refill at least one of the tanks every day. Haven't noticed any mold growing anywhere, so I guess all that water "vapour" isn't having any ill effects.

veg
 
veg-o-matic

Hi TOGGLESWITCH, hi PETEK, hi VEG!
The question, TOGGLESWITCH, is: What kind of material are the walls made from? Wood can take a lot of vapour and also can give it back when the air dries out again. Bricks and especially concrete are much more difficult in handling humidity. And, yes, a barrier on the inner wall can stop the vapour to go into the walls but then you are living in a thermo-flask! Only way out is an automatic air change system with computer controlled heat-exchanger - and that's like living in an air-conditioned office as you mustn't open the windows then.... The cocooning of mankind is going on further ... and what will happen when there's an electricity failure? Dependabilities on electricity where ever you look..... I wonder or better ask myself often what people did in ancient times or if they had these problems at all? I really sometimes find myself flirting with the ideas of the Amish-People concerning their way of life.... But that's another story!
Back to the subject here: VEG, I had that problem with itching skin a few years ago. I stopped it by not using shower-gels anymore! I switched to superfatted soap (for a long time I even made my soap myself after I had got a book on the Frankfurt Book-Fair from an american publisher and I'm thinking of going back to it as a really good soap isn't cheap) and also turned down from hot shower-temperatures to more moderate warm water. To very dry parts of my skin (ellbow, knees, etc.) I apply some drops natural almond oil as well as to my facial skin - not too much of course or you'll get a shiny fatty face! Since then I never had that problem again! I don't want to tell here all the details why soap sometimes is better than gels as that is another issue, too. Smile!
If you have further questions, PETEK, or if my literary outpour is too confused...Do not hesitate to question me!
Cheers to all on a dull Wednesday morning in the office!
Ralf
 
Hi Tolivac, The clothes are just damp when I take them out of the Kitchen Aid. There doesn't seem to be any wet upholstery etc. when I do this. I do have clothes lines in the basement and do use them at times, maybe I should use them more than I do? Gary
 
abcomatic

Hi Gary - yes you should do so! It is always better to dry clothes in an airy room - even better than to put them in a dryer! Dryers polute the environment with their enormous energy use, and put a lot of strain to the fabric with the rubbing and tumbling...(except cabinet dryers!)!
The nasty thing with the humidity is that dust-mites need warmth AND humidity to grow, same as fungus and mold or mildew and that you usually do not see them as they sit inside of upholstery, cushions, carpets and under wallpapers or inside of insulation materials inside the walls! If one element is absent, it doesn't work and so they do not grow!
Ralf
 
Hi guys, The underwear thing is good too as sort of a conversation starter, or he runs for the door,screaming, never to return again. lol I guess living alone does sort of make the strange and unusual seem normal, and my dog doesn't seem to mind either? lol Have fun, Gary
 
While I like some humidity in the house, I don't know if I would resort to hanging damp clothes out. Although since we don't have much carpet or rugs, getting zapped isn't that much of a problem to begin with. I do remember a couple of years ago during the winter, when I was unloading the dryer. Fabric softener had not been used in that particular load, so when I touched the porcelain...BAM. Talk about a good jolt! So during the winter I always make it a point to use a liberal amount of fabric softener in each load.

Now for a house that's too humid (or a laundry room that gets too hot), here's something that might help ;-)
 
I saw exhaust fans in laundry room closets in the hotel I was staying at in Arizona.
Explain this one to me. If the dryer is sucking air out of the room, which is in theory being replaced by cooler, dryer air, what is the point of this? :-)

Methinks a fresh air INLET makes more sense.

Ditto huge exhaust fan in transom over door of laundromats sucking air out. uuuh, the dryers already do that, just leave the space open, or have a fan blow IN!

Ralph why are you so passionately opposed to adding humidity? :-) in moderation and when done right it has a purpose in the world! [I will get to you construction question at home, can't get into it at the office. :-) ]
 
Ralf:
Dont Euro condenser dryers SAVE the heat right back into the room without adding moisture? When used in winter are they THAT bad for the environment? Enlighten me, boy!

Remember, having children is bad for the environment. People still do it. (Pardon the expression-- Ducks and runs!)

Austin:
My mother's mid-century house has this type of extractor/exhaust fan to suck the vent fumes, heat, odors, humidity, poisons out from over the gas stoves. Noisy but effective
 
Gary: To be on the safe side I would hang the damp clothes on the basement clothesline and not the furniture.I just thought of it-if my mom caught me putting damp things on her furniture she would wring my neck!My dads house has a basement clothesline-from the days when my stepmom didn't have or want a dryer.also there was no dryer vent in the house.One day I was at her home-my grandmother was there as well.We were sitting in the living room and suddenly Grandmother says"We are going to Sears right now and getting Nancy a dryer"We were dumbfounded-but piled into the car and grandmom bought the dryer.Its used to this day-the clothesline in a backup.The oil furnace was in the basement-now gas-but it put out enough heat to dry the clothes.Anyway the dryer is connected to a water filled device that cathes the lint.You still get heat and humidity from the dryer.At my present house where I live I get enough humidity from dishwashing,bathing,etc.In the summer when I run the Airconditioner-I don't have as much-just as well.
 
Toggleswitch

Hi!
Yes, condenser dryers do so! I ment that drying clothes all over the house and adding humidity by humidifiers is bad as this is too much steam in the air!
Just to remember: in a european FL it needs about 1.5KW/h for an average load of whites (5kg) to get washed (60°C) and a further 3.5KW/h to get it tumbled dry afterwards (pre-condition: spin speed of 1200-1400 rpm), not to forget that for 1KW/h of electricity 3KW/h of primary energy have to be spend!! So GAS-DRYERS are thrice better than electric ones!
Having children is bad for the environment - therefor Germany has the worlds lowest birth-rate!! lol
You are right to say so: it is nonsense to install a fan into a room where a dryer sucks out the air, this could hamper the drying process as the vaccuum in the room blocks the fan inside the dryer and less air is flowing through it - the machine could even overheat under several pre-conditions!
When you use an exaust-dryer, not a condenser, you should better have a small window open or an inlet for fresh air in the wall, to assure a good air-flow for the dryer. Even condensers need fresh air - the colder, the better! - as they need the room-air to cool the condenser block! Small rooms with no airing ability are not suitable for these appliances, they heat up quickly! In a modern low energy house the central air-conditioning uses this warmth of the condenser-dryer to support heating the house as every quantity of energy emmitted inside the house (cooking, showering, candles, dryers, hair-dryers, etc.) is re-conditioned via the heat-exchanger, so sometimes these houses do not need any heating throughout the whole year - even in winter-time.

Ralf
 
My mom's house has a furnace with a humidifier that has an adjustment on it that you are supposed to set according to the outside temperature. It's been really cold in Iowa recently, and Mom keeps the house really hot, but she complains that it's too dry in the house, even though the thing is set on "30" (which is what the notes Dad wrote down says to set it at. I have no idea what that means)

I'll vouch for the dryness. I felt like a prune at Christmas, and the dining room chairs were all creaking like kindling. :-)

Anybody know if there is a special setting for old people who keep their houses at 80 degrees year-round?
 
Can't tell by your description if that is supposed to be outdor temp (*F) or indoor relative humidity.

On whole-house furnace humidifiers, one sometimes sets the thing to correspond to OUTDOOR temps (*F). These types of controls are normally located on the return-air plenum. It selects the proper humidity indoors (and often references what the analogous recommended indoor RH level will be provided at that setting.)I'd suggest you raise the setting slightly twice a week until the windows in the house just barely become moist during a cold snap.

If you have a hygrometer (measures humidity) you may want to ensure indoor levels hover around 40% RH [or slightly less] to avoid growth of mold (airborne) and formation of mildew (mold on surfaces).

I recommend a humdifier disinfectant be dumped in the water occasionally. Another method to accomplish disinfection is to dump a few pennies in the water-pan. (Works in A/C evaporators too) The copper prevents baterial growth.

Let us know how it all turns out!
 

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