Evaporative humidifiers & their cleaning/care products?

[ravvlet]

Hey! Kirby needs a humidifier in his room. I’ve seen people recommend the AirCare brand, but it looks like it takes a while to get here. There’s a Honeywell however that could be here by Monday. The ones I’m considering are:

AIRCARE Mini-Console Evaporative Humidifier, 5D6700

Or

Honeywell Top Fill Tower Humidifier (HEV620)

It’s for a small room, <200sqft. My Govee seems to think the humidity level in there hit as low as 33% with the heater running at night, but it may be lower; I haven’t tried to calibrate it in a long time.

I’d be happy to consider other products, I’m just looking to get something in ASAP as I know his sinuses are driving him bananas.

I’m also wondering if the bacteriostatic water treatments are ok to use around fids- Is there a particular brand I should get, or would I be better off just rinsing the tank with a vinegar/water mixture weekly?

Thanks for any info!

 

[Kentuckienne]

The evaporative coolers need regular cleaning, because molds could grow on the wicks. Most of the wicks are treated, though, and the manufacturer will recommend the best cleaning interval. Once a week is usually good, to disassemble and clean. Now, there are humidifiers that work by heating water, and those are supposed to need less cleaning because the heating process doesn’t let organisms grow, but they can create a lot of mineral deposits in the reservoir. Ultrasonic humidifiers put all the water into the air, so you get a lot of white mineral dust on everything. Wirecutter usually has good reviews of humidifiers with good explanations of why you might prefer one over another.

 

[Skarila]

The evaporative coolers need regular cleaning, because molds could grow on the wicks. Most of the wicks are treated, though, and the manufacturer will recommend the best cleaning interval. Once a week is usually good, to disassemble and clean. Now, there are humidifiers that work by heating water, and those are supposed to need less cleaning because the heating process doesn’t let organisms grow, but they can create a lot of mineral deposits in the reservoir. Ultrasonic humidifiers put all the water into the air, so you get a lot of white mineral dust on everything. Wirecutter usually has good reviews of humidifiers with good explanations of why you might prefer one over another.

Shouldn't ultrasonic humidifiers be used with distilled water only? Meaning it is well... Pure water?

Still, what product would you suggest for cleaning or dropping together into the humidifier to prevent the growth?

 

[ravvlet]

I think we’ve settled on using an evaporative humidifier versus an ultrasonic, if we can be sure it can be kept clean. However, the bacteriostatic additives I have looked at so far (BestAir, etc) are either made with a low-concentration bleach solution or contain a lot of chemicals that I am uncertain are ok to be in circulation in a bird room.

I guess we could get an ultrasonic instead - and buy the distilled water - but I’m not sure what brands of those are the best; I was only able to find reccomendations here for the evaporative ones.

Could I just put white vinegar in the tank instead of a bacteriostatic solution for the evaporative humidifier? If so, how much? I also kind of don’t want the room to reek of vinegar, ha!

 

[SailBoat]

We have been using a 'AirCare' unit that is a bit bigger for the cabin 1500 (SQFT). Now with over five-years of use, we are very happy with the unit. And, if in the market , we would buy another.

I really do not like to use distilled water as it is 'dead water' i.e. it is condensed from stream. It may be great for use in a steam iron, but not at the top of the choices for our use.

Not a big believer in a single room unit as Humidity is like air temperature it is constantly flowing from the lowest level to the highest and back again. Humidity tends to ride along with the air. This makes it difficult to hold a given level near the source as it will flow away from that area. It is like taking a hot shower and steaming-up the bathroom and as soon as the door is opened the warm moist air flows away to other parts of the home. Point being, you will be filling the unit more often than if it was an isolated room. Generally not an issue, as long as you understand that it will need to run longer.

 

[ravvlet]

Humorously, we live in a 1250sqft townhouse, so technically this smaller humidifier covers the requisite area. However, it is three stories, with each floor covering 400ish sqft - I am thinking that therefore the realistic area it would need to cover is just the bottom floor, assuming humid air is heavier!

I went ahead and ordered the smaller unit (from Amazon, so if it’s not working out we can return it) but I have hesitated on grabbing the AirCare because the reviews on the filters are pretty brutal. What’s your experience there? Do they need to be replaced fairly often, or can you clean them in some way (vinegar again)?

 

[SailBoat]

The filter in any system requires care and most individuals are not into providing such until they are so far gone that the choice is to trash it of spend hours cleaning them.

Having been an off-shore, Great Lakes, Sailor for decades, one learns the need to keep on top of clearing and especially devises that store water. The use of vinegar or bleach is the story of how much!! A teaspoon or less of either (never both) can keep the filter and water storage area clean. The correct amount is just below the point that one can smell it. We add the cleaner about third refill of the water storage area.

The amount is always the issue when one is using dangerous chemicals. So, take care regarding how much and how often!