In article 0>,
says...
>
> The shape, size, and location of our HVAC system will not permit the
> installation of an add-on humidifer.
>
> Can anyone recommend a good quality and reliable free-standing humidifer that
> would adequately cover a single floor 1560 sq. ft. home?
>
> TIA

Well, I don't know which one will do an area that big, but I use room size ones
a lot up here in the NE so I can maybe help you decide.

There are basically two kinds available retail. You have hot steam, and cold
spray. I prefer the heating element type of evaporative humidifier as I use it
mostly in the winter months. On a side note, the humid air makes the rooms seem
warmer, maybe they are, I don't know or care, but they feel warmer. The steam
ones also seem to put off smaller particles of moisture and carry around a room
better in my opinion.

Some of the humidifiers have filters for the water, I hate them, they are a lot
of trouble to clean. I just use water from our Reverse Osmosis system and I
don't need particle filters in the water. As far as the stuff in regular tap
water, you probably drink it all day anyway so I wouldn't worry if it's in the
air. If you have very hard water however I would suggest a filter, otherwise
the contaminates tend to build up on the heating element over time and ruin
your unit.

One of the most important new technologies is anti-bacterial infused plastic
tanks and works. What ever unit you get, make sure it has the infused plastic
or a musty smell will eventually infect your whole unit and it will be
transfered to the environment.

Another snafu to watch is the capacity rating. For some reason, my two gallon
unit, only holds one gallon (exactly) of water. This seems to be with most
units, I don't know why.

The only other thing I can say is expect to get about a year or maybe more.
Like most China/Korea and similar made products, most brands I have tried are
junk, no way around it, even the expensive ones. But you already probably knew
that. Brand name, spinoff, whatever, they are all made with the same junk
electronics.

HTH, Scotty

In article >,
says...

>
> The only other thing I can say is expect to get about a year or maybe more.
> Like most China/Korea and similar made products, most brands I have tried are
> junk, no way around it, even the expensive ones. But you already probably knew
> that. Brand name, spinoff, whatever, they are all made with the same junk
> electronics.
>
> HTH, Scotty


I will note that for Air filters I have had good luck recently with our 4 year
old Hunters (three of them, one gave up last year). And for humidifiers,
currently I am running Sunbeam, they seem pretty solid.

Scotty

"I am Tosk" > wrote in message
...
>
> Some of the humidifiers have filters for the water, I hate them, they are
> a lot
> of trouble to clean.

The cool air humidifiers mostly have filters that are called wicks. They
wick the water from the reservoir up to the fan. Most humidifiers have an
indicator that shows you when they need cleaning (I just wash them mostly in
water and a little detergent and then rinse a lot) but eventually no matter
how much you clean them, they're just too full of whatever is in your water
to wick up water and you have to replace them. I use an online order
company and they aren't that expensive to order enough to get free shipping.