Whole House Humidifiers

Maintaining adequate humidity levels inside of your home can be a function of operating several small portable humidifiers and moving them from room to room to maintain moisture levels, especially during the dry months of winter. With the advent of whole house humidifiers, however, consumers have the option of keeping home humidity levels where they should be by operating one central machine.

Naturally, the convenience of a whole house humidifier has prompted many homeowners to install them, set the controls and then forget all about the machine until it breaks down. However, taking that route could result in disaster – particularly if you run the whole house humidifier while also keeping the central air on nonstop.

While it would take some time, the mixture of freezing cold air and water molecules could eventually result in an icy buildup within your central air unit – necessitating a costly repair or, worse, a replacement of the system.

Like any machine, whole house humidifiers should be regularly inspected and cleaned in order to achieve optimal performance. As the warmer summer months begin to give way to the cooler fall ones, it’s a good idea to give your whole house humidifier a decent cleaning.

As always when cleaning any appliance, first ensure that the device is powered off and completely disconnected from any and all power sources. For whole house humidifiers, this means also making sure that the water source (which supplies the humidity that the machine pushes through your ductwork) is disconnected.

Then, consulting your owner’s manual for instructions, open the unit and remove the media screen, aka the filter. This part is typically covered with mineral deposits as water drains across the filter and is released as humidity. A mixture of white vinegar and water can remove these compounds. But first, remove the media screen from its metal housing, if any. The metal frame is there to protect the screen and facilitate filtering. Reassemble the screen into the frame and replace when clean.

Take a good look at the rest of the unit. Clean any fan blades and intake vents, and consider wiping out the inside of the housing. Even plastic parts that don’t appear to come into direct contact with humidified air can hold on to dirt and mold that can eventually become airborne.

With the unit safely sealed up, turn the water and then the power back on to be sure that the unit works properly. Adjust controls to make sure that household humidity does not collect on windows.

Still having trouble fine-tuning your whole-house humidifier? Give AC World a call!