Whole House vs. Portable Humidifiers

Earlier this year, as the summer was winding down, we took a peek at maintaining whole house humidifiers, which typically get switched on around the same time that sprinkler systems get blown out, garden hoses are coiled away for the season and the lawnmower goes into storage for the next few months.

While whole house humidifiers remain an excellent choice for maintaining levels of moisture within your home, some people prefer to use a collection of portable humidifying devices instead.

Here are some pros and cons for each choice, courtesy of About.com:

The advantage of a whole house system is its general lack of bother. Once you’ve set up the unit and cleaned/replaced the water filter, it needs virtually no attention. Water is automatically drawn from your plumbing system, saving you the trouble of daily fill-ups that portables usually require. The unit is probably one of the quietest in the house, with the only sounds being periodic re-filling through the plumbing.

The drawback to whole house systems is that they aren’t as easy to install and setup as a portable unit. They also collect mineral deposits, depending on the nature of your water supply. As a result, the unit needs a thorough cleaning with white vinegar at the end of every heating season. Some mineral deposits can prove very difficult to remove.

Portable units, on the other hand, are, well…portable, which allows you to move the unit wherever it is needed throughout the day. These work very well for those living in smaller spaces. Or for renters who don’t have the option of installing a whole-house system.

Portable units tend to provide more benefits as they go up in price—which, at the upper end of things, can make them more expensive than whole house systems. As portable units increase in size, they become more burdensome to move around – even when on casters. They also tend to create more noise than whole house units.

And, of course, their reservoir tanks need constant re-filling, a task that can prove daunting when the water has to be carried to larger units with permanently stationary tanks. Also, these units can become breeding grounds for various toxins, requiring them to be cleaned and supplied with replacement filters, much more often than once per season.

More questions about indoor humidity control? Contact us at AC World today!