Yesterday in Part 2, we wrote about our attempts to increase the humidity level in our home this winter as one of the many home maintenance tips we are using in our home.
There was one more possibility I wanted to try.
Two years ago I asked for help on this issue.
One vendor suggested I spend about $2,000 on a steam humidity unit.
Geeze, like I have two thousand dollars lying around.
Other suggestions received from folks on various Internet forums were to adjust the wiring so that the flow through humidifier ran when the furnace fan was on to simply circulate the air through the house, even though the furnace itself was not generating any heat.
Now, as you may know I am not a contracting professional at all, just a simple home owner. And, I do not do wiring (OK, except for the wireless wall light switch which I was able to install on my own shortly after we moved in) 
. There was no way I am going to tamper with wiring related to my furnace.
You see, flow through humidifiers are meant to work only when the furnace is on. But, since there have been a few strange things about this house we only discovered after we moved in, I thought, why not try it just to see.
Why not turn the fan to the On setting within our thermostat and see if the flow through humidifier might just be hooked up to run when the furnace fan was on and not only when the furnace was creating heat.
Unbelievable.
Somehow, yes, our flow through humidifier was configured / wired to run when the furnace fan was running.
I wish I had known this for the past two years.
So, I kept the fan setting in our thermostat to On which caused the water to go through the flow through humidifier constantly.
Did it make a difference?
Yes. In a couple of days the humidity level in our home was 4 to 5 percentage points higher on our digital temperature & humidity device. At what cost? Well, lots of water. However, having a home that is too dry in the winter can damage wooden floors and furnature, cause overly dry skin, etc. I have set the fan back to auto and with manually spraying water onto the humidifier pad a few times a day, things seem to be working fine. This also lets us keep the temperature a little lower (1 or 2 degrees) in the home because greater humidity makes it feel like it is warmer (think about one of the reasons why you use a de-humidifier in the summer to get rid of the excess humidity).
Until next time.
2 responses so far ↓
1 John clarke // Jan 11, 2010 at 6:22 pm
I have the same problem with my furnace humidifier. It worked fine for a couple of years. It was so good that water would stream down the windows if it was turned past half way on the humidty control unit. But this year……. I can’t get it above 45%…. and I can’t figure out why. I’ve checked everything, and changed the water absorption pad….. but no luck. I never did think it was a good design…… there’s nothing forcing air through the water pad, just the air that goes into the chamber. If anyone has an answer to this… I’d appreciate the help.
…… john
2 Dan // Jan 12, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Hi John,
I’m not sure where you live, but 45% humidity in the winter sounds awefully high to me.
However, some reasons why you might not be able to obtain as high a humidity level as in past years could be because of an increase in air leaks in your home. Have you checked the caulking around cables and pipes, etc. coming into your home? Have you checked to ensure that all windows are not only fully shut tight but also locked which can add to the ’seal’ depending on some windows? Have you checked the weather stripping around your exterior doors? Have you checked the caulking on the outside of all your windows? etc.
Here is a link to the article summarizing the various air leaks related articles we have written in the past little while in case it helps you:
http://dailyhomerenotips.com/2009/10/11/sealing-home-air-leaks-to-reduce-home-heating-bills/
As for your humidifier, it sounds like you have the drum type. Have you checked that the absorbtion pad is rotating in the same speed as in past years, if at all? Is the water level in the pan the same as always?
I hope that helps,
Dan
Leave a Comment