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Furnace Repair Edmonton | 10 Common Questions About Humidifiers
Hi there. Welcome back to the Hot to Cold Mechanical YouTube channel. I’m Trevor, and I’m here with Ameen. And Ameen is the owner of Hot to Cold Mechanical. And not only is the owner, he’s the guy who’s gonna be doing a lot of the work and servicing and the friendly voice you’ll get on the other side when something bad happens, or if you need a new furnace or air conditioner or anything mechanical in your home taken care of. He’s the guy you’re gonna talk to. Sure can.
So today we’re gonna be talking about the 10 common questions about humidifiers people have. I think humidifiers are, are very important. They’re kind of underrated, especially we have a really dry climate here. Yeah. In Alberta. Most of the winter it’s really, really dry, and in the summer it’s just kind of dry depending on the year. Well, the amount of heat you use in this country, it’s definitely dry.
Oh yeah. You, your skin gets all scaly and it’s, it’s, it’s uncomfortable. So this is a good topic. Here’s a great quote from Alexander the Great. There is nothing impossible for those who will try. I think that’s true. At least give it, give it a go, give it your all. Here’s a fun fact for you guys. Rather than requiring a hot water heater, Iceland meets their heating and hot water needs at Geothermally.
Also, they’re the world leader in harnessing hot water as a source of renewable energy from their 600 plus hot spring areas. Additionally, Iceland is the only country that can claim to obtain a hundred percent of its electricity and heat from renewable sources. So there you go, folks.
Amazing. It can be done, but only in Iceland because they’ve got geothermal everywhere. Oh, hot springs are a huge help. Right. And That’s a lot of humidity. And they use it to, to do their power plants and everything there. So that’s pretty cool. It’s, it’s neat. Like we’ve got tons and tons of oil and natural gas here, so we should be selling and exporting that, but this is not a political conversation, so we’ll leave that one alone.
So I’m gonna jump right in with the questions here. Humidifier costs. So let some say somebody wants to call you up and say, Hey Amin, I’m really drying this house and we need some humidification. How much does that cost?
Well, humidification is not that expensive, really. When it comes right down to this, all depended on the size of the home. Okay. And basically the style of the furniture you’re using and so forth and so on. But the fact that humidifiers costing with installation the average of all $500, okay. It’s not that bad because the fact it only takes a couple hours to put one in. And the average cost for basic is gonna be about $200. Okay. No, but the being that if you take some humidity can get a little bit fancier, you can get some humidifiers with even digital controls on ’em and so forth Sure. And so on.
You can get the fancier humidifier if you want, but basic humidification, I’d say an average of five to maybe $600. Okay. Five, 600 bucks. That’s not too bad. And I think the, the benefits outweigh the cost for sure. Now here’s the big thing, reason why you might need a humidifier is why is there static electricity when I touch things in the house?
Well, that’s because of your air being so dry. You see when knee is so different than when if you were to rub your feet on the, on the rug, how you can touch something and get a shock. Yeah. Okay. Well that’s because you’re drying that, getting that heat going, and that’s exactly what’s happening. As soon as the air gets dry in any space, okay, you’re gonna get that ability to create static electricity. Yeah. And that’s exactly why you’re feeling that.
Oh man. So bad, so bad in the wintertime with the static. It’s awful. Now here’s another question. So for some people, if you have a humidifier here’s a question.
Why is it not working?
Well, a lot of times the humidifier’s not gonna be working because of the simple fact that you have either your humidistat not picking up properly and or it is, it has definitely gotten a a lot of what a lot of people don’t realize is that there are filter pads in there that have to be changed.
Okay. And if they’re not changed and the water can’t flow anymore, that could be exactly what it’s, I see. But the worst problem could be the fact that the OID valve that turns on and off with that heta state goal is now dead. Oh, I see. So you can have a few different problems. There could be a few different, different reasons why Okay.
That humidity would fall on the Percentages. Yes. Okay. So if you are in that scenario and your humidifier doesn’t seem to be working, call me. He’ll come down, he’ll diagnose, diagnose it, check it out, either fix it and or replace it so that you can have humidification back running in your place. Here’s another question that people have about humidifiers.
Why does the humidifier have this white crusty stuff on it?
Well, that’s basic calcium buildup, like you may even see on the end of the top of your kitchen sink. Yeah. Okay. And it’s the fact that calcium is always gonna build up. And that’s exactly what those pads are for. The pads are technically catching the calcium, but at the same time spreading it out evenly. Over that airspace that has been created for to pick up on the water as it passes by. Okay. And take the humidity up to you.
Now, the fact that that pad will start to crust, if you neglect it for too long, you’re gonna see it coming out of the edges and outta the Eden and, and pretty much building up around the door and so forth and so on. You know, but that’s what a lot of people don’t realize, and I don’t know why I’ve seen it so many times how people that install new systems never tell their customers. And I always do, but they, I’ve seen it too many times. Yeah. How you have a pad in here to change, just like you have a filter nut furnace.
Yeah. Change ’em, change ’em, change ’em. That, that’s a big thing I’ve seen. And I’ve seen the old style where it was like a circular Tumbler and the thing was just frozen solid , it was seize up pretty Good. Looked like it was full of barnacles or something. It was Just they were interesting. Yeah. That’s for Sure. So now here’s a question. Now that we know that we have to change them?
How often do we have to change those Things?
Well, that’s all dependent on how much of the humidity is being, being used, you see, and the percentages that you need in that home. And every home is gonna be different. You’re gonna find that the humidity at times is going to be using a lot more water or maybe less. So it’s all dependent on how much water passes over that pad. So your best off is in the wintertime to be probably checking it on about a three to maybe a, maybe a tri-weekly to monthly basis, and just opening the door, take a look and see if that calcium buildup is coming around.
Some humidifiers will actually have a flashing light on ’em, and when you get the digital controls, it’ll give you a timer on ’em. Okay. Pretty much for the amount of time that that OID valve’s been open, knowing it’s gotta go. Right. But if you’re, if you don’t have a, if you only got just a basic dial style, then you just have to just open it up and take a look. And if you see the calcium building up on there, then you definitely gotta pull it out and just flip it and throw it
Away. I see. Okay. Well, there you go. Check it every month or so. And you know, if if it’s not ready to be done, then, you know, wait till wait till the next month and just check it over again. Next question is, what is the proper setting for your humidistat?
The most common human staff setting for anybody in any home is about 35%. Okay. Okay. That 35% is that 35 that you see on that dial or end or your digital settings. And you’ll find that that 35% is always the most common without becoming too human in the home where you get, you know, your, your windows start to fog up. And or you start to feel the sweat, you know, and stuff like that. Okay. It’s just a simple being that you don’t want the air to be too dry, but not, you don’t want it also to be too high on that percentage. Right.
Because it gets a little effective in, in other ways that are not so comfortable. Right. Yeah. So you want to kind of balance that out and have a good 35% to, to make it feel more Comfortable. That is the most comfortable. Yes. Perfect. All right. Next question.
How does a humidifier actually work?
Well, humidifier actually takes the air from the return and over to the supply. Okay. And is taken in on those ducting on the ducting above the furnace and beside the furnace. Okay. Which is called your return error. Okay. The one above is a supply error. Now you can place it on either side, it doesn’t really matter as long as it’s got the ability to pick up on both rotations. Like the fact that the return air can still pass through and or the supply passes back. Okay.
Now it’s just a simple fact that you want the air to be able to pass through that pad perfectly, to take that water and absorb it perfectly. I see. And take it into the air on the supply going up. And I do prefer it on the supply. Mm-Hmm, a lot of people will put it on the return.
But then that air has to go down and into your filter first. Right. And coming back up and only your transfer tube is what’s gonna let that water through on the supply and up. Mm. But you will use more water that way. I see. You’re better off to put it on the, on the supply side because you will always find that, that any water there is taken immediately and gone and that’s your, and that your balancing pressures are only just giving from that return through the filter. They don’t really have that water hanging out there Okay. As much.
All right. So best thing to do, guys this is something that you could probably do by yourself, but best to just call a professional to come in cuz they know exactly what to do and they’ll set it up correctly for you. Okay. next question is why is my humidifier leaking water?
Well, a lot of times that the leaks are coming from the fact that either, again, that filter pad is just plugged tight. Yeah. Okay. And cannot let the water pass to the point where it’s actually plugged your drain. Oh, okay. Okay. Now the drain hole is right underneath him and he’s letting all that excess water out that he doesn’t have evaporating and going into your house.
So the fact that when that pad itself is no longer capable of, how would you say, allowing that water to get absorbed and just letting it pass right by. Yep. It’s gonna start to take that calcium with it and it’s gonna plug your drain most likely. I see. And that is usually the most common
Reason. I see. So then you get some bigger problems so that it’s really important to change those pads out. Especially here we have very, very hard water. I’m not sure where you are in the world and where you, wherever you’re watching this, but where we are, we have very, very hard water, lots of minerals and, and things in the water.
Definitely. And it’s, the only other thing I could say that may cause a problem, but that’s only gonna be obvious to the eye, is if the water line coming to the OID valve that sends the water in is leaking right in front of your eyeballs that that’s different. That’s but the fact that when it’s coming out of weird places and spaces, it’s, that’s usually what It’s Okay. Good to know. All right, guys next question we have for Amin is why is the humidifier running water all the time?
Well, that’s when a lot of times you’ll find that the, either the humidistat is no longer reading properly and leaving your solenoid valve on all the time. But a lot of times solenoid valves get old and they’ll seize up and they’ll actually take to the point where they actually get stuck open and allowing the water to come constantly. I See. But that’s the most common Reasons. Right.
Okay. Well there you go. So if that is something that you’re noticing with your humidifier, give Amina call, he’ll come out and he’ll assess the damage and see if he can either replace the solenoid or replace the unit entirely and you know, give you, give you the, the right answer for that problem. The next thing here is why is my humidifier working, but the humidity feels like it’s low in the house?
Well, a lot of times at the fact being that that per the percentage level, like we said, the humanist stat sometimes does not always pick up perfectly. Mm-Hmm. If that humidistat is not picking up perfectly and that you’re set at that 35%, but you’re finding it’s still not still kinda like a lot of static in the house and every, you know, especially when you touch electrical switches.
Okay. You’ll notice it the most. Yeah. And it’s the fact that if that percentage is not holding up properly and you’ve already turned it up, being turned it up and you don’t see any change, I would probably blame the humidistat if you know that there’s water running. Right. If you can see the water is running a lot of times it’s just pretty much that humidistat not perfectly keeping that flow on the, on the pace that’s
Proper. I see. So you might need a new humidistat most likely. Okay. All right. Good to know. Okay guys, we’re coming down to, to the end of these questions here. Approximately how much water does a humidifier use? Like, should I be concerned about it? Is it gonna make my water bill go crazy?
Well, most are just rated exactly that way. They’re rated by the gallon per day. Okay. On what they would consider an average run for a furnace in a day. Okay. Okay. And these are definite being that the, the gallons per day are exactly how you buy the size of that system.
Oh, Okay. Okay. And the size of the system is always dependent on the size of your home. I, as you will need more definite being of humidity in a, in a larger home As well. Okay. So basically the settings on or or the specifications on the humidifier will tell you how many gallons per day you can expect for it to use. Yes. Now what, what would be an average?
Like Average is probably about 15. 15. Okay. Yeah. That’s the fact that the average is always around 15 because if that 35% in any average home, it’s probably gonna be doing about that 15 gallon per day. That’s probably the most common size you see and in use as to an average being as what you would be using.
Okay. So 15 gallons per day, not too bad that that’s not too shay that that won’t, you know, break the bank and most of it’s going into the air anyways. Yeah. So that’s good. Now last question that we’ve got for you is, what brand of humidifier do you recommend to your clients?
Well, Honeywell’s always been a great name. April Air is always the up name. Okay. April Air is actually because they only do really humidity, it’s all they ever know. And that’s been their, say their number one focus. Okay. And focal point for April Air is humidity. Okay. And they have really definitely perfected it. I’ll admit to that.
But Honeywell, well that’s such a big name that’s been out there for, you know, decades and they, they know their things too. They got some very great products as well to use. Yeah, those would be the two first names I’d always offered. Obviously Honeywell and or if you wanna upgrade to the, even up to the April Air, then you’ve got it.
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Okay. There you have it folks. So thank you for sharing this information about humidifiers. There’s a lot of, lot more information that’s gonna be coming on this channel, so please stay tuned. Thanks so much me, appreciate it. And thank you you for tuning in. We’ll see you guys on the next video. Thank You very much.