room humidifier in guitar room - what do you advise?

[jeremy3220]

I haven't noticed any white dust with the Holmes. I use a bacteriostat which prevents mold; eventually the filter starts to get a mineral deposit build up and needs replacing.

[strawintogold]

White dust is only with the ionic humdifiers, which are usually pricey and don't work.

holly

[bluesman67]

I'll say one thing about this Bionaire humidifier...the thing cranks out some humidity.  My room 10x12 started a few hours ago at 25% and it's now at 50%, and I got those readings from the built in hygrometer and also my digital Oasis.  It is quiet and it's easy to fill and looks very easy to clean...also all parts are dishwasher safe...YES!  I will be heading back to Target though for those filters, I'm with Holly, I don't want to deal with it and I'll take the new filter with new antibacterial on it vs. trying to clean the same old one.  This unit seems like the best bang for the buck, design, features, everything. 

[ryler]

I have a Holmes model 5250.  Not loving it for a couple of reasons.  The room is 12 x 10 or something close to that.  This winter one humidifier is not doing the trick.  Many, many days it is struggling to reach 40% rh.  But this is forced air heating and the room gets very hot when I shut the door to trap the moisture.  So maybe I need two room humidifiers and would with any brand.  Next go around, I'll look for a model with the flat bottom that Holly described.  I have to balance this one as it fills to keep it from tipping over.  Don't like the threading on the cap, either.  Often I find myself storing the gits in their cases with in-case humidifiers as well as running the room humidifier simply because I can't get the room one to the level it needs to be.  Might hover at 35%.  Are there any others who need to run 2  humidifiers in a small space?

Or maybe it's my hygrometer that's off.  I only have one, an Oregon Scientific.  At this moment it reads 37%.  There is condensation on the windows.  Does that indicate anything?

[teh]

Is there a reason you are married to a table top model?

I have a Bemis (now sold by Essickair I believe) that is 12 inches wide x 18 inches deep x 22 inches high that holds 6 gallons of water and with the extreme cold of the past two weeks, I fill it every four or five days depending on how much the furnace is running. The portable filter inserts cost $6 or $7 apiece and I add bacteriostatic treatment (1/2 capful per gallon) and have never seen a speck of mold. It's on wheels but when it's empty, I just pick it up and carry it downstairs to another room. I have a hygrometer that helps me keep humidity between 45 and 55% and temperature is currently 69%. No condensation on the windows, no dust. This one is slightly larger but  pretty close and lists for $123. That seems like a small price to pay to keep humidity in check for 7 stringed instruments. It says it covers up to 1,700 square feet but I keep it on the low setting for my guitar room.

https://humidifierstore.essickair.com/pc-32-15-7v826-800.aspx

I have several Planet Waves and tried out a new Oasis guitar humidifier for when I am traveling and a gallon of distilled water is 75 cents.

[ryler]

No, I am absolutely not married to the table top variety.  Up until recently, I kept my one and only guitar in the case with an Oasis in it.  I just started with the in-room humidifier on a regular basis this season.   I would seriously consider getting the one you linked to.  Could you tell me a little about filling it?  Do you roll it into your kitchen or bathroom or do you bring the water to the humidifier when it's time to fill?

[strawintogold]

Is there a reason you are married to a table top model?

I have a Bemis (now sold by Essickair I believe) that is 12 inches wide x 18 inches deep x 22 inches high that holds 6 gallons of water and with the extreme cold of the past two weeks, I fill it every four or five days depending on how much the furnace is running. The portable filter inserts cost $6 or $7 apiece and I add bacteriostatic treatment (1/2 capful per gallon) and have never seen a speck of mold. It's on wheels but when it's empty, I just pick it up and carry it downstairs to another room. I have a hygrometer that helps me keep humidity between 45 and 55% and temperature is currently 69%. No condensation on the windows, no dust. This one is slightly larger but  pretty close and lists for $123. That seems like a small price to pay to keep humidity in check for 7 stringed instruments. It says it covers up to 1,700 square feet but I keep it on the low setting for my guitar room.

https://humidifierstore.essickair.com/pc-32-15-7v826-800.aspx

I have several Planet Waves and tried out a new Oasis guitar humidifier for when I am traveling and a gallon of distilled water is 75 cents.

I have that one on my wish list for next year.

holly

[Yoyodyne]

No, I am absolutely not married to the table top variety.  Up until recently, I kept my one and only guitar in the case with an Oasis in it.  I just started with the in-room humidifier on a regular basis this season.   I would seriously consider getting the one you linked to.  Could you tell me a little about filling it?  Do you roll it into your kitchen or bathroom or do you bring the water to the humidifier when it's time to fill?

The Essick console models like that described have removable plastic water containers (they kind of look like old WWII gas cans, large flat rectangles) that you just carry to the faucet and fill with the supplied plastic hose. Very convenient. The larger console models have two water reservoirs so you're not refilling that often. And because only a small quantity of the water actually sits in the bottom of the humidifier cabinet (most of it sits in the reservoirs, a small valve on each releases water as needed to keep the correct water level in the cabinet), the Essicks seem much less prone to problems with mildew. (Because less of the water is exposed to air.)

[strawintogold]

This is the model I'm looking at. My room is very small and the Essex folks wants $35 for shipping. They also carry the other model.http://www.iallergy.com/product869/product_info.html

holly

[es-335]

I posted this in another humidifier thread.. but here it goes

Here is my humidifier.



paid $40 bux at Walmart, works just fine... very easy to clean. change the filter every 2-3 months!
not very loud either.



on the other hand..

We've had this humidifier for a year... and the worst one I've owned so far..



Very leaky and hard to keep it clean.. the only good thing about it is that it is quite.


No matter what you do, don't use hard water... that's what creates the white dust..

[Mr_LV19E]

If you live in a cold climate and have forced air heating do yourself a favor and just get the furnace unit. It will keep your whole house at a comfortable level.
45-50% humidity is good for your skin and your sinuses. It's not good to breath very dry air all the time (for most people). Your whole house will thank you.

[teh]

My Bemis (Now Essickair) has a reservoir and removable grate on the front top of the fan's housing unit. I just fill a couple of two gallon pails, make a couple of trips and pour it in when it needs refilled. There is a light to remind you when it needs more water and it stops running when it's empty. Mine has a disposable filter and I usually change it every three months. I used my last one in November so I have to pick one up this week. I run mine on low and can't even tell when it's running.

[lw216316]

Thanks for all the ideas so far. I've researched each of the models you have recommended.

There seems to be a BIG difference between the advertised quality, function, value, reliabiity, performance etc
and what I read in reviews from people who actually buy them.

The Biosonic consistently got bad reviews because of leaking. There seemed to be problems with having it on a carpet - that it had to be absolutley level or else it would leak. One person said the instructions recommended the unit be kept in a bathtub when not in use !

If fact, many of the brands were reported to be
poorly designed,
prone to leak,
hard to refill,
prone to stop working
had controls or monitors that were not accurate
had expensive filters to replace (in some cases hard to find)

It was not unusual to find people who had wasted their money on half a dozen models and were ' still searching ' for a good one.

Give me a break    How hard can it be to design a simple, reliable, easy to use device that puts some moisture in the air ???

I have a model I'm researching now that seems promising so far.
It is a very simple, well designed, easy to use model that I've yet to find any bad reports on.

It is a basic fan and wick , evaporation type unit.....not exactly what I had in mind .....but hey,  if it does not have the problems commonly reported for the others....maybe I can live with it 

I forget the name just now, but I'll post some more information on it later.

Thanks for your help so far 

- Larry

[lw216316]

Well, I made up my mind and bought a Vick 745A.
A guy at work recommended it....his is 3 years old and running fine.

It is simple, cheap, easily avaiable, gets good reviews...

I bought it at a Target store less than 2 miles from my house
....was $35
- is a warm mist unit

I tried it in the bedroom last night -
on low it raised the humidity from 29 to 46 %, on low it is quiet.

My living room, dinning room, kitchen area is too big for it.
On high it raised 29 to 33 %.

- Larry

[strawintogold]

The problem with those is that they don't have a turn off at a certain humidity. They pump it out and fast but there isn't a shut off. I watched my Vicks raise the humidity in my guitar room to 67 degrees in about 20 minutes. I use it in my bedroom and it's a workhorse but because there isn't a shut off the humidity keeps climbing which makes it unsuitable for my guitar room.

holly

[hudson]

I am using the Bonaire BC7309 as well - cool mist with built in hygrometer, built in shutoff.  Previously I started using a Vicks warm mist unit, but the room was stuffy/warm- very uncomfortable to me.  The Bonaire seems to working fine.

[dragon1952]

I am extremely pleased with this one so far. Germ Guardian H-2000  It's an ultrsonic that is virtually silent and has cool and warm mist selectors. It does not have a shut-off or built-in hygrometer, but it does have a dial that you can adjust the output with, from very light to full blast. Used with a hygrometer you can easily choose the setting that gives you your desired RH.