Forced air heat is causing dry blood in my nose and a dry throat.

[akshatp]

I dont have this problem in the summer, only when we start turning the heat on at night due to the cold..

Few quesitons... Will a humidifier work to help with the blood in the nose buildup? And the dry throat symptoms?

What kind of humidifier should we get? Is it worth it to get a whole house humidifer that attaches to the furnace?? How hard/easy is that to install, will I need a professional?

If anyone has any single room humidifiers, and can make recommendations I would appreciate it!

 

[Scouzer]

Yes a humidifier would help.However, it will frost the hell out of your windows in any sort of cold climate.

I also remember some humidifiers are quite unhealthy, might be worth getting Consumer Reports for this.

 

[bctbct]

We have a portable one that works fine. Get one that has large tanks so you dont have to fill it all the time. You will notice a big difference right away. Its shouldnt steam up your windows as long as you have double pane glass.

 

[Jumpem]

A humidifier is horrible for your house.

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: Jumpem
A humidifier is horrible for your house.

Care to elaborate?

bct: We have a 2 year old house, so the windows are double-pane.

 

[bctbct]

I think my folks paid around $300 to have one installed on their furnace. We just use the portable one which has fan speed settings and a moisture setting. Since we have hardwood floors we can tell when its getting dry because the floors start squeaking.

I have never heard that they are bad for your house, I suppose if you put too much moisture in the air it could cause problems.

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: akshatp
Care to elaborate?

bct: We have a 2 year old house, so the windows are double-pane.

Humidity leads to mold.

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: bctbct
I think my folks paid around $300 to have one installed on their furnace. We just use the portable one which has fan speed settings and a moisture setting. Since we have hardwood floors we can tell when its getting dry because the floors start squeaking.

I have never heard that they are bad for your house, I suppose if you put too much moisture in the air it could cause problems.

I think I am going to pick up one at Costco today. Ill try it out for a few months, and if it doesnt help, or starts causing other problems, I will return it.

 

[sixone]

Drink more water. Seriously.

And get a bottle of saline nose spray, look where they keep the cold medicines.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: Jumpem

Originally posted by: akshatp
Care to elaborate?

bct: We have a 2 year old house, so the windows are double-pane.

Humidity leads to mold.

Sure, if you keep your house as humid as a bathroom during a shower.

Do you have any actual proof showing that room humidifiers run at reasonable settings, especially in the winter where the air is drier than normal, actually cause mold problems?

 

[JohnCU]

How would restoring a house to summer humidity levels, which would be present during the summer anyway, lead to mold during the winter?

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: BigJ
Sure, if you keep your house as humid as a bathroom during a shower.

Do you have any actual proof showing that room humidifiers run at reasonable settings, especially in the winter where the air is drier than normal, actually cause mold problems?

The previous owner of our house had a humidifier. But I think our problems stem from location. there is constant shade on our house and the woods can stay wet around it.

 

[Modelworks]

Cheap method.
Hot plate, pot of water.

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: Jumpem

Originally posted by: BigJ
Sure, if you keep your house as humid as a bathroom during a shower.

Do you have any actual proof showing that room humidifiers run at reasonable settings, especially in the winter where the air is drier than normal, actually cause mold problems?

The previous owner of our house had a humidifier. But I think our problems stem from location. there is constant shade on our house and the woods can stay wet around it.

So then your claim that humidifiers lead to mold is not really true then?

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: akshatp

Originally posted by: Jumpem

Originally posted by: BigJ
Sure, if you keep your house as humid as a bathroom during a shower.

Do you have any actual proof showing that room humidifiers run at reasonable settings, especially in the winter where the air is drier than normal, actually cause mold problems?

The previous owner of our house had a humidifier. But I think our problems stem from location. there is constant shade on our house and the woods can stay wet around it.

So then your claim that humidifiers lead to mold is not really true then?

That claim can absolutely be true. The blanket claim that humidifiers are horrible for the house is not.

If you're really worried about mold, get a hygrometer and monitor it while using the humidifier to ensure that humidity stays below 40%.

If you have small children, humidifiers can be bad for them depending on their sensitivities.

 

[wwswimming]

boiling water is a quick solution.

it's a lot easier to humidify one room than the whole house.

house plants are natural humidifiers, if you can find some
that do well in your light conditions.

the products of combustion are CO2 and H20. if you can
use a propane heater like they sell at Home Depot, it
exhausts into the workspace, and puts a lot of moisture
in the air. not too big though, don't want too much CO2.

 

[akshatp]

Good information guys.. Thanks! Keep it coming!

 

[Modelworks]

I forgot about these.
A friend has one and it looks very cool .
http://www.fountainsnslate.com/mister_fogger_photo

 

[boomerang]

In my opinion, a furnace mounted humidifier is the way to go.

It should come with a humidistat that can be mounted near the thermostat. You can dial the humidity level up and down to suit the outdoor temperature. This will minimize condensation on your windows.

For a higher cost, you can get a model with an outdoor temperature sensor. This will nearly eliminate having to fiddle with the humidistat. The humidity level will be automatically increased or decreased as needed as the outside temperature changes.

You can install one yourself with common hand tools. You will need to cut a hole in the ductwork at the furnace to mount the unit. The unit will need to be wired into the furnace to come on with the blower. Newer furnaces have connectors provided with 24V for just this purpose. You will need a water source. Typically a saddle valve is attached to a copper water line and 1/4" tubing is then run to the humidifier. You will need a drain for the excess water to flow to and lastly the wiring for the humidistat and or outdoor temp sensor must be run as needed.

As a side benefit, your house will feel much more comfortable. With the humidity at the proper level, you may find you can dial down the thermostat somewhat and still feel comfortable.

The unit you buy must be sized to the square footage of the house. Most likely you will not find one that is rated for your exact square footage. Manufacturers typically have two models to choose from. You must make a decision to get the smaller capacity or larger capacity.

Remember to turn it to off in the summertime if you have AC.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

http://www.desertspringproducts.com/

That's what I put in my house. No dust, no pads to change due to calcification/mold, has a humidity sensor so it only runs when needed.

 

[techs]

Try Ponaris.
http://www.ponaris.net/
My ENT prescribed it for me (its otc) when I had a similiar problem.
btw it smells great.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: Jumpem

Originally posted by: akshatp
Care to elaborate?

bct: We have a 2 year old house, so the windows are double-pane.

Humidity leads to mold.

Yup. I'll take the lowest possible humidity I can, any day. I time opening the windows and closing them to try to keep humidity low inside our apartment, and I'll even run the A/C for a while to pull out moisture, then cycle over to the heater to heat things back up.

Our last apartment had no forced air, no bathroom or kitchen fan, and the bathroom window was set low on the wall. It was also one mile from the ocean in an area known for fog. We used to get mold on the walls behind furniture and we had to clean them with bleach all the time. I had to throw away some nice shoes that got moldy, and when we moved, there was even mold on speaker cables, equipment bags, and the bottom of the mattress. It was disgusting, and I vowed never to live in another place that doesn't have better ways to decrease humidity.

Humidity = teh suck.

 

[Jeff7]

How's the dust in there? Maybe check the furnace filter? I felt stuffy in my college dorms, but it was really dusty in there. After less than a month, my computer's fan filters were literally choked with dust, and the top was coated with it - back home, that would have taken over a year's worth of dust accumulation. I don't know if they decided to vent the clothing dryers right into the ventilation system, lint and all. At least, that's how bad it looked.
I've never had an issue with dry air. Hell, I've got a dehumidifier running right now. But then, it's always humid in Erie - I'm less than a half mile from the lake.

 

[slag]

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY
http://www.desertspringproducts.com/

That's what I put in my house. No dust, no pads to change due to calcification/mold, has a humidity sensor so it only runs when needed.

Ditto. We have the same setup. Took me about an hour to install and it works great. The bonus of a system like this is there is very little wasted water. Many furnace mounted humidifiers have a constant running stream of water that has to drain. This desert spring unit fills up a basin and then has a float valve. We still drain ours weekly to get the standing gunk out of it, but its not much waste at all.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: Jumpem

Originally posted by: akshatp
Care to elaborate?

bct: We have a 2 year old house, so the windows are double-pane.

Humidity leads to mold.

high humidity couldm, but when you run the heater, it reduces the humidity, so you need to add humidity back into the air. An overly dry house is not good either.