Question for HVAC guys

[Brankon]

I recently had a new furnace put in my house, the old one had a humidifier attatched to the cold air return tapped out of the cold side of the HWT, I had the spigot off because it leaked and I was intending on fixing it at some point (new place, big to do list)

Come home after work the day they did the furnace and see they eliminated the humidifier. Is this common practice now? I'm not sure as they never mentioned getting rid of it. I remember in school learning that a relative humidity of 40% at 20 deg C was comfortabe for most and my weather station I have in my kitchen has always said 20% humidity in the house so I would have been interested in testing the theory once I got the leak fixed on it

Anyone able to chime in?

[dewalt18]

I’m not going to say common per se, but I’ve definitely removed more over the years than I’ve installed. Usually during a replacement or at time of quote, if there’s a derelict humidifier in place, I give the two options of deleting it entirely or replacing with new. Humidifiers are very often neglected pieces of equipment, end depending on model and condition it’s often more cost effective to just replace it than rebuild it.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Unless you want to wake up in middle of night with dry throat like a desert suggest you install a new humidifier. Also your hardwood floors will have cracks. Just buy and install new one, they are quite complicated now and do use alot of water for flushing. I personally would go back to Old style Wait Scuttle drum type, they do require annual maintenance though and suggest new foam each year.

[crazyperch]

To answer your question, no it is not standard practice to remove the humidifier without getting approval from the home owner/customer.

[jef612]

Steam humidifier. The old flow through pads or rolls are notoriously labour intensive.
Steam is less maintenance in the long run.

And yes - you'll likely need one sooner or later.

[dewalt18]

Steam humidifier. The old flow through pads or rolls are notoriously labour intensive.
Steam is less maintenance in the long run.

And yes - you'll likely need one sooner or later.

I disagree with this as far as steam humidifiers being less labour intensive. If you want any sort of longevity to it, it needs to be disassembled and descaled annually, similar to a boiler or on demand hot water system. Add to this that it’s also wise to disassemble and drain and dry the reservoir at the end of each heating season so you don’t end up with stale stagnant water residing in your mechanical room.

As far as drum humidifiers go, I can’t think of a single more disgusting thing to have in your house. I’d rather clean a litter box once a week that deal with a slime covered sludgy drum pan once a year.

[Etownpaul]

I just replaced my furnace this summer and I tossed that gross old drum humidifier. I rarely used it anyway and it was gross to look at and know that you are breathing in that crap.

I just bought a bunch of house plants and they seem to be doing a decent job of keeping my house humid enough. It's currently 32% humidity in my house even though its -26C outside. I leave the bathroom door open when I shower as well to let the humidity go into the rest of the house.

That hardwood excuse is just malarky. I've got about 1000sq ft of nail down solid maple flooring and never had an issue without a humidifier.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Just leave shower on or disconnect dryer pipe. Lots of ways to get good humidity in home without a humidifier.:bad_boys_20: