white dust from tap water in humidifier

[dejablues]

It's called scale, and is caused by any and all minerals in the water. This site

some useful ideas.

[SJF]

Yeh! I remember them now. Had one many years ago and it cost about $10. Pretty sure you're referring to the boiler type -- gallon jug, two electrodes and the resistance of the water heats it to generate steam. This is the one that requires addition of salt if your water is too pure.

My reference to evaporative humidifiers was to the currently popular type that draws air through wet filter pads. Guess the electric boilers are still around but I overlooked them. --- SJF

[PaPaPeng]

That's what comes from using an ultrasonic humidifier. Dissolved minerals, in my water its mainly calcium and magnesium sulphate, is carried in the fine mist. When that mist water evaporates the mineral content is deposited around the humidifier.

My solution for humidifying the house is to have a lot of house plants. If they thrive it means their respiration had kept the air in the correct humidity. I had disconnected the power humidifier in my forced air furnace because of lime buildup and because the water in the water tray was often slimy. That slime is probably mold and had caused respiratory problems.

[Serendipity]

I'm going by experience with the vinegar from few sources. I know it works to prevent any white film on canning jars when processing them. If you don't add vinegar, there is a white film on the jars. I've used vinegar for removing water deposits in my dishwasher. Both these applications work well but they envolve heat. When we had a table top humidifier, I used vinegar in the water to prevent water deposits in the humidifier. This reduced the white dust on the funiture from the humidifier. I'm not sure why it worked, just that it did

[Serendipity]

I just added a couple of tbsp vinegar to the water.

[Serendipity]

We just installed a power humidifier in our forced air furnace this year. Is there a way to prevent this slime?

[hchickpea]

Yes. Vinegar does work well for stuff like this.

It is possible that the vinegar formed large percipitate particles of some of the calcium compounds that then sunk to the bottom of the tank without attaching to it. A lot would depend on the exact chemistry and contamination of the water.

[Michael A. Ball]

"Salt". I just shook my head, when I saw that. :-) When I die, I want to go where dogs go!

[Michael A. Ball]

Yes, I believe so. You can keep a static, low-level algaecide in the water. Such products are usually used (as slow dissolving tablets) in AC condensate drip pans and are actually a quaternary ammonium chloride disinfectant {fungicide}.

When I die, I want to go where dogs go!

[Michael A. Ball]

Thanks for a very interesting post. My chemistry isn't good enough to have written it [without refreshing my memory + Excedrin], but I could keep up with most of it. (Redox conversion to hydroxides!? Oh, No!) LOL

Water chemistry is never dull.

School - Four walls with tomorrow inside.

[PaPaPeng]

Not likely as the furnace draws air from the whole house to recirculate. The sponge pad and the water tray make an excellent growth medium. The nutirents were probably from all the dander and other stuff picked up from the air. The humidifier disperses several gallons of water a day so there is no effective way of neutralizing the water tray contents either by adding chemicals. Who wants to breath chemical vapours anyway. I am handy enough to put in a home-made UV light source but thought better of it. The house plants idea is a lot more satisfying. Plants give of as much water as is required by them to thrive. If they thrive I do. They make the whole hose look a lot better too.

[Choreboy]

It would take a lot of houseplants to use several gallons a day. If you want to maintain humidity, infiltration may be the first concern. The second may be a wet-dry thermometer to monitor humidity objectively.

My sister had no way to measure humidity, but for years she ran an ultrasonic humidifier all winter because she thought it helped her breathing. I think she finally concluded that the moisture was doing more harm than good by promoting the growth of allergens.

With no added humidity, my wintertime drop is seven degrees. That's about 65%, and that's dandy. If I wanted more humidity I'd dry my laundry on a rack indoors. If I wanted a lot more humidity I'd hang wet towels on the rack and use a 12" fan. Those fans are quiet and run hours for a penny.

Years ago I used a fan and towel to clean the air. I'd just put a pan of beans on high heat to boil when a neighbor came to the door for help. When I got back, the acrid smoke was too thick to see through. I ventilated, then for a week hung a wet towel in front of a fan. I rinsed the towel frequently. It picked up a lot of soot and odor.

So a wet towel can be used to add humidity and remove pollution.

Choreboy

[PaPaPeng]

I took a look at my weather station - that fancy three dial thingy I have, more for decoration than utility. The relative humidity reads

42%, and the temp is 70 deg F. That's my confort zone and I have lived in my house for 23 years. I live in Alberta which is comfortably dry all year round such that sweat evaporates fast enough to keep the body dry even when I exercise. Summer temperatures can go up to 80 deg F and I don't have air conditioning. But that's very bearable because of the low humidity.

I have enough house plants pots to occupy three office desks. They are spread out of course. They have adapted well enough that I need only water them once in five days or once a week. Most of the plants have been around since I moved in.

The rest of the humidity comes from cooking, from baths and from laundry although as a single occupant this contribution will be less than that of a family's. In cool or warm weather I leave the windows open to let air circulate. I do see pollen collecting on the window screens and some must get through. But rarely are there any fluffy airborne seeds getting into the house. The best part is that there is no condensation on the window glass and I have lots of glass in my house. There are no moldy spot either.

I hardly if ever catch the flu nowadays, or have respiratory problems although I have to admit that my place is quite dusty as I hardly ever vacuum the place. I don't mess up so things look neat normally. A once a year whole house commercial carpet clean takes care of the accumulated stuff.

[Serendipity]

Great solution and I'm glad it works for you. I cannot have most houseplants because of mold in the soil. Yes, I have medical documentation of this so it is not my opinion just so the trolls know. The pollen collecting on the windows would be a huge concern for me given my extensive allergies. Anyway, this solution would not work for me. Vacuuming is done here 3 - 4 times or more a week out of necessity. I simply could not tolerate dusty conditions for personal and health reasons. The thing is, we each have to customize our home environment to meet our needs. While your solution works for you, it certainly will not work for everyone!

[Dr. Rastis Fafoofnik]

It is so damn hard to keep dust out of a trailer these days!!!!

[Matt]

Get the electric boiler type. Within ten years it will be well known that the cool mist humidifiers (actually atomizers) contribute to bronchitis and pneumoniae.

[PaPaPeng]

Make me wonder if there is a equilibrium point somewhere. The air where I live is quite clean and the inside of the house is no dustier than the outside. If I vacuum more often it gets just as dusty as the outside air soon.

One more frugal habit. I do simple and minimal cooking. All food is contained in one pot. The moment it is boiled it is off the cooktop and ready to eat. No frying or long cooktimes. Therefore practically no cooking odors in the house or carpet. No oily film deposit.

[Lucy]

ack.. I missed the word cool in the op's post. lucy.. who still doesn't need reading glasses!

[Serendipity]

Vacuuming often here is a must. Our vacuum has a hepa filter so that really helps. The only time I notice extra dust is after we have had a houseful of company. Perhaps your vacuum is emitting dusty air back out into your indoor environment?

IMO, and this is just me, your method would get rather boring after awhile. I love cooking and home preserving. A lot of cooking goes on here including frying and longer cooktimes depending on the food. I generally steam rather than boil vegetables. We also use the outdoor barbeque year round and the indoor JenAir barbeque occasionally. I'm in the experimenting mood so have been using ingredients I normally wouldn't have used when our kids were young due to expense or special time extensive cooking methods as well as foods that require an adult palette. In other words, I'm experimenting on the gourmet side of cooking and so far loving it! So two frugal hints for those who do a lot of cooking or even cook more than you do. Minimize odours by using exhaust fans. An open bowl of vinegar will remove cooking odours. A solution of ammonia and water will take care of any cooking film. Both vinegar and ammonia are cheap and environmentally friendly. Again, your solution works for you but

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[Bob Ward]

Before you put away that crystal ball, let us know who's going to win the World Series and the Kentucky Derby for each of those ten years, will ya?