We live in a rented townhouse. During the winter when the heat is used, the place really gets dry. So much so that it dries out the sinus and causes discomfort. Is there any easy practical way to humidify this place?
Sure. Caulk it. Andersen says an average family of 4 evaporate 2 gallons of water per day, ie 0.0116 pounds per minute... 70 F air weighs about
0.075 lb/ft^3, so you can raise the RH from wo = 0.0025 pounds of water per pound of dry air outdoors to wi = 0.0047 indoors (70 F at 30% RH) by reducing the air leaks until 0.075C(wi-wo) = 0.0116 pounds of water per minute, ie C = 70 cfm. This will also reduce your heating bill.Nick
They asked for "easy" and they don't own the place. The "easy" way is to just sit a pot of water on the stove, simmer it, and let it steam. You can add spices to create a nice fresh scent while you're humidifying. Try slicing half an apple in the water, they're a frugal buy this time of year and a refreshing scent.
mama
Its not actually that easy, particulary the risk of boiling it dry.
Makes more sense to buy a humidifier instead.
Lower power and automatic cut off. You can still add an aroma oil. I use one in my house and it makes it almost a garden experience.
Dont use your clothes dryer, hang them in the house to dry, it is cheap as it gets.
(read from news:sci.engr.heat-vent-ac
- note header trimm>>>
And then they would be harboring mold and condensation, no?
Rather than artificially adding humidity, why not get a good balance?
Of course, if you've got those goddamn casement windows in your place, like I do, then I inderstand. Especially if it's a rental. Caulking and weatherstripping is futile in these rat traps. In this case, just keep treating the carpet with cupric sulfate, the baseboards with captan, and the windows with malathion. Use chlorine products sparingly, where needed, to immediately kill and bleach the most aggressive mold.
I live in one of those cheap rentals, and it is terrible.
The best solution is to move out, but real estate being the way it is, and such... I wish I had better credit!
IHTH, mama.
Or, stop dehimidifying it. Put film over the window frames, or install double glazing. In the winter, most indoor indoor moisture is lost due to condensation, not infiltration.
What do you think, Nick?
Anybody with the slightest bit of knowledge on the subject, or even a healthy measure of common sense is waiting for your proof on that last statement. It is not only wrong, but ridiculous. Yet you state it authoritatively, as if it were a proven fact.
Gary R. Lloyd CMS HVACR Troubleshooting Books/Software
Bullshit.
Also, your clothes dryer exhausts indoor air which, one way or another, will be replaced by cold dry outdoor air.
Gary R. Lloyd CMS HVACR Troubleshooting Books/Software
We might get used to that, ie adapt. Arizonans do. We might grow more nose hair or wear mufflers or those foggy alien harmonica holders :-)
It seems unlikely and undesirable and avoidable, esp in this country. Canada's IDEAS (post R2000) air infiltration standard specs 0.15 m^3/h per m^2 of envelope, tested at 50 Pa, which translates into a natural air leakage of about 2.5 cfm, or 0.008 ACH for a 2400 ft^2 1-story house,
125X less than a typical 1 ACH US house.Nick
Is that enough fresh air to sustain life? Would the oxygen deprivation cause us to be come socialists? Enquiring minds want to know.
Gary R. Lloyd CMS HVACR Troubleshooting Books/Software
Almost. Early UK coal miners fell asleep with less than 5 cfm each.
Current ASHRAE humans require 15 cfm.
Nick
Sure, bubble wrap the whole thing, better get the air scrubbers out and O2 generators running first.
gerry
I suggest we ignore the so-called no-it-all and if it makes one more comfortable in ones home with the proper amount of humidification, and makes one feel better physically, plus the other benefits it provides, go ahead and do it! If Einstein does not believe in it that's his problem.
Nick tends to ignore the fact that the same standards also require air-to-air heat excahngers (forced ventiliation, not random leakage).
On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 20:59:50 -0800 "~^Johnny^~" used 51 lines of text to write in newsgroup: alt.home.repair
LOL! I guess you disagree... ;)
Well, I have lived in northern Canada for most of my life, and back in my childhood days, we simply put a container of water (re coffee can) on the heater, and when we got central heat (humidifiers were not normally installed), placed the can on the vent in the kitchen (most used room), and if it was to dry in bedrooms did the same thing with those vents.
No chance of a fire, burnt pot etc. all you had to do was refill the can.
As an adult working in the high arctic we did the same thing in the bunk house. If you didn't, you woke up in the morning with split lips and a mouth that tasted like the cat s**t in it....
If you want to spend a fortune sealing up your house, it will save you in heating costs, but to be healthy your going to need an air to air exchanger anyway, and your house will still dry out if you have serious cold weather... Which is why even an energy efficient home will usually have a humidification system of some kind...
If you live in a humid climate with out sub freezing temps, an energy efficient house will require a dehumidifier...
Dave
snipped-for-privacy@ece.villanova.edu wrote:
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.