Andrew Chaplin wrote:
John B. wrote in
:

On Sat, 04 Feb 2017 23:49:30 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:


To avoid the noise, microbial growth, limed-up belts, and so forth of
a mechanical humidifier, we keep a pot of hot water on the stove.
Aside from buying a new enamel pot every two or three years, it's also
free: in humidifier season, every bit of gas we burn on the stove is
gas we don't need to burn in the furnace.

I just figured out that if I drop a cake rack into the humidifier and
set my bottle of water on the rack, it will be nicely warmed by the
time I finish dressing. This postpones freezing for quite a while --
and makes me more inclined to drink enough water.


I would ask if a humidifier is actually necessary?

I ask as I was born and grew up in a small village in up-state New
Hampshire and we certainly never had a humidifier, nor did anyone else
I knew.

I grew up in and returned to Eastern Ontario, which is slightly colder and
drier than NH.

Humidifiers are a good idea if you are vulnerable to some respiratory
problems. They also help the piano to stay in tune and to keep the antique
furniture together. As a kid, we had the tank, wick and fan humidifier
that was your best option if you had radiators. It put a half gallon or so
each day into the house, and yet the humidity never got above 45%. Since I
lived on the third storey and as far from the humidifier as one could get,
it was not uncommon to wake up with a crusty nose.

Now, with a forced air HVAC system, our humidifier is built into it. I
have no idea how much water it goes through.

Same here in Montréal. It's not exactly dry here but with a forced air
HVAC system the house was extremely dry before we changed furnaces and the
new one had a built in humidifier.

--
duane