Walt recommends a whole-house humidifier. Are the small free-standing models just as good for someone like myself who lives in an apartment? What about the possibility of doing more harm than good? Can't humidifiers throw crud into the air that can irritate the respiratory tract? Should I use distilled water?
Follow Ups:
Re: What kind of humidifier should apartment dwellers use?
Posted by Walt Stoll on November 26, 1998 at 08:50:07:
In Reply to: What kind of humidifier should apartment dwellers use? posted by Mike Kramer on November 25, 1998 at 07:59:35:
Dear Mike,
There is no perfect answer. SO, I will just tell you what I always used in that situation when I lived in the north. I have had no use for one since moving to Florida.
I used tap water in a cold mist vaporizor in each room. I would set the unit in each room to keep the humidity at about 40-50%. Rinse with dilute Chlorox once a day. A good Hankscraft costs about $15 so one can do several rooms for not much money. One will last (with proper care) for several years. Just remember, in the dead of winter, a 5 room house would use about 20 gallons of water every 24 hours to keep the humidity at this level.
Hope this helps. Walt
Follow Ups:
Thanks!
Posted by Mike Kramer on November 27, 1998 at 15:01:54:
In Reply to: Re: What kind of humidifier should apartment dwellers use? posted by Walt Stoll on November 26, 1998 at 08:50:07:
Walt:
Thanks again for all your help. I'll start by putting a humidifier in my two-year-old-son's room. He's been healthy so far this winter and I want to keep him that way.
This board is a true model of cooperative knowledge-sharing.
Mike
Re: What kind of humidifier should apartment dwellers use?
Posted by Bill on November 27, 1998 at 19:50:58:
In Reply to: Re: What kind of humidifier should apartment dwellers use? posted by Walt Stoll on November 26, 1998 at 08:50:07:
regarding rinsing the vaporizer with dilute clorox...
How dilute is sufficient? I was thinking of maybe a quarter cup bleach to a gallon of water. Also, I normally go a week or two before I even wipe mine out - sounds like that is not such a good idea...
Bill
Follow Ups:
Re: Cleaning Cold Mist Humidifiers
Posted by Walt Stoll on November 28, 1998 at 18:26:39:
In Reply to: Re: What kind of humidifier should apartment dwellers use? posted by Bill on November 27, 1998 at 19:50:58:
Dear Bill et all.
I think a fourth cup /gallon is plenty.
However, I have a confession to make:
I did this to MY humidifiers about once a month. I only recommended what I did to help those worried about fungi. etc., in their units. I, personally have never had problems with this although I have had some patients who have.
Walt
Follow Ups:
Re: Cleaning Cold Mist Humidifiers
Posted by Robert McFerran on November 28, 1998 at 23:39:21:
In Reply to: Re: Cleaning Cold Mist Humidifiers posted by Walt Stoll on November 28, 1998 at 18:26:39:
Bill,
I have also seen where a few drops of grapefruit seed extract has been recommended. It can be placed in the water each time you refill the water tank to act as a disinfectant.
I have no idea if it works or if it does any damage to your humidifier. I have a warm water humidifier and will give it a try this winter. I would not use this with the cool water humidifiers since it seems impurities can shorten the life of the device that vaporizes the water.
I do know from a chemical standpoint that the active ingredient in grapefruit seed extract is a naturally occurring 'quaternary compound'. In the lab we used to call these things 'quats'. They were very effective preservatives as VERY low levels.
If you look at the saline solutions used by contact lens wearers that comes in the plastic bottle you will see that they are preserved with a similar 'quat'.
Bob