I have a house about 6 years old with central heat and air. The heat
is propane. The unit is in the crawl space.

I have seen those humidifers that add humidity to the house in winter.
I live in Kentucky. (Almost in Tennessee). Do these things work well?
I have heard they let you run your thermostat a little lower. I also
read they can use 18 gallons of water a day which would add to the
water bill.

My main concern is I have a newborn and supposedly keeping a high
humidity level in your house makes it less likely for people to get
sick and decreases respiratory problems along with keeping you skin
from drying out.

Is it bad to have too much humidity inside? Do they make a
humidifer/dehumidifer for the whole house? What this be beneficial?
ANy advice is greatly appreciated!

Don wrote:
I have a house about 6 years old with central heat and air. The heat
is propane. The unit is in the crawl space.

I have seen those humidifers that add humidity to the house in winter.
I live in Kentucky. (Almost in Tennessee). Do these things work well?
I have heard they let you run your thermostat a little lower. I also
read they can use 18 gallons of water a day which would add to the
water bill.

My main concern is I have a newborn and supposedly keeping a high
humidity level in your house makes it less likely for people to get
sick and decreases respiratory problems along with keeping you skin
from drying out.

Is it bad to have too much humidity inside? Do they make a
humidifer/dehumidifer for the whole house? What this be beneficial?
ANy advice is greatly appreciated!

There are two general types. The room humidifiers, sometimes sold as
whole house that are located in one room and the real whole house units that
attached to he central heating system.

The first type is not going to handle a whole house, unless it is a very
small home. It will do well in a single room.

The second is a lot easier and more efficient. They come in a number of
types some use a fair amount of water and others not nearly as much. I have
an AprilAir brand and it has worked well for me and does not use larger
amounts of water, certainly not enough to notice on the water bill.

Check with your doctor and remember that babies have been living and
thriving without any such gadgets for many generations. Don't let the sales
pitch and fear pitch force you into spending money on something you may not
need when the money may be better spend for something else like you new
offspring's college fund.

Yes, I do have one and I do like it. I like the fact that I don't have
the static electric issues with my cats anymore and I would say it is more
comfortable, but I could live without.

BTW the humidifier and de-humidifier are two totally different things.


--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

A 6 yrs old house may be a tight house and not need one. Wait to see
your humidity level. I put one in then redid the house now I need a
fresh air ventilator, My new April air has not been used for the last 2
winters and I go to - 16 f

(Don) wrote in message om...
I have a house about 6 years old with central heat and air. The heat
is propane. The unit is in the crawl space.

I have seen those humidifers that add humidity to the house in winter.
I live in Kentucky. (Almost in Tennessee). Do these things work well?
I have heard they let you run your thermostat a little lower. I also
read they can use 18 gallons of water a day which would add to the
water bill.

My main concern is I have a newborn and supposedly keeping a high
humidity level in your house makes it less likely for people to get
sick and decreases respiratory problems along with keeping you skin
from drying out.

Is it bad to have too much humidity inside? Do they make a
humidifer/dehumidifer for the whole house? What this be beneficial?
ANy advice is greatly appreciated!

There are whole house humidifiers that you can easily add to a forced
air system. I highly recommend the Aprilaire self powered unit, which
is what I have. It installs easy, is easy to maintain, only needing
to be cleaned once a season. It uses a cartridge type element that
water trickles through. When it shuts off, no water is left, like in
the older rotating media ones, where bacteria can grow. It also has a
temp sensor that goes outside the house, so it will adjust the
humidity to the outside temp, basicly decreasing it as it gets colder
outside.

You definitely don't want it set too high, as that will cause sweating
at cold spots, like windows, ceiling recessed lights, etc., which can
lead to moisture damage. Set properly, they do make it more
comfortable, prevent drying out of furniture and allow a setting of
maybe a couple degrees lower on the thermostat.

Don wrote:

I have seen those humidifers that add humidity to the house in winter.
I live in Kentucky. (Almost in Tennessee). Do these things work well?
I have heard they let you run your thermostat a little lower.

True, but they are a net heat loss unless you live in a very airtight house.

I also read they can use 18 gallons of water a day which would add to the
water bill.

And the heating bill. Evaporating 18 gallons of water takes about
8.33x18x1000 = 150K Btu of heat, maybe $3 per day, with propane.

My main concern is I have a newborn and supposedly keeping a high
humidity level in your house makes it less likely for people to get
sick and decreases respiratory problems along with keeping you skin
from drying out.

....40% RH is nice for health.

Is it bad to have too much humidity inside?

....60% may be too much. Mold, mildew, condensation on windows...

Do they make a humidifer/dehumidifer for the whole house?
What this be beneficial?

Yes and no. Plants and people and their activities naturally evaporate
water. Caulking a house to raise humidity seems like a much better way.

Nick