Does a house humidifier make a difference in comfort level?

[Anonymous]

We bought a home that has a house dehumidifier system that is attached to the furnace. It costs $700 to replace it but I am just wondering if it's worth it to even get it fixed. My sister tells me hers is useless and she ended up having to put a humidifier in each bedroom in the winter anyway. If you have a house humidifier system, did you find that it increased the comfort level of your house environment in the winter (i.e. less cracked skins, less electric shock, less nose bleeds)?

[Anonymous]

Yes, we love ours. It makes a huge difference to us

[Anonymous]

We had a humidifier installed when we replaced our furnace, and it absolutely makes a big difference. I grew up in a house with a portable humidifier unit and all I remember is the smell of that awful thing and the nightmare it was to clean. Our whole-house humidifier keeps us all from itching and the static electricity shocks all winter! It also dehumidifies during the summer months, so we are comfortable all year round. We would never do without one.

[Anonymous]

Most people's system is useless because they don't work. They need regular maintenance like changing the filter just like your furnace and most people don't do that, so the humidifier breaks. When they are operating properly, they're a huge benefit.

[Anonymous]

Make sure your walls have insulation. I had a whole house humidifier installed but could not use it because the walls would be covered with water because of the lack of insulation. (Brick house, only 3/4 inch between wallboard and brick, so not even eligible for blown in insulation),

[Anonymous]

Makes a huge difference in our house.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for huge improvement. Also agree with previous posted that you must maintain them because they can have issues. Talk to the person who installs it about maintenance.

[Anonymous]

It makes a huge difference, but needs to be installed and maintained properly. We replaced an older model with a powered (small motor) model, and it humidifies our 2,500 SF home very well.

[Anonymous]

We have a whole house humidifier and it has made our home much more comfortable. $700 sounds high. We have an Aprilaire model with digital control and I think it was less than $200.

[Anonymous]

What about split systems with gas furnace down stairs and heat pump upstairs.

[Anonymous]

700 is right If it includes installation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about split systems with gas furnace down stairs and heat pump upstairs.

We have this also, and have a humidifier on each. Both are Aprilaire, though slightly different models for each because the systems are different. We paid $700-ish for each, including installation.

Very important to change the filter ever fall before you activate the humidifier each year. We just added humidifier annual maintenance to our existing HVAC contract. It was worth it -- the last visit, and the guy diagnosed a problem with the valve providing water to the humidifier, which meant it wasn't actually working properly. That's something I wouldn't have noticed on my own.

[Anonymous]

I hated ours as it was hard to get replacement filters which got very moldy. Ours came with the house and I removed it. The humidity/water also rotted out a section of our duct work that had to be replaced. We got individual humidifiers for each bedroom.

[Anonymous]

I've heard they promote mold in your duct work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've heard they promote mold in your duct work.

I was wondering about this too.

DH is wanting to replace our old house humidifier for the above mentioned reasons, but also because the hardwood flooring (which is brand new) would preserve better. DH claims that the old hardwood upstairs wouldn't creak as much too. Not sure if this is true but something to look into if applicable.