Watch out, Rastis, or you'll get googled and threatened with an incoherent
stream of insults for daring to say that Ms. Dipshit isn't the veritable
fount of All Useful Knowledge. ;-)
> As usual dipshit (serendipity) you dont know what your talking about.....
You're no better on the detail.
> To the original poster, "cold mist" humidifiers work with
> ultrasonic energy, it literally "cracks" the minerals in the water.
Fraid not, it just creates a mist of the water ultrasonically and that
sees minerals that are in the water end up in the air as well, where
they deposit on surrounding surfaces as the water evaporates.
> the use of distilled water ONLY will stop the white powder.
Demineralised water is fine too.
> "warm" type humidifiers WILL NOT produce the
> white powder at all. Distilled is still preferred as you
> will get calcium and lime buildup in either humidifiers.
Demineralised is fine too.
> Serendipshit is giving you BAD info, adding vinegar WILL NOT stop the dust,
Correct.
Jeeze, where do you shop? I bought a small room size vaporizer four or five
years ago for less than ten bucks.
If you use distilled water, you may need to add a pinch of salt to get it to
heat up.
lucy
If the heater for the water puts electricity thru the water to heat it up,
the distilled water wont conduct enough to heat up without the salt.
Not if it's a cool mist humidifier - that type uses ultrasonics to break the
water up into drops small enough to float in the air, no heating required.
Products similar to:
http://www.brita.co.uk/action/home/
The dust is the salt in the water. Nothing you add to the water will remove
thanks for all responses. with filtering, what would i use as a filter
Cool mist humidifiers (which is what the OP apparently has) don't need heat
up.
to make the air more moist we have been using a small humidifier, the type
that you put water in, and it puts a stream of cold mist into the air.
we have been using tap water in the humidifier and it seems to lay a white
dust on everthing nearby.
presumably that is the chalk in the tap water? (being in london u.k. the tap
water is quite hard [i.e. chalky].
is there a way to stop this dust. many thanks
Whoa. There are some errors here.
Your "white powder" is mostly lime (Calcium oxide or CaO) and lime
compounds like calcium carbonate.
A filter will not filter out dissolved lime unless an expensive
reverse osmosis filter is used. Depending on the type, the other
filters filter out suspended particles, use redox to convert some
contaminates into hydroxides, or in the case of carbon filters, absorb
volatiles that have more affinity to the carbon than the water.
Adding vinegar (CH3COOH) to water will not remove the lime. It will
reduce the hardness or "sweeten" it by making more calcium carbonate
(CaCO3) and adding acid, but when the water is all evaporated, the
white residue will still be there.
Adding salt to distilled water in a "cold" humidifier won't help. A
"cold" humidifier sprays the water, often in microscopicly small
droplets created by cavitation from an ultrasonic vibration, whereas a
"vaporizer" used to help people with colds uses electrodes immersed in
water to heat and boil the water. Adding salt there increases the
current flow and heating ability.
A "cold" humidifier can be a breeding ground for germs, which it then
sends into the air. The effect is worsened when the water is not
changed out regularly and the container cleaned. Because of the heat
and method of evaporation, vaporizers avoid this, but can suffer more
lime buildup.
The short answer is to use distilled water, reverse osmosis filtered
water, or rain water in a "cold" or ultrasonic humidifier.
As usual dipshit (serendipity) you dont know what your talking about.....
To the original poster, "cold mist" humidifiers work with ultrasonic energy,
it literally "cracks" the minerals in the water. the use of distilled water
ONLY will stop the white powder.
"warm" type humidifiers WILL NOT produce the white powder at all. Distilled
is still preferred as you will get calcium and lime buildup in either
humidifiers.
Serendipshit is giving you BAD info, adding vinegar WILL NOT stop the dust,
>
>we have been using tap water in the humidifier and it seems to lay a white
>dust on everthing nearby.
That's what comes from using an ultrasonic humidifier. Dissolved
minerals, in my water its mainly calcium and magnesium sulphate, is
carried in the fine mist. When that mist water evaporates the mineral
content is deposited around the humidifier.
My solution for humidifying the house is to have a lot of house
plants. If they thrive it means their respiration had kept the air in
the correct humidity. I had disconnected the power humidifier in my
forced air furnace because of lime buildup and because the water in
the water tray was often slimy. That slime is probably mold and had
caused respiratory problems.
It's called scale, and is caused by any and all minerals in the water.
This site http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/5046.html
has some useful ideas.
Yeh! I remember them now. Had one many years ago and it cost about $10.
Pretty sure you're referring to the boiler type -- gallon jug, two
electrodes and the resistance of the water heats it to generate steam. This
is the one that requires addition of salt if your water is too pure.
My reference to evaporative humidifiers was to the currently popular type
that draws air through wet filter pads. Guess the electric boilers are
still around but I overlooked them. --- SJF
I'm going by experience with the vinegar from few sources. I know it
works to prevent any white film on canning jars when processing them.
If you don't add vinegar, there is a white film on the jars. I've used
vinegar for removing water deposits in my dishwasher. Both these
applications work well but they envolve heat. When we had a table top
humidifier, I used vinegar in the water to prevent water deposits in the
humidifier. This reduced the white dust on the funiture from the
humidifier. I'm not sure why it worked, just that it did <shrug>
I just added a couple of tbsp vinegar to the water.
>
>
We just installed a power humidifier in our forced air furnace this
year. Is there a way to prevent this slime?
>I'm going by experience with the vinegar from few sources. I know it
>works to prevent any white film on canning jars when processing them.
>If you don't add vinegar, there is a white film on the jars. I've used
>vinegar for removing water deposits in my dishwasher. Both these
>applications work well but they envolve heat.
Yes. Vinegar does work well for stuff like this.
>When we had a table top
>humidifier, I used vinegar in the water to prevent water deposits in the
>humidifier. This reduced the white dust on the funiture from the
>humidifier. I'm not sure why it worked, just that it did <shrug>
It is possible that the vinegar formed large percipitate particles of
some of the calcium compounds that then sunk to the bottom of the tank
without attaching to it. A lot would depend on the exact chemistry
and contamination of the water.
> I had disconnected the power humidifier in my
>> forced air furnace because of lime buildup and because the water in
>> the water tray was often slimy. That slime is probably mold and had
>> caused respiratory problems.
>
>We just installed a power humidifier in our forced air furnace this
>year. Is there a way to prevent this slime?
Not likely as the furnace draws air from the whole house to
recirculate. The sponge pad and the water tray make an excellent
growth medium. The nutirents were probably from all the dander and
other stuff picked up from the air. The humidifier disperses several
gallons of water a day so there is no effective way of neutralizing
the water tray contents either by adding chemicals. Who wants to
breath chemical vapours anyway. I am handy enough to put in a
home-made UV light source but thought better of it. The house plants
idea is a lot more satisfying. Plants give of as much water as is
required by them to thrive. If they thrive I do. They make the whole
hose look a lot better too.
It would take a lot of houseplants to use several gallons a day. If you
want to maintain humidity, infiltration may be the first concern. The
second may be a wet-dry thermometer to monitor humidity objectively.
My sister had no way to measure humidity, but for years she ran an
ultrasonic humidifier all winter because she thought it helped her
breathing. I think she finally concluded that the moisture was doing
more harm than good by promoting the growth of allergens.
With no added humidity, my wintertime drop is seven degrees. That's
about 65%, and that's dandy. If I wanted more humidity I'd dry my
laundry on a rack indoors. If I wanted a lot more humidity I'd hang wet
towels on the rack and use a 12" fan. Those fans are quiet and run
hours for a penny.
Years ago I used a fan and towel to clean the air. I'd just put a pan
of beans on high heat to boil when a neighbor came to the door for help.
When I got back, the acrid smoke was too thick to see through. I
ventilated, then for a week hung a wet towel in front of a fan. I
rinsed the towel frequently. It picked up a lot of soot and odor.
So a wet towel can be used to add humidity and remove pollution.
Choreboy
>With no added humidity, my wintertime drop is seven degrees. That's
>about 65%, and that's dandy. If I wanted more humidity I'd dry my
>laundry on a rack indoors. If I wanted a lot more humidity I'd hang wet
>towels on the rack and use a 12" fan. Those fans are quiet and run
>hours for a penny.
I took a look at my weather station - that fancy three dial thingy I
have, more for decoration than utility. The relative humidity reads
42%, and the temp is 70 deg F. That's my confort zone and I have
lived in my house for 23 years. I live in Alberta which is
comfortably dry all year round such that sweat evaporates fast enough
to keep the body dry even when I exercise. Summer temperatures can go
up to 80 deg F and I don't have air conditioning. But that's very
bearable because of the low humidity.
I have enough house plants pots to occupy three office desks. They
are spread out of course. They have adapted well enough that I need
only water them once in five days or once a week. Most of the plants
have been around since I moved in.
The rest of the humidity comes from cooking, from baths and from
laundry although as a single occupant this contribution will be less
than that of a family's. In cool or warm weather I leave the windows
open to let air circulate. I do see pollen collecting on the window
screens and some must get through. But rarely are there any fluffy
airborne seeds getting into the house. The best part is that there is
no condensation on the window glass and I have lots of glass in my
house. There are no moldy spot either.
I hardly if ever catch the flu nowadays, or have respiratory problems
although I have to admit that my place is quite dusty as I hardly ever
vacuum the place. I don't mess up so things look neat normally. A
once a year whole house commercial carpet clean takes care of the
accumulated stuff.
Great solution and I'm glad it works for you. I cannot have most
houseplants because of mold in the soil. Yes, I have medical
documentation of this so it is not my opinion just so the trolls know.
The pollen collecting on the windows would be a huge concern for me
given my extensive allergies. Anyway, this solution would not work for
me. Vacuuming is done here 3 - 4 times or more a week out of necessity.
I simply could not tolerate dusty conditions for personal and health
reasons. The thing is, we each have to customize our home environment
to meet our needs. While your solution works for you, it certainly will
not work for everyone!
It is so damn hard to keep dust out of a trailer these days!!!!
> My reference to evaporative humidifiers was to the currently popular type
> that draws air through wet filter pads. Guess the electric boilers are
> still around but I overlooked them. --- SJF
Get the electric boiler type. Within ten years it will be well known
that the cool mist humidifiers (actually atomizers) contribute to
bronchitis and pneumoniae.
>> Vacuuming is done here 3 - 4 times or more a week out of necessity.
>> I simply could not tolerate dusty conditions for personal and health
>> reasons. The thing is, we each have to customize our home environment
>> to meet our needs. While your solution works for you, it certainly will
>> not work for everyone!
>
>It is so damn hard to keep dust out of a trailer these days!!!!
>
>
Make me wonder if there is a equilibrium point somewhere. The air
where I live is quite clean and the inside of the house is no dustier
than the outside. If I vacuum more often it gets just as dusty as the
outside air soon.
One more frugal habit. I do simple and minimal cooking. All food is
contained in one pot. The moment it is boiled it is off the cooktop
and ready to eat. No frying or long cooktimes. Therefore practically
no cooking odors in the house or carpet. No oily film deposit.
> Make me wonder if there is a equilibrium point somewhere. The air
> where I live is quite clean and the inside of the house is no dustier
> than the outside. If I vacuum more often it gets just as dusty as the
> outside air soon.
Vacuuming often here is a must. Our vacuum has a hepa filter so that
really helps. The only time I notice extra dust is after we have had a
houseful of company. Perhaps your vacuum is emitting dusty air back out
into your indoor environment?
>
> One more frugal habit. I do simple and minimal cooking. All food is
> contained in one pot. The moment it is boiled it is off the cooktop
> and ready to eat. No frying or long cooktimes. Therefore practically
> no cooking odors in the house or carpet. No oily film deposit.
IMO, and this is just me, your method would get rather boring after
awhile. I love cooking and home preserving. A lot of cooking goes on
here including frying and longer cooktimes depending on the food. I
generally steam rather than boil vegetables. We also use the outdoor
barbeque year round and the indoor JenAir barbeque occasionally. I'm in
the experimenting mood so have been using ingredients I normally
wouldn't have used when our kids were young due to expense or special
time extensive cooking methods as well as foods that require an adult
palette. In other words, I'm experimenting on the gourmet side of
cooking and so far loving it! So two frugal hints for those who do a
lot of cooking or even cook more than you do. Minimize odours by using
exhaust fans. An open bowl of vinegar will remove cooking odours. A
solution of ammonia and water will take care of any cooking film. Both
vinegar and ammonia are cheap and environmentally friendly. Again, your
solution works for you but
>
Before you put away that crystal ball, let us know who's going to win
the World Series and the Kentucky Derby for each of those ten years,
will ya?
AMMONIA is FRIENDLY????? are you fucking crazy? Once again you speak out
your ass you fat trailer-trash hog.
Ammonia IS TOXIC. Ammonia should NEVER be mixed with anything other than
water.
Your open bowl of vinegar.....jeez...you and god damn vinegar...it's your
answer to ALL of life's problems.......
There are a TON (like you) of solvents that will remove oily films, some of
them citrus based that are a hell of a lot more "Friendly"
than ammonia! Wake the fuck up....this is year 2005.
For your info sweathog, ammonia USED to be used in refrigeration equipment
for years. This was the case in GAS powered units.
They stopped using it because it sickened/killed consumers and service
people. Ammonia is also flammable, decomposes into other gasses
with heat (again dangerous)
Keep dolling out your trailer-park wisdom, your a complete joke...
here is just one link to the real facts (for any of you that believe her
garbage)
http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/ammonia/ammonia.html
Once again Serendipshit you're an uneducated loser, blowhard and trailer
trash.....now go GOOGLE that.
> >
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/ammoniarefrigeration/
More info about this wholesome and good oily film remover.
HEY SERENDIPSHIT!!! make sure you clean your oven with this stuff, and with
the pilot light on please.
>
>> Once again Serendipshit you're an uneducated loser, blowhard and trailer
>> trash.....now go GOOGLE that.
>>
>Here is a link to another site concerning the **FRIENDLY** ammonia and
>serendipshit's trailerpark advise,
>
> http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/ammoniarefrigeration/
Don't bother replying - the osha rules apply to anhydrous ammonia used
in refrigeration, not household ammonia, which is massively diluted in
water. Since the Rastis is on an ad hom personal attack streak, back
it goes into the KF.
Cool mist humidifiers have been around for over 25 years at the least - at
any rate, it's more than 25 years ago when I saw my first one. If it's not
known by now, chances are it never will be.
isn't rastis living proof of the dangers of sniffing ammonian
excessively?
>isn't rastis living proof of the dangers of sniffing ammonian
>excessively?
Isn't that what happened to those dainty Victorian lady types? They
would faint at the slightest provocation. Every polite lady then
had a small bottle of ammonia in her purse to stick under the
faintee's nose to bring her back to her senses. I remember coming
across such a botttle when I was a kid and taking a sniff. All it did
was make pretty ugly faces. Rastis probably too one too many whiffs,
Come on, if I told everybody that I wouldn't be able to make any money
betting on those events. :-)
Please let me assign to you this homework problem: How long have
partially-hydrogenated oils and artificial trans fats been around?