Humidifier "Mineral Dust"

[Ictinike]

Hey all.. Over the past few months I've employed an Ultrasonic Humidifier that works very well to keep the RH up in my T area as well the general room they are in however I've come to notice a thin "white dust" that collects on the furniture and enclosures.

Googling I found that these types of humidifiers, using standard water, do put out what they call "mineral dust" which of course is the particulate that is airborne during the ultrasonic process.

My question is has anyone used these types and avoided this plauge?

I've read using pure water or distilled will help this as there are less minerals to release airborne but the constant use of distilled can and will get costly since I would most likely use a gallon every 6-8 hours running on full power.

I'm wondering about add-in cartridges such as the active charcoal you find in fish tank filters and the such. Do you feel a mesh bag with some active charcoal would help or maybe just resort to not using it or buying water with less mineral content /sigh

I'm using plain city tap water with a de-chlorinate additive but this seems to have not done much so I'm looking for alternatives. Maybe the bulk water you can buy at say Wal-mart?

Any suggestions would be great!

Cheers!

[Xian]

Here's what I could find on the dust, hope it helps.



White dust is a byproduct of minerals found naturally in water, which can sometimes be released into the air during the humidification process. White dust is not harmful, and may settle on surfaces and furniture near the humidifier. It is easily cleaned just as you would normally dust. Warm moisture (steam vaporizers) and evaporative cool moisture humidifiers do not release any white dust into the air. The only types of humidifiers that can potentially release white dust are ultrasonic humidifiers and cool mist impeller humidifiers. Many ultrasonic humidifiers come with a demineralization cartridge specifically designed to trap minerals before they can become airborne, thus reducing or eliminating white dust. The amount of white dust you may experience will vary depending on the mineral content of your water supply. If white dust is a concern, you can use distilled water in your humidifier instead of regular tap water. Distilled water has very low mineral content and will not produce white dust. For other types of humidifiers, using distilled water will also reduce the amount of time you will need to clean your humidifier, and will help prolong filter life.

[Ictinike]

Thanks Xian..

Yea pretty much what I've read the past few days though that specific entry mentions the use of cartridges that help absorb some of the mineral content before it's released as mist so maybe my idea would work.

I guess it's cheap enough to buy some pantyhose and some activated aquarium charcoal to test the theory..

Mine's large enough (3" filling hole) that I could try this as an alternative to using other water.. Maybe a filling pot with the activated charcoal in it for the day prior to using it would be easier.

Of course, thanks for the info and anyone else who has info would be great too!

Thanks!

[Nerri1029]

Activated Charcoal is primarily for organic compounds.
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/activatecharcoal

The mineral dust is caused by metallic ions and salts in your water.

I am considering an R.O. unit for:
(reverse osmosis)
- drinking water
- cooking water
- water for my T's
- humidifier water
- etc.

I does use a fair amount of water to make each gallon of R.O. Water but when used for the purposes listed the total volume used isn't that high.

[james.m]

That dust can be a pain. I have a local aquarium shop that sells 5 gals worth of RO water for 3 bucks. I usually stock up every two month with four of them and I am set. I dont have any dust issues with my humidifier. I would check that option out also.

[Ictinike]

Ahh Nerry yep the Activated Carbon isn't what I was thinking..

Well it was, just not right for this application..

I just returned from Wally World and got one of their 3 gallon refillable RO jugs.. 12 bux for the tap'ed jug and filled and only 1$ to refill.

I'll give this a shot and if works well for T's and family maybe I'll look into a perm RO setup for the entire house.

Many thanks to all and going to stick far from regular old city tap for the humidifiers for awhile. This dust is just unsightly and a pain.

Cheers,

[Nerri1029]

I get distilled from work

so been putting off the R.O for a while now.

[BrynWilliams]

I don't know what the RO machines cost, but here's a home distiller that may be more economical?

http://www.smartstill.com/

I haven't ever used one of these so don't know what they're like, just remembered them being mentioned