Looking for a good humidifier...

jefferski

Fractal Fanatic
I'm looking for a small, hopefully not expensive unit that I can put w/ my guitars in a closet, that *doesn't leave white powder residue on everything* ... the one I have has a hygrometer so I can stay around 40% (I'm sure it's not that accurate, but better than desert or winter air ;-). But everything gets covered in powder! It looks good on one of my Strats, gives it a vintage look... lol.

Any good ideas?
 
Is the residue from your water? Probably - use filtered/distilled water for best results (or a humidifier with a filter?)
 
I have been down this path. Not cheap but you will thank me later. :)

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Here's a write up I did of my journey.

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/my-humidifier-journey.121301/

PS. It's been 2 years now and still working like a charm. Also, using water from the RO system has made it so I haven't had to wipe it down and add water treatment even close to the rate they suggest. I am still not halfway through the first $12 bottle.
 
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Yea, using RO might be the best solution... don't have it in my current house (which I'm moving from next week) and didn't want to use up our bottled drinking water. Hopefully the new house has it, I don't remember. The Vornado may be worth a try. I guess the white powder is basically the same as the calcium buildup you get on the shower door after a while.
 
The white powder is basically the minerals in the tap water. Distilled or RO water will reduce it but not entirely. That mist can be nasty for your guitars. Good luck with your move and humidity issues.
 
The white powder is basically the minerals in the tap water. Distilled or RO water will reduce it but not entirely. That mist can be nasty for your guitars. Good luck with your move and humidity issues.
This. The problem isn’t the white powder. It’s the fact that each bit of white powder is a place where a tiny water droplet landed. Water on guitars is bad news. :)

You want an evaporative humidifier, not an ultrasonic (mist) or steam humidifier. Ultrasonic and steam spit out water. Evaporation puts out water vapor.

Either way, keep an eye on that closet. If your humidifier puts out too much humidity, you could be in for an unpleasant surprise. Get one that cycles on and off depending on the humidity.
 
Either way, keep an eye on that closet. If your humidifier puts out too much humidity, you could be in for an unpleasant surprise. Get one that cycles on and off depending on the humidity.

I found that the built in hygrometers in humidifiers are anything but accurate. The few I tried over the years were off by as much as 25%. That's why I went with the humidity controller to turn the humidifier on/off. It's very accurate.
 
I found that the built in hygrometers in humidifiers are anything but accurate. The few I tried over the years were off by as much as 25%. That's why I went with the humidity controller to turn the humidifier on/off. It's very accurate.
True. It costs good money to get an accurate hygrometer. But... what’s “the humidity controller?”
 
The white powder is basically the minerals in the tap water. Distilled or RO water will reduce it but not entirely. That mist can be nasty for your guitars. Good luck with your move and humidity issues.
After doing a bit more research, totally agree about using pure water. Fortunately, no damage to the guitars other than having to wipe them off...

I always kept mine at the lowest setting (40%). I figure that even if it's not very accurate, it'll be better than dry mountain/desert air. And whenever I open the closet, I can barely tell the humidity by feel - so I know I'm not damaging anything. I also didn't want to start peeling paint or warping the wood in there, not to mention my guitars.

It looks like the Evap2 might be the best for my needs since I just have a small walk-in closet in my new studio but will look into options once I get settled. Moving is so much fun ;-)

Thanks guys!
 
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