During the long, cold winters in Minnesota, your whole-house humidifier needs more attention and maintenance than any other time of the year. This is because the humidifier is continuously running, right alongside your heating system. Whole-house humidifiers are responsible for keeping moisture in your indoor air, since heated air can become uncomfortably dry during the winter.
Call a trusted expert to conduct the necessary maintenance so that your humidifier keeps working well until the end of the heating season. A professional will:
- Change your water panel evaporator, where water flows through and evaporates into the air supply ducts. The panel can get clogged with scale and mineral deposits. This can restrict airflow, resulting in a humidifier that is not running efficiently.
- Ensure that the unit’s distribution tray is level. If it’s uneven, the water panel evaporator won’t be completely saturated and less moisture will be transferred to your indoor air.
- Clean the unit as necessary, especially the orifice. Water travels from a water pipe, through a saddle valve then it’s directed by a solenoid valve and regulated by the orifice, a metering device that controls the amount of water in the feed tube to the water distribution tray. So, if the orifice is clogged with scale, it won’t be able to efficiently regulate the water flow in the humidifier.
- Do any other necessary maintenance tasks. If your humidifier hasn’t been maintained in a long while, the technician will perform a thorough inspection and clean out any parts that need it and replace parts that are too worn to work properly.
Maintenance is one of the best things that you can do to ensure that your indoor air continues to be comfortable and not too dry during the winter. A properly maintained whole-house humidifier is less likely to break or leak, causing discomfort and damage.
For more trusted advice about whole-house humidifiers and other issues related to home comfort, please contact us at Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning. We’ve been proudly serving homeowners in the Twin Cities metro area since 1974.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about whole-house humidifiers and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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