What Is the Proper Maintenance Procedure for Whole-Home & Portable Humidifiers?

It seems that various solutions for indoor air humidification are becoming more and more widespread in America. It’s easiest to notice this rising trend when taking a look at what your customers have been purchasing lately. We’re certain humidifiers are probably high on the list, as they should be. Indoor air should be a balance between humidity and dryness, and it should not tip into either of the extremes.

Humidifiers from reputable HVAC equipment distributors such as Gustave A. Larson help with making the air more humid if the home environment is overly dry. However, in order to perform adequately, they need to be maintained and serviced on a regular basis. There are some procedures that your customers can do on their own, and there are some maintenance and servicing tasks that only professional HVAC contractors should perform. Let’s take a look at what they are.

How Should I Maintain My Customer’s Whole-Home Humidifiers?

In order to ensure that your customer’s whole-home humidifiers are operating at peak condition, it’s essential to perform regular maintenance of their whole-home humidification system. Depending on the type of humidifier, different tasks are necessary.

Changing the Water Panel

There are whole-home humidifiers that use water panels in order to generate humidity to distribute around the home. Water panels are not permanent components, and they should be replaced regularly, as they can get clogged with debris and minerals.

This is especially true if your customer’s home has hard water, when necessary to replace the water panel more frequently. This is a task best performed in the fall, before the humidifying season. Here’s how to approach it:

• Turn the power to the furnace off.
• Locate the humidifier cover on the outside of it.
• Open or remove the panel.
• Slide the enclosure that holds the water panel.
• Remove the old water panel.
• Insert the new water panel.
• Repeat the processes from the beginning in reverse order.
• Power the furnace up and check if the humidifier is operating properly.

Additional Maintenance Tasks

However, replacing the water panel on your customer’s humidifier is not the only maintenance task you should perform. There are other actions you should take to make sure adequate humidifier functioning:

• Checking humidistat.
• Checking for standing water and leaks around the humidifier.
• Leveling the humidifier for easier operation.
• Cleaning any buildup of minerals from the solenoid and orifice, as well as some other components.
• Cleaning the reservoir to get rid of mineral deposits and bacteria.

How Should I Maintain My Customer’s Portable Humidifiers?

While portable humidifiers require easier maintenance, they also require the maintenance procedures to be more frequent to ensure proper functioning. While your customers are able to perform most of the maintenance tasks on portable humidifiers on their own, you should still provide them with the necessary instructions and advise them to contact you if they’re struggling to take care of everything on the list.

• Replacing or cleaning the wick.
• Cleaning the humidifier per manufacturer’s instructions. These are the necessary steps for cleaning a portable humidifier:
  • Unplugging the unit.
  • Removing the filter from the humidifier and rinsing it with water without using any cleaning solutions.
  • Removing the water tank to fill it with white vinegar and allowing it to sit for half an hour.
  • Scrubbing the tank with a soft brush to remove any buildup.
  • Using bleach to disinfect the humidifier base. Your customers should allow bleach to sit for half an hour at least before draining it and wiping it down.
  • Refilling the humidifier with water before turning it on.
  • Doing the same procedure at the end of the season before storing the humidifier.