🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <163@heurikon.UUCP> lampman@heurikon.UUCP (Ray Lampman) writes:
>Help! I have an ultrasonic humidifier. I put cold tap water into the
>humidifier, and it covers the house with a grey/white dust. The dust
>seems to have an affinity for electro-statically charged surfaces,
>like my TV screen, but manages to settle on everything else anyway.
>
>I've thought of purchasing distilled water by the gallon, but the humidifier
>uses two gallons of water per day. And that would be too expensive. I've
>experimented with adding vinegar to the water (vinegar will dissolve hard-water
>deposits), but the dust still settles as before. I don't like dusting. Help!
>
>PS> Is there a better choice of newsgroups? If so, let me know. Thanks.
>
>                                        - Ray Lampman (lampman@heurikon.UUCP)
The problem you are having is caused by dissolved solids which are left behind
when the water evaporates.  I have the same problem with my humidifier which
produces a mist in the return duct to my heat pump.  My electronic precipitator
follows the humidifier and takes out the dust, but it must be cleaned and 
rinsed weekly in the winter.

Simple water softening will not help as this is just a replacement of the
calcium and magnesium ions with sodium ions.  The dissolved salts are still
present, only now the more soluble ions do not cause problems with your laundry
etc.  Distilled water is one answer, of course; deionized water is probably a
better answer but still expensive.  Another type of humidifier design where the
water evaporates from a surface leaving the deposits behind is a better idea.
These require periodic cleaning as the salts stay behind in the humidifier.

The ultrafine dust left behind after the water evaporates from the very small
droplets produced by an ultrasonic humidifier can create many problems.  It is
often fine enough to pass through many mechanical filters and can damage things
such as disk drives.  The dust is somewhat conductive which can cause many 
other problems with electronic equipment too.  This is another reason for 
having to clean the precipitator often.  Basically, there is no easy answer.

Just think, you drink this water!  And folks wonder why East Tennessee 
residents have twice the national average for kidney stones --- and yet they
still take calcium supplements and look for foods fortified with calcium.
                                               Barry
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|  ___  ________  |
| |  / /        | |  Dr. Barry L. Ornitz   UUCP:...!rochester!kodak!ornitz
| | / /         | |  Eastman Kodak Company
| |< < K O D A K| |  Eastman Chemicals Division Research Laboratories
| | \ \         | |  P. O. Box 1972
| |__\ \________| |  Kingsport, TN  37662       615/229-4904
|                 |
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