Since we posted our article last month about ‘Winter Cold Causing Problems with Your Hardwoods’, we’ve had a handful of people ask us about different humidifier options for their home.
As we explained, along with the cold winter weather comes dry air. To stay toasty warm in our homes, we sometimes crank up the heater, which adds to the problem. While moisture causes hardwood floors to expand and cup, overly dry wood can cause it to shrink, gap, and crack.
Not only is dry air hard on our wood floors, it has many other damaging effects on our healthy… dry noses, cracked, itchy skin, and sore throats. It can also aggravate allergy, asthma, and cold symptoms. Sound familiar? A whole house humidifier can add just the right amount of moisture to your home to help protect your health and floors.
So how does a whole house humidifier work? It is installed directly to your central new or existing heating and cooling system. While continually monitoring relative humidity levels in your home, moisture is introduced into the air in the form of water vapor and is usually distributed via your heating and cooling system ductwork throughout your home.
Here are a few reviews of different whole house humidifier brands (just click on the picture for more information or to purchase from Amazon.com)…
Honeywell HE360A Whole House Powered Humidifier
This humidifier provides fan-powered flow-thru and whole house humidification with low maintenance. It has low water usage and is compact to allow mounting in more applications. This humidifier has easy installation and is considered to be the best choice for variable speed and multi-stage systems. It humidifies up to 4200 square feet and uses Vista model No. 714 filter pad.
Aprilaire Model 700 Automatic Whole-House Powered Humidifier with Digital Control
This newly designed model features a flow-thru fan powered technology allowing it be mounted in areas where space is tight. This Humidifier has a built in fan so a bypass duct is unnecessary. It has an evaporative capacity of 0.75 gallons per hour with a water flow through rate of 6 GPH and is capable of humidifying a tightly-constructed home up to 4,200 square feet in size.
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During these cold winter nights, do you hear your house speaking to you? Yes, I’m talking about those creaking and cracking noises from your floors. Much like anything else in nature, your hardwood floors can get stressed, especially with drastic temperature changes. So when you hear those strange noises in your house at night, it’s [...]
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Hardwood floors are a very durable yet not immune to damage. While water damage is very common, scratches and dents are high on the list of repair calls that we regularly receive. What’s the biggest offender? Furniture. Too often homeowners push a heavy chair or table over their beautifully refinished hardwood floors just to find [...]
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Over time, the shiny finish of your beautiful hardwood floor is slowly removed by the friction of day-to-day living. It’s only natural for the top layer to get thinner and duller, with more scratches and tiny dents. Problems start to arise if you let that protective coat deteriorate for too long. Eventually it will [...]
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Are you considering installing a new hardwood floor, but want to stay true to your earth-friendly ideals? Are you worried about how many beautiful trees need to be cut down in order to produce your new floors? You’re in luck!
You may not know this, but hardwood floors are known to be very ecologically sound. They [...]
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Water damage on beautiful hardwood floors can be one of a homeowner’s worst nightmares. Imagine coming home after a wonderful weekend get-away only to find that your dishwasher has leaked water all over the hardwoods in your kitchen. Or sometimes the water slowly sneaks in when you least expect it, like in the entryway of [...]
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Maple flooring is not just for basketball courts anymore, it’s also widely being used in many homes due to its beauty and practicality. Typically maple flooring is not stained and is finished with a natural finish. However, you can enhance the color and add an old worldly look by applying a light stain. We [...]
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We hear the same question from many of our customers… “What is the best product to clean our hardwood floors?” What many people don’t know is that there are many cleaners sold in stores that claim to be good for wood floors but can actually damage your them. In particular, oil soap cleaners [...]
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Hardwood floors naturally expand and shrink throughout the year depending on the humidity in the air. One question many people ask is when is the best time for installing hardwood floors to prevent gapping. Sometimes there is not an easy answer. If you install it in the summer, it may shrink next winter. If you [...]
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