Humidification- the process of adding moisture to the air is one of the most important aspects of total indoor comfort, yet it is one of the least understood.  One reason is the humidity is an intangible.  It can't be seen touched or smelled.  It has no color or sound.  but its presence, when properly controlled, offers many proven benefits.  Humidification during the heating season not only adds to human comfort, but it helps to protect your home and its furnishings from the harmful efects of air that is too dry.  In addition, it reduces undesirable wintertime static electricity.

Cold outside air, heated to room temperature, has great ability to hold extra moisture.  For example, air at 70° F can hold about 20 times as much as air at 0° F.  Heated wintertime air takes moisture from whatever sources are available, including the human body.  If the air in your home does not contain enough moisture, you may feel cold and uncomfortable – even at 75° F.

The Effects of Too – Dry Air

The evidence of air that is too-dry is easy to identify.  In addition to making one feel uncomfortable, the dry air "steals" moisture from plaster, wood, glue and fabrics.  Over a period of time this can result in cracks in ceilings and walls, loose furniture joints and flooring, shrinking mouldings, and loosened wallpaper.  Leather dries out, oil paintings crack, house plants ten to wilt, and the piano goes out of tune.  Excessive static electricity is still another problem.

The type of heating in the home doesn't make any difference.  The same types of damaging effects are present whenever outdoor air is brought inside and heated.  It's quite a common belief that humidification isn't needed in a home heated by hot water or steam.  Hot water or steam heat can't add moisture to the air.  Neither can any other kind.  It is the fact that air is heated that is important, not how it's heated.   If your home is heated, your home needs humidification to maintain proper humidity levels.

Benefits of Proper Indoor Humidity

Properly humidified air can help repel problems aggravated by too-dry air.  In cases where excessive dryness has been diagnosed as the cause of these aggravations, doctors have prescribed humidification.

Dry, thirsty air evaporates moisture from your skin, a cooling process that makes you fell chilly.  But, with the humidity raised to recommended levels, you can dial your thermostat down to 68° F and still feel comfortable.

Heating air dries out wood framing around doors and windows, too.  Shrinkage of the wood occurs, leaving spaces that permit cold, outside air to infiltrate the home, lowering the inside temperature and requiring more heating.  Proper humidity reduces annoying wintertime static electricity shocks, too.

For Preservation of Furnishings

The damaging effects that heated, parched air can cause include separation of wood in floors, trim and furniture…excessive wear of fabrics and carpets,,, loss of piano tone quality… cracks in walls or ceilings.  It can cause plants to dry out so they droop and turn brown. Proper humidification provides the protection that's needed.

The Proper Indoor Humidity

During the heating season the average American home (unhumidified) may have a relative humidity (RH) as low as 13%.  Amazingly, this is about one-half of the average RH in the Sahara Desert!  What should the indoor RH be, then?  That depends on the outside temperatures.

A humidifier needs a humidistat (counterpart of the thermostat) which can be adjusted as often as necessary to provide the desired level of humidity.  The most recent advancement in humidification is a humidifier that automatically delivers the optimum RH without periodic homeowner adjustment.

The amount of humidity required in a home is dependent to a certian extent on the way it is constructed.  Whether the home is insulated and tight may require less moisture per day than a home that is loosely constructed.

How To Choose A Humidifier

When you consider buyng a humidifier, be sure to check on these key points:

Capacity – The unit should be capable of maintaining the correct level of relative humidity, considering the size, construction and other characteristics of your home.

Control – The newest type of humidifer is computer-equipped and completely automatic, eliminating the need for frequent humidistat adjustments.  It generates up to 50% more moisture than other humidifiers.  Otherwise, an accurate humidistat is essential to use in conjunction with a humidifier of the proper capacity.

Sturdy Construction – A properly constructed humidifier uses materials that are rust proof where necessary; corrosion proof where required.

Maintenance – An installed, central humidifier requires no manual filling.  Many units are equipped with drains to flush out minerals.  They normally require attention only once or twice a year, depending on degree of water hardness.

Safety – Be sure to select a humidifer with a wetted pad design that introduces humidity as a vapor.  These units do not emit any bacteria or white dust into the air stream.*

*Independent tests conducted by Penn State University.

A Word About Maintenance

Like all other mechanical equipment a humidifer does require some maintenance.  In Aprilaire humidifiers, maintenance is greatly simplified.  Rust is an enemy of humidifiers, so Aprilaire engineers have given special attention to the use of rustproof materials, so rust is no problem.

A second factor affecting humidifier maintenance is water hardness.  In Aprilaire humidifiers its effects are minimized through the use of the exclusive Aprilaire Water Panel Evaporator and the use of a drain to control the residue of water hardness.

Further simplifying maintenance is the ease with which the humidifier can be serviced and cleaned.  Normal care will assure a long service life for your Aprilaire humidifier.

Martin Jetco carries all the available Aprilaire whole home humidifiers.  Call us today for a prompt professional installation, 636-225-5854.  You'll be glad you did.

Do you know most thermostats have batteries?  Do you know where your batteries are and when the last time you changed them?  Most thermostats take AAA or AA batteries and some older models take a 9 volt battery.  We recommend changing the batteries in your thermostat when you check and change the batteries in your smoke detector.  Our technicians change the batteries when they are at your home for the semi annual precision tune up.

A small cost of about $5.00 to the homeowner can save you a $150.00 service call.  There are a couple very easy things homeowners can do to keep their equipment running efficiently and regular filter changes and annual battery changes are two of our top 10.

Call Martin Jetco Team with any questions you may have. (636)225-5854 or (314)647-1300

Have a GREAT day!

 Martin-Jetco Team is promoting a new product for our customers that quiets noisy systems, lowers energy usage, improves cooling performance and is great for new and old systems. 

Nu-Calgon Re-New is just that product.  Don't let a noisy a/c system ruin your patio party.  Call Martin-Jetco Team and we will introduce this product into your system and quiet it right away.

Ask Ed, he used it on his 15 year old system and it did the trick.  "I have always taken care of my hvac system, regular maintenance, changed filters and kept the area around the condenser fairly clear of plants, but this year during the cooling season the unit was noisy.  My wife even commented on the loud noise level, but  Re-NEw made me the hero at my house!"

Call Martin-Jetco Team for this service today.  (636)225-5854 or (314)647-1300

St. Louis County SAVES ^tm  offers low interest loans to St. Louis County homeowners for upgrades that improve comfrot and reduce energy costs in their hmes.  Check out the website, (www.stlouiscountysaves.com)  for further information and to apply privately in the comfort of you own home, for this money saving opportunity.

This commercial application allows a floor joist to run through the area where the duct work will hang and still maintain structural strength. This sheetmetal application is fully closed and insulated allowing for minimal air leakage. Martin-Jetco employs the areas best sheetmetal craftsmen. We have our own sheetmetal shop where all of our installation metal is designed and built.

For further information, contact our office and we would be happy to schedule a surge protector installation for you today.  636-225-5854 or 314-647-1300