[Greenbuilding] humidifier bacteriostat

[Benjamin Pratt]

Very helpful, thanks.
I'm working on the leaks, which are numerous in this 1929 house I
which I am stuck with for the time being.
-Ben

On 1/2/08, Bob <Home-NRG at dnaco.net> wrote:
> Benjamin,
> Hopefully you will get more definitive advice but, for what it's worth,
> I'd be careful about doing anything that will aerosolize chlorine.
> Breathing it is just a bad practice and I suspect that any strength that
> would be effective for the intended purpose would tend to be strong
> enough, aerosolized, to be dangerous.
>
> Vinegar is probably a better bet as a mold inhibitor but I doubt that it
> would be bacteriostatically effective.
>
> Hydrogen peroxide, if strong enough, might work to inhibit mold but,
> again, I question it's bacteriostatic powers.  Alcohol would also work
> but is probably cost prohibitive in the necessary dilution.
>
> In your shoes, I'd probably try to  change water regularly, unless it is
> being absorbed into the air fast enough to keep it from sitting more
> than a day or so.  Then I'd soak the wick in bleach for 15 minutes every
> week, then rinsing it thoroughly before remounting it.  A lot of trouble
> to save an appliance that you would be better off junking anyway.
>
> At the risk of sounding like a broken record, needing humidification is
> usually a symptom of runaway air leakage.  Seal the air leaks and, under
> normal density of occupation, you should generate enough humidity to
> keep the space RH at comfortable levels.
>
> Sorry to preach. I hope this is useful.
> Bob Klahn
> > I googled the heck out of this one and couldn't get an answer. Sorry
> > if this is not appropriate to this list....
> >
> > 1. Is there a safe bacteriostat to use in my wicking type humidifier?
> > I have no idea whether the chemicals is the stuff I bought are ok to
> > breathe, but they are scary to try to pronounce. I thought about
> > trying vinegar, or hydrogen peroxide, or even a couple of drops of
> > bleach (since it's in the water anyway), but I really have no idea
> > whether this is a good idea
> >
> > 2. Is there some sort of "natural living" forum you could recommend
> > where questions like this would be more appropriate?
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>


-- 
Ben Pratt
Professor, Design