Pure Air and Water News Letter – Winter 2012

Hi everybody and thanks for visiting are new site.  I plan on updating this newsletter quarterly to keep you informed on important information on your homes HVAC and water treatment systems. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at  mark@pureaw.com.  I will e-mail you back directly with the answer.

Humidity Control

Its winter time and you need to make sure your homes humidifier is working properly. First make sure the humidifier water panel is in good condition and that the inside of the unit is clean and the drain hose is not plugged up or restricted.  You should replace your water panel every year.  Second some of the humidistat controllers like April-Aires have a test mode on the dial.  Turn the dial to test mode and you should hear the water valve open and in about a minute or two see water running out the drain tube.  If you don’t have a test mode on your humidistat then you will need to turn your heat up so the furnace runs.  Once heat is blowing out your vents turn your humidistat up to the highest setting and you should hear the water valve open and see water coming out the drain on the humidifier shortly after. Make sure your water supply to the humidifier is on.  If the humidifer does’nt operate after you have done these checks you will need to call an HVAC company for a repair. Third once you have made sure the humidifier is working you want to keep your humidity in the home between 35% to 50%.  To do this buy a digital relative humidity meter from a local hardware store and set it on a table in your largest room and read it every day as you walk by it. If your below 35% turn the controller up to the next highest number. If your above 50% turn it down. You never want your humidity above 50% or else mold could start to develop on the walls.  Another thing to watch when operating your humidifier is the moister on your homes windows.  You should only see a little in the corners of the window. If you see more than that turn down the humidistat to a lower number until the windows clear up. You don’t want to ruin your window sills or develop mold problems.

Furnace Tips

The biggest tip I can give you here is to keep your furnace filters clean. Change then often especially if you have pets. Pet dander will really plug them up.  Also have your furnace cleaned and checked by a HVAC technician at least every other year. The new high efficient furnaces have parts that need to be cleaned and adjusted or else you will wake up to a cold home one winter morning.