Humidifier Reccomendations

[Wizard of Wailing]

    I need to buy a humidifier for my basement where I store my guitars (all electrics, no Grandpas Guitars for me).  Does anyone have any recommendations, and also what's the ideal setting?

 

[TBurst Std]

My humidity control is built into my HVAC.  I keep it 50% plus

 

[Cagey]

Many furnaces have humidifiers built into them, but most people pay no attention to them or even know they're there. There's a diffusion screen in them that looks kinda like a filter that gets all gunked up with mineral deposits and whatnot so it needs to be replaced from time to time. Also, there's a control on them to match the operation to the environment that nobody pays any attention to.

Look at the furnace and see if you've got a smallish (breadbox-sized) box hanging off one side that has a 1/4" copper water line going to it. That'll be it. Open it and check the diffuser, and check the control setting.

With basements, the problem is rarely being "too dry". 99 times out of 100, they're too wet. But, the only way to know for sure is to measure. Fortunately, humidity measuring devices (hygrometers) are cheap. Even a good one is typically less than $30 and will also display temperature. Here's one for $15.

If the furnace doesn't have a humidifier, you can buy them in the aftermarket.