My wife has frequent nose bleeds. Rarely during non-heating months, often daily in the dead of Winter.

From that information, we're making the huge leap of logic that dry air is a contributing factor.

We tried a small, baby nursery-sized unit with no noticeable difference. We want to go to a bigger unit that will A) put more moisture in the and and B) run longer without refills.

This unit is one possibility.

Input on the topic in general and larger/better units in particular solicited.

Thanks.

I've said this before in response to humidifier questions here. There are two basic types of humidifiers - ultrasonic and evaporative. Ultrasonic ones vaporize the water - and everything in it - and disperse it throughout the room. That means if you have water that has a lot of minerals, guess where those minerals go? Yep, they deposit all over the room.

Evaporative ones will evaporate the water only, so the minerals stay in the filter. That's why you have to clean or change the filters regularly. But that's better than cleaning all the stuff in your room, including expensive electronics, calcium caked onto surfaces, etc. I mean, how often do you want to Lime-Away your dining room table?

No specific recommendations other than to stay away from the ultrasonic ones.

@IntrepidTraveler - Thanks for that. I'm already smarter than I was a half-hour ago!

What type of heating system is in your house?
Fan forced hot air heating systems can get a humidifier installed in the hot air outlet ducting relatively easily.
Other home heating systems, not so easy or inexpensive.
My last home had baseboard hot water heat.
It had an Aprilaire humidifier (whole house unit) that was ancient in 1997 when we bought the place.
When it died in 2010 or so, we replaced it with another Aprilaire whole house unit.
Even larger capacity that the original unit.
The old unit leaked water on a hardwood floor in a closet when it died, so the learning on that is be certain that your catch pan / tray under the whole house humidifier has sufficient capacity and drain line flow rate so if the water supply solenoid sticks or quits working in the on or open position, you'll get no water damage.
Test the drain system when you are doing your humidifier maintenance.
The 2nd unit was working fine when that house was sold a few years ago.
Look here: https://www.aprilaire.com/whol...idifier-buying-guide
I will tell you, the "beds" that the water trickles over while the fan blows air through/over, keep them clean.
Replace the "beds" when they become encrusted in minerals.
Replace the water filter periodically for the supply side of the whole house humidifier.
There is maintenance involved, but you are in Maine with nothing to do in the winter.

Don't place the humidistat too close to the moistened air outlet. (system cycles overly frequently)
Don't get the humidistat too far away from the moistened air outlet. (system runs almost continuously)
My suggestion on where to mount the humidistat? Don't "hard mount" the humidistat or string the control wiring permanently until you are happy with the humidistat location and whole house humidifier unit cycling.
Some folks hook the water supply line to a hot water pipe. It's better evaporation over the 'bed", but at a higher overall cost on your domestic hot water system expenses. (constantly using a small amount of hot water)
Something to consider in Maine, when it's really cold outside, you will be limited on how much moisture you can get the home interior air to hold. Get it too high (RH %) and you WILL see condensation on the inside of your windows, and likely on cold exterior walls near the ceiling. It's a "juggling act" when it's really cold.

Baseboard hot water system.

At this point, I'm not thinking whole house, just a big single room humidifier for the bedroom. If I can convince her to let me start running the wood stove again, that will likely change.

Good general tips tho, thanks.

First thing first. Have you monitored the actual humidity?

I've had this for years and it works well:

https://www.amazon.com/EP9-800...i%2Caps%2C160&sr=8-6

I monitor with this:

https://www.amazon.com/AcuRite...a37&tag=spyonsite-20

We used the large one of these for years until we got one installed on the furnace. Works well but expect to fill it daily.

https://www.amazon.com/AIRCARE...rative/dp/B004S34ISA

It’s by Essickair

www.lasko.com

Did very well for me

Www.Essickair.com
Says that they are
Made in U.s.a.

Distilled water usage will greatly affect the longevity of the internals,

Also diligence in weekly cleaning will help abate airborne contagens .

Some will take nine minutes to clean out,
Poorly designed models may take 40 minutes or more.

Bought one last year from Honeywell a tower type that is easy to add water and clean wicking sponge. I can give you the model number if your interested.

There is the Honeywell I told you about on Amazon . It’s called Top Fill tower model. We use it in our 16 x32 living room.

quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:
First thing first. Have you monitored the actual humidity?

I haven't. I do have a way to do that however, and I'll set it up in the room. Thanks for reminding me, should've been obvious.

I, too, get nose bleeds in dry season and, after a bit of research, decided on a Sharp KC860U. It's a combination air filter & humidifier and works very well in my bedroom. Granted it's quite a bit more money than the dedicated humidifier units you're looking at, but I run it as an air filter all year long and as a dual-use unit when the humidity level needs to be increased.

I have humidity meters ($15 ea. from Wal-Mart) throughout the house, including one in my bedroom. I also have a Dylos air quality meter as I was curious how much, if any, effect the air filtration had. In both cases the Sharp does what it's designed to do.

Sharp KC860-U
https://shop.sharpusa.com/shar...-large-rooms-kc860u/

Acurite humidity meter
https://www.acurite.com/shop-a...325-00326-00327.html

Dylos air quality monitor
http://dylosproducts.com/ornodcproair.html