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From: ttims@watdcsu.waterloo.edu (Tracy Tims)
Newsgroups: misc.wanted,sci.misc,sci.physics
Subject: Re: Can any household chemicals soften hard-water? (ultrasonic humidifiers)
Message-ID: <4276@watdcsu.waterloo.edu>
Date: 15 Jan 88 00:53:23 GMT
References: <163@heurikon.UUCP>
Reply-To: ttims@watdcsu.waterloo.edu (Tracy Tims)
Followup-To: sci.misc
Organization: U. of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 23

Softening the water will not solve your problem.  Ultrasonic humidifiers
mechanically atomize then water.  Any dissolved solids remain in the droplets.
When the droplets (quickly) evaporate in the air, the solids are left behind.
This is the white dust.

The only solution is to either use distilled water, or to chemically
remove the dissolved solids.  There are ion exchange resin filters sold that
purport to do this.  My personal experience is that they do not work very
well.  They can reduce the amount of dissolved solids, but any dissolved
solids in your source water will come out as dust.  The question is: just
how much dust can you live with?

Last winter I bought an ultrasonic humidifier, and an ion exchange filter.
I had to take them back, as there was no way short of running the humidifier
on distilled water to control the dust.  I don't want any dust.

In the fall, I got a really nice continuous flow distiller (8 gallons/day)
for very little money.  It produces distilled water for approximately a tenth
the cost of grocery store stuff.  I went out and bought another humidfier,
and now I'm perfectly happy.  The amount of money I save over 1 winter season
pays for the distiller.

Tracy Tims