Is there anything that can be done to mitigate the effects of a floor humidifer on ice formation gumming up various systems in the house? I have learned that even RO water is not pure enough to prevent our AC system from freezing up (unit close to air intake duct, HEPA filter, etc.) so am switching to distilled water.
But I'm also concerned about how I can mitigate the formation of ice in our refrigerator. We have already had a repair person come out due to the fridge side not cooling and the ice maker not working, and after about half an hour of taking things apart (it's not a cheap unit!) pulled out a huge chunk of ice from the internal ducts. At the time I didn't associate the possibility of this ice formation with running a humidifier but now I'm starting to suspect a connection. However, unlike the AC where the easy fix is to switch to distilled water, the fridge doesn't have a filter that can clog or simply be replaced. How I can mitigate ice buildup when a humidifier is pumping water into the air 24/7?
Not running the humidifier is not a good option either, as there are allergy sufferers in the house and it struggles to even maintain 40% RH in the summer.
Best Answer
Ice in your fridge with a RH of 40 is not because of your humidifier, unless you stand with the door open for long periods of time.
I would expect your defrost timer in the fridge was not is not functioning or a fan was not properly moving the air.
Any moisture you put in the intake of an ac system it should by design take out l. Don’t introduce into the intake , the purer water is the faster it will freeze.
If you want to humidify air the moisture should be introduced after the air is chilled.
dehumidification Is a side effect of air conditioning this may be why you are struggling to get the Humidity up all the moisture you add is being removed with each pass through the evaporator (cooling coils in the air handler). Try adding moisture at the vents so the moisture air is pushed around or add a humidification system after the coils then all the vents will vary the humid air.
One thing I almost forgot to add the type of humidification can cause worse allergies if there any impurities in the water I would call good RO water the same as store bought distilled probably 19 meg ohm per centimeter.