Humidifier and Evaporative Cooler Scale Treatment is a very common problem in portable and furnace mounted humidifiers and it’s the build-up of limescale on the media pads and components that will eventually cause the humidifier to malfunction or become ineffective. When the pad becomes coated with hardened limescale, it cannot absorb the water and the humidifier cannot pass humidity into the airflow. Depending on your water hardness, pad replacement may be necessary at least once a year and possibly twice. It is usually necessary to disassemble the humidifier and clean its components in a vinegar and water solution.
Each time you need to perform this task, the more likely other problems such as leaks and broken parts will occur. The water that you use in your humidifier is probably common tap water, and even if you have a salt-based water softener, you will likely need to disassemble and replace the pad and clean the humidifier components. This is because the salt-based water softener leaves chloride (sodium) in the water so instead of fighting with the hard water scale; you’re dealing with the chloride which can be just as bad.
The best solution is to treat the calcium in the incoming water supply before it enters the humidifier with a "Point Of Use" system like our Humidifier Scale Treatment system. This product is also used on RVs and can be installed for several applications. It can also be attached to a standard garden hose and used for filling portable humidifiers.
If you are using it for a furnace humidifier, simply install 3/4" to 1/4" reducers on each end or whatever size water line feeds your furnace humidifier.
What to expect: This product will not remove the calcium from your water, but instead conditions the calcium and converts it into harmless aragonite, Aragonite is a form of calcium that will not calcify on surfaces as untreated calcium will. This means that your media pad will last much longer, and usually just cleaning instead of replacing will be all that's necessary. Aragonite can easily be wiped out of the humidifier water reservoir with a damp cloth. You will also benefit because your humidifier will operate much more efficiently.
It’s possible that if your water is very hard, the aragonite will turn into a soft sludge on the pad and in the bottom of the humidifier reservoir. But this sludge can be easily cleaned usually with just hot water.
Regular maintenance performed on your humidifier will ensure it is functioning properly and minimize the repair costs you would have otherwise.