Providing Humidity Indoors-Warm mist or Cool mist

[fishmom]

Terrific! Thanks for the list--I'm off to the nursery tomorrow!

[orion141]

I agree, I would (and do) use cool humidifiers.

[smokinjoe1952]

If you already have humidity trays, you might want to consider what I did recently to increase humidity. I purchased a single, 12v, 80mm computer fan rated for wet environments. I literally placed it face down on top of the humidity tray, blowing air right at the surface of the water.

This raised both my day and night relative humidity by about 20%. It worked so well that I felt my night time humidity was too high, so I plugged the fan into the timer for the lights.

You mentioned an indoor greenhouse for small plants, so I am assuming that like me, you have an enclosed chamber.

BTW - The water in my humidity tray will last for over a week before needing a refill.

If I can provide any more detail, just ask.

SJ

[Gthumbz89]

I have used both, but I no longer fuss with the humidity. Allot of common orchid varieties can acclimate to very dry conditions given they have a good root system and are watered properly.

Fyi I am blooming cattleyas, oncidiums, phalaenopsis, and paphiopedilum in 11 percent humidity. I also am pitchering nepenthes which I was advised strongly against growing here.

Your 40 percent humidity is perfect as is.

[jkofferdahl]

SMokinJoe's method essentially turned a humidity tray into a humidifier. Nice use. However, in and of itself a humidity tray isn't going to do a thing. The surface area versus evaporation rate is far, far too low a ratio to produce notable humidity. I have them under my plants because they are a convenient way to catch the runoff from sprayings.

I am utterly unrepentant of my use of humidifiers. In my light room, which is also the warmest room in the house when the furnace runs, I use a cool-mist ultrasonic. It brought the level in the room from about 30% to over 65%. My kitchen grow-window is a cooler area (still Phal-habitable, though) and so I use a warm-air humidifier.