Humidifier for windowsill orchids

[Dbacani]

I am a newbie in orchid care and I would like to solicit your opinion on what has worked to increase humidity with windowsill orchids. I have Phals, Oncidiums, Dendrobiums and Cattleya that gets filtered sunlight 6-8 hrs a day here in Arlington, TX. They are on humidity trays I purchased from Kelly's Korner orchis supply. They are in my big living room and the humidity in the house is around 26%. There is so much information online about humidifiers that made me so confused. Which humidifier do you recommend would be most beneficial for my orchids?

[orchidsarefun]

I would firstly advise that you get a whole house humidifier as that would be the most efficient !!!

My whole house humidifier is set at 45%, but despite this I also have portables; the evaporative ( cool-mist, tower type ) humidifier and the hot-mist ( Walgreen's type tank humidifier).
They both have pros and cons. My orchids are planted in a variety of media and I find that the evaporative ( tower type ) provides a good air-flow as well as moisture. So good in fact that I had some bud blast before I could position it in the right spot. You have to watch orchid watering with this type, I have to water more often.
The hot-mist type is good for raising humidity levels in a smaller room very quickly. The problem with that is that you have to fill the tank more regularly. However it is cheaper....

BCM658-U: Cool Mist Tower Humidifier with Permanent Filter

I bought the one above but boy is it a job to keep the filter clean. On the other hand you can set a humidity level and when the area reaches that %, it shuts off. This type also has a larger tank.

Whatever you get just make sure that it is easy to refill ( handles on tank - the model above doesn't ), has a humidity setting, and has an easily cleanable filter. The hot mist type that I have doesn't use a filter, but it is awkward in that you have to refill often.
Hope my personal experience helps ! GL

[Stray59]

I agree that the warm evaporation type is my preference as well, due to the above mentioned reasons.
Personally, I would have to say that the ultrasonic type is the worst unless you have access to cheap Reverse Osmosis water - these use an ultrasonic device to vibrate the water into a mist - they work phenomenally, but ANY mineral or rust in the water also gets vibrated into the air. I purchased two of them (at high cost) and turned them on at night. The next morning it looked like a fog had rolled into my apartment - I could not see further than about 5 feet. Then after the fog "lifted" every surface in the room had to be cleaned. The sediment had become sticky and a white powder covered everything - and I mean everything!!
When I used RO water - no problem at all and the mist was wonderful. But as I purchase my water, I can not afford to use them.
Some day soon I will be putting in an RO water unit for our apartment - I will be so happy not to have to pack water for my plants, but until then, no ultrasonics in the house.
Steve

[NYCorchidman]

Originally Posted by Stray59

I agree that the warm evaporation type is my preference as well, due to the above mentioned reasons.
Personally, I would have to say that the ultrasonic type is the worst unless you have access to cheap Reverse Osmosis water - these use an ultrasonic device to vibrate the water into a mist - they work phenomenally, but ANY mineral or rust in the water also gets vibrated into the air. I purchased two of them (at high cost) and turned them on at night. The next morning it looked like
a fog had rolled into my apartment - I could not see further than about 5 feet. Then after the fog "lifted" every surface in the room had to be cleaned. The sediment had become sticky and a white powder covered everything - and I mean everything!!
When I used RO water - no problem at all and the mist was wonderful. But as I purchase my water, I can not afford to use them.
Some day soon I will be putting in an RO water unit for our apartment - I will be so happy not to have to pack water for my plants, but until then, no ultrasonics in the house.
Steve

Thanks for info, Steve.
This is good to know as I heard how great ultrasonic type. I don't think it is for me.

Do you have hard water in your area? I have so many plants and I love misting them. I would be spending some serious money buying water

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[Ordphien]

I use an ultra sonic with RODI water.
Keeps my room at around 60%.
Might not be practical in a whole house though.

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[Dbacani]

Thank you for all your great opinions. I will have to search for a local installer that could install a whole house humidifier and not charge me an arm and a leg for installation service. I saw Aprilaire 700 that could be ordered through Amazon. I have a 2100 sg ft home. I saw a Vornado 1.8 gal Evaporative humidifier with 4 wicks for $79.99 from Costco. I think I will bite the bullet and order that today.

[Stray59]

By the way -
Welcome to the Board dbacani! You slipped in without me noticing. Glad to have you and hope that you have as great a time here as I have had. Lots of friendly, very knowledgable people here, and lots of fun for orchid lovers.
Have a great day -
Steve

[orchidsarefun]

Originally Posted by Dbacani

Thank you for all your great opinions. I will have to search for a local installer that could install a whole house humidifier and not charge me an arm and a leg for installation service. I saw Aprilaire 700 that could be ordered through Amazon. I have a 2100 sg ft home. I saw a Vornado 1.8 gal Evaporative humidifier with 4 wicks for $79.99 from Costco. I think I will bite the bullet and order that today.

Great. Hope the installer doesn't charge too much !
Please keep us up to date on this as its a good experiment on the benefits/or not of humidity to plants. I assume yours are growing OK at 26% relative humidity ? Do they bloom ? I wonder if there will be a noticeable difference at 45% ?

[bballr4567]

I have a wicking type right under the orchids that keeps them at 55-65% depending on the weather outside. Its a little bit of a pain with the filter but it lasts a decent amount of time and I just order it online. We also have an ultrasonic one in the bedroom and that puppy will jack up the humidity to 90% if you let it.

Next one I purchase will be a ultrasonic one again.

[Dbacani]

I have a phal that has been blooming since November and none of the blooms have fallen. I have another one starting to bloom. I have 5 more phals that have single spikes coming out. I have Onc Sharry Baby blooming and 2 more noid oncidium blooming.