Unobtainable humidity
 

I've posted a few different times on this board about humidity issues in one way or another. And here I go again. The temperatures have dropped where I live in southern Vermont quite a bit below what is normal for December. What I have now is deep January February temps. It's 13 degrees here, and it was 9 last night. I cannot get the humidity in this large room with open hallways to even reach 40% humidity with three- yes 3 humidifiers going!. I have one whole house evaporative humidifier and 2 cool mist humidifiers, and over 19 of what I call regular house plants in the room as well and I cannot get the humidity over 40% with all of this. I am so frustrated. Every 3 days I fill up 13 gal with reverse osmosis water from the Walmart that's in New Hampshire, at $0.37 a gallon to fill these humidifiers. I am going through water like crazy and you would never know it by looking at the humidity gauges here. There is static electricity in my hair! . I have over 20 phalaenopsis orchids in Spike and several are in Bud in this room and My worry is that when the humidity is so dry for so long I will lose them well not the plants but flowers.Uggg!!!!

Greenpassion, have you thought about draping your phalaenopsis racks with painter's plastic, tucking a humidifier inside and creating a contained indoor greenhouse? And I'm curious as to why you're using RO water? Solids are usually left behind in the gunk tray of the humidifier--just give it a brief soak with white vinegar once a week, rinse it well and go on your merry way.
Adam

Adam's suggestion is a good one IF you can make sure that there is good air movement within the enclosure. I take a different approach. Rather than humidifying the whole house or using an enclosure I just close off the rooms where the orchids grow. One room is easy because it has a door. It's a smaller room so with just one humidifier and the door closed I can take the humidity as high as 80% with the humidifier on high; needless to say, I run it on low, which keeps the humidity between 55 and 60%. To close off the other room I've hung a sheet, doubled over, in the doorway.

I know humidity is a real concern for you, however the humidity in my home is low 30s, and my phalaenopsis and all other plants are showing no signs of stress.

I mist a Masdevallia on one window ledge and that is the only special treatment I give.

As I've said before I think you should acclimatize your phals to a low humidity environment. Most of the year my humidity values in the phal room is 30% or lower and they grow well.
Water them more often and everything will be ok.

Or, as others have suggested, you could...just not worry about it. My humidity in the winter is often below 40% and my nearly 300 orchids and 50+ other plants are fine. I find that I do need to water more but even on those super busy weeks where I have no extra time to water...they are still perfectly fine...growing, blooming, thriving. Even the mounts! I do try to pay special attention to the phal mounts but even those sometimes have to go drier than I'd prefer and all are healthy.

This hobby is supposed to be fun and a source of relaxation...you are making yourself crazy over something that might be impossible to achieve. Relax, water a little more frequently, and just go with the flow. Sure, you might not be able to keep some super fussy orchids happy...but most will never skip a beat with your humidity drops.

Acclimatization of our orchids is a critical step to get the most fun and enjoyment from our hobby.
The atittude is... "What the... let me see what will happen...I can always water more frequently."

Make a search on these forums for "benign neglect".

How much do you trust the calibration of your hygrometer? If you lined up four inexpensive hygrometers you'd probably get four different readings. With a whole house humidifier and two supplimental units running it's hard to believe you can't get above 40%RH. Isn't your whole house unit adjustable? It could be undersized for your square footage.

I'm just going to go with not worrying about it. I've had these orchids for a few years now and things have been fine. I don't need to go looking for trouble that's not there.

Agreed that the hygrometers most of us buy aren't overly accurate. That she can't get her humidity about the 40% range isn't at all surprising.

Full home humidifiers are typically made to keep people comfortable, not plants. The difference between 40% and 65%, at the same temperature, is noticeable. At 40% people are comfortable but tropical orchids may feel a bit dry. At 65% those same orchids will be comfortable, but people may be uncomfortable, especially if not used to the higher level. In a home running a furnace and with no humidification the level is going to be under 20%. Raising it for the whole house takes some effort.

It's so utterly and absolutely and insanely simple to raise the humidity in a certain area, that it pains me when people can't get it.

Something tells me you're goig the right way.;)
Just keep monitoring their growth and watering needs and see how it goes.

I wish my humidity was 40%. I use RO water in my humidifier, if I didn't I would have white powder over everything. I haven't had much luck with having them last to long. Only the one I have downstairs for my Masdies. I have had that one for years. My orchids seem to be doing pretty well for my low humidity.