Humidifier for windowsill orchids
 

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?

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

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

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:waving

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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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.

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:waving

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.

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% ?

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.

hmmm......are you watering more than once per week ? With lower humidity I definitely had to water more than 1x per week ( before I had the whole home humidifier fixed ). You will probably have to adjust your watering schedule, keep a close watch. Anyway, higher humidity is better for you personally !