Flow Through Humidifiers

Flow through humidifiers add moisture to your air by blowing hot air through a screen or fine mesh that continually has water running over it. Thus, the air flows through the water, picking up moisture as it goes. Although this type of humidifier has been popular in the past, the environmental concerns that it causes have rapidly diminished it's popularity among environmentally friendly consumers.

Pros of Flow Through Humidifiers

One of the main benefits of flow through humidifiers is that they can provide a large amount of humidity to your air. Usually used as a furnace humidifier, they do not need to be constantly refilled. Since in most cases they are attached to the furnace of your home they also do not need to be moved from room to room and will usually humidify an entire home.

Cons of Flow Through Humidifiers

Flow through humidifiers have a number of major drawbacks. Since the air is blown through the water it creates a fine mist as well as evaporating water. This can lead to moisture in your ductwork and the negatives that go with that. The flow through screen or filter can also scale up with minerals, and often needs to be changed regularly or the efficiency of the humidifier will decrease dramatically.

When it comes to the environment and water conservation, flow through humidifiers are one of the worst humidifiers to install. They can be extremely wasteful. For every gallon of water put into your air as humidity, five to eight gallons of water goes down your drain. Of course this also means that they require a drain close to where the humidifier will be located.