How often to replace humidifier pad

engineered wrote: ↑ Depends on how much scale. You can also clean it with CLR or vinegar. I also tossed the old nasty one when I moved into my house, but 3 years on I'm on the same one.

old sparks wrote: ↑ I would replace the pad prior to each season, and drain and clean the pan in the spring. Use a bit of chlorine bleach to disinfect...

Edit - I see you've added the model number. Disregard my advice, as it pertains more to the rotation pad and drum type...

WikkiWikki wrote: ↑ Would it be wise each spring to fall to turn off the water supply as well as turning down the humistat, just as a precaution. I found the shut off, thank god its not a saddle valve. Then just turn it back on in the fall when you turn the damper inside the humidifier from off to on

junkmail2002 wrote: ↑ Change pads before each season and yes to turning water off/down when switching off heat.

xxxray wrote: ↑ So four times a year?

xxxray wrote: ↑ So four times a year?

TomLafinsky wrote: ↑ I have a Lennox WB2-17 and I haven't replaced mine in 10+ years and it still does the job. What is more important is to make sure the flow of water isn't reduced due to deposits inside the tiny tube feeding the water.

In fact I ended up using a tiny nail in order to make a slightly larger hole in the piece of plastic through which the water goes through. Therefore allowing an even greater flow of water. Overall water consumption is ridiculously low. Practically negligible. And I programmed the thermostat so that water only flows during heating season.

+

grumble wrote: ↑ I looked into this recently, since I just bought a house with one installed.

Manufacturer recommends a new pad each heating season, so each pad would last one year. The reason to do this is multifold:

1. The scale can powder off and fly into the ducts for your furnace. Not great to breathe in, and hard on filters.
2. The scale can break off and clog up drain tubes, though this can be mitigated with plenty of water.
3. The scale can clog up the pad, meaning that water and air isn't circulating throughout the pad and reducing the effectiveness of the humidifier.
4. Some risk of micro-organisms.

I've heard of people just soaking the pads in CLR for a while to get most of it off, which partly works and can likely extend the lifespan of your pad - low use also extends, while heavy use shortens. Given the pads are 20 bucks each, I just replace them annually and both save myself the hassle and get a better-working system.

golden wrote: ↑ Anyone here has issue about the clay coming off and clog the drain? I have a clear vinyl tube drain and can see a bunch of clay in it. Should I have a concern?