DIY air humidifier: instrument options and manufacturing instructions

It is not in vain that much attention is paid to maintaining air humidity in a residential building, since it affects human health. But what's the point of paying for an expensive device if you can assemble an air humidifier with your own hands? It will not be inferior in productivity to the factory analogue.

There are several types of devices that can be made literally “on the knee”. In this article, we examined the principles of operation of household humidifiers and methods for their independent manufacture.

Popular and effective ways to create conditions for better evaporation associated with heating water and the impact of air flow on it are considered. We will also show how to assemble a homemade device based on an ultrasonic atomizer.

Dry air problem

Humidity, temperature and oxygen concentration are the most important parameters of the living room microclimate, on which the well-being of a person depends. In winter, indoors, there is a decrease in water content in the air. This is an easily explainable physical process, the consequences of which can be eliminated by simple enough actions.

Reasons for lack of moisture

In a climate of moderate humidity, typical of most regions of Russia, dry indoor occurs in the cold season. It is due to a simple physical phenomenon: the volume of water required for one hundred percent humidity decreases with decreasing air temperature.

Thus, the cold air entering from the street carries very little water into the room. And the warm stream coming out through the ventilation system is able to carry several times more. This leads to an imbalance.

The maximum possible volume of water contained at “-20” and “+25” degrees differs by almost 30 times. This is the main reason for the dryness of the apartment when frosty air comes in.

Partially, the lack of moisture is compensated inside the apartment due to the following phenomena:

• availability of open water sources;
• evaporation of moisture from washed dishes, washed items;
• breathing of humans and pets;
• watering flowers, wet cleaning.

Often this cannot completely restore humidity to the desired values. In normative documents, such as SNiP 41-01-2003 “Heating, ventilation and air conditioning” and SanPiN 2.1.2.2645-10 “Sanitary and epidemiological requirements for living conditions in residential buildings and premises”, the optimal relative humidity indicators are set in the range 30-45 %

In this regard, residents are making attempts to achieve normative indicators due to any devices. There are many household humidifiers.

However, high-quality devices are not cheap and require maintenance. Therefore, many are inclined to alternative ways of saturating air with water or to making home-made devices.

Most modern household humidifiers work on the principle of creating “cold” steam as a result of ultrasonic spraying.

So, the main reason for the dry air in the room is the flow with a very low moisture content. However, there are theories that some devices (heating radiators, oil heaters, convectors, incandescent lamps) “dry” the air.

This myth-making is supported by manufacturers of heating equipment and “advanced” managers to increase the sale of expensive appliances.

There can be no physical basis for the disappearance of water molecules in a living space if there is no portable hadron collider or artifact of an alien high-tech civilization.

The chemical reaction of water binding due to intramolecular interactions (hydration) occurs in such an insignificant amount that it can be neglected. Therefore, you can “save” only on ventilation, but this will lead to a violation of the oxygen balance. Only one thing remains - compensation for moisture loss.

The simplest methods to increase air humidity

The problem of dry air has been known for a long time, so there is experience increase humidity in such elementary ways:

• Hanging wet cloth on the ropes. Evaporation occurs intensively, but the material dries quickly. In addition, linen takes up a lot of space.
• Installation of filled containers having a large evaporation area. Usually these are basins, although you can use an aquarium if you remove the top glass.

Having a large number of plants at home also increases humidity. They often have to be watered, which leads to the entry of water into the air through the leaves (transpiration).

Such a flower evaporates about 200 grams of water per day, that is, it is able to release moisture for 30 cubic meters of room air to saturate it to 35 percent humidity at a temperature of “+22” degrees

Wiping the floor and interior items with a damp cloth gives an effect similar to hanging a wet cloth: air is saturated quickly. Therefore, this type of cleaning should not be neglected, especially in winter.

Making homemade humidifiers

Simple evaporation has a drawback: either the process is too slow, or it is necessary to occupy a large area under the “evaporator”.

To solve this problem, an increase in the rate of water entering the air due to its heating or blowing is used. Since such air humidifiers are easy to do with your own hands, you can not spend money on purchased products.

Using heating batteries

Water having a temperature above ambient air evaporates much more intensively. As a heating element, a heating system is usually used. Its main advantages are that it does not require additional energy costs and works all the time.

You can ensure a constant flow of water to the radiator in the following way: under the battery, a container is installed in which a rag is lowered, the upper part of which is tied to the radiator. As a result of the capillary effect, water rises, heats up and evaporates.

The rag is attached to the front of the radiator. This can spoil the look a bit, but this design is efficient and simple.

A similar, but slightly more complex design can be made for a heating pipe. To do this, use an ordinary plastic bottle, in the side of which a hole is cut. The container is attached using wire or other durable material. A rag is attached to it, along which water will flow.

You can make a humidifier as follows. However, since the evaporation area will be small, the volume of moisture entering the air will also be insignificant

On sale there are many containers for humidification, which are attached to the front of the radiators. You can make the same design yourself from plastic bottles.

Mounted evaporators of various shapes can be bought at the store. They are made of ceramic or plastic. You can also make and color such a container yourself.

You can put water containers on the battery. The lower the liquid level, the faster it will evaporate. The body material can be anything: the main thing is that it is characterized by high thermal conductivity.

The danger of objects installed on the battery lies in the complexity of their reliable mounting. A cat or child is able to drop the entire structure onto the floor

These methods work well for heating radiators having a temperature of 60-80 ° C. You can not use them for stoves or boilers, in which the temperature of the body is much higher, as there will be a fire of rags or plastic.

Ventilation evaporation

Saturation of air with moisture occurs much more intensively when exposed to wind. This factor is used in home-made humidifiers, which are easy to build with your own hands in the presence of a fan.

You can come up with many combinations with batteries or a fan. However, you must follow safety precautions and like this, as shown in this photo, you don’t need to do

A home-made humidifier with a fan works according to the following principle: air flows into the container through the inlet, raises moisture and exits through specially made holes.

Usually, a plastic bottle of a volume of three liters or more is used as a vessel. To organize the flow, a computer cooler operating from 12 or 24 volts is most often used.

The most difficult thing in the practical sphere is to securely fasten the fan and ensure density so that moist air does not come back and does not fall on the blades and the current-carrying part.

Instead of a plastic bottle, it is better to use a more rigid container for the humidifier case, for example, plastic buckets. It’s easier to fix the cooler on them

The main disadvantage of such humidifiers is the presence of noise from a working fan. The power consumption of standard cooler models is small and is in the range of 3-6 watts.

The use of ultrasonic nebulizers

The most productive are ultrasonic humidifiers with an integrated cold water spray. It can be purchased in specialized stores or on well-known online sites.

To assemble the simplest ultrasonic humidifier you will need:

• an ultrasonic atomizer designed for a volume of 0.3 l / h (its cost together with a power supply is about 500 rubles);
• cooler from a video card or processor (price - 150 rubles);
• plastic container (price - 70 rubles).

The ultrasonic atomizer must be glued to the bottom of the container, and above it in the lid cut a hole to which you can attach a hose. Such a device "perfectly" cope with humidifier functionsnested in prefabricated units.

It should not be too long so that there is no condensation effect. We cut the second hole under the cooler and install it so that it directs the air flow inside the tank.

You can connect a 12-volt cooler to a 220-volt network using the old charging from a mobile phone, which is not used for its intended purpose. Just connect the wires

In the cover, you will have to make another hole for the power cable from the sprayer. As a result, the ultrasonic atomizer will create cold vapor, which will be blown out by the flow created by the fan.

This model has one serious drawback. With natural cold evaporation, clean water rises into the air, while the ultrasonic atomizer, creating a “fog” of tiny droplets, also captures the dissolved elements.

If the humidifier is used often, then calcium salts in tap water, settling on the interior, create a white coating visible to the eye. It is not dangerous to health, but it has to be cleaned constantly. Therefore, filtered or distilled water must be poured into devices based on an ultrasonic nebulizer.

Duct evaporator

With a large area of ​​an apartment or a private house, the problem of air humidification arises with the help of several separate devices. They need not only to be bought or made independently, but also to constantly monitor the availability of water and the quality of work. In this case, installation of one device in the supply ventilation duct will help.

You can make a humidification unit yourself, which works either on the principle of creating a “mist” with an ultrasonic evaporator or uses the idea of ​​passing a stream through a wetted barrier. In the second case, the larger the blown wet surface area, the greater the volume of evaporation.

There are two fundamentally different approaches for wetting a blown barrier. You can make the installation of the rotary type, the lower part of which is in the water. As a result of rotation, the “discs” get wet through which the supply air stream passes.

An example of the device of the central part of the rotor type humidifier. Ordinary phonograph records are planted on a metal shaft. The main condition - the material of the discs should get wet well

You can also buy a barrier in the form of a cell cassette. Using the pump, water is supplied to the sprayer, which flows, evaporates and enters the room through the ventilation system.

Schematic diagram of the operation of a humidifier based on a cellular cassette. The incoming air must be warmed up, otherwise it can pick up a little moisture

It should be remembered that when using channel humidifiers, it is necessary to periodically carry out procedures aimed at disinfecting the unit from pathogens. This includes treatment with biocides and draining the system during its downtime.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

Humidifier from a plastic bottle using a computer cooler:

Humidifier using an ultrasonic evaporator:

Production of a channel humidifier based on cell cartridges:

For the independent manufacture of a household air humidifier, special skills or expensive materials and components are not needed. Most likely, the design of the device will be less elegant, but its functionality will be similar to a factory device. In addition, in the event of a breakdown, homemade work is easier to repair.

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