Dear AT,
Help - we have those classy big steam radiators which do their job great but leave us all dried out! I've heard of water tanks that can be attached to the radiator that heat up and release steam but we can't find them anywhere. Anyone have suggestions - or at least know what they're called so we can hunt more effectively?
Thanks!
David
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I don't know much about them but they are called "radiator humidifiers"...a quick google search of that name turned up all shapes and sizes.
We've used this type before that hangs over the back of the radiator - ugly, but it works.
http://www.homeandbeyond.com/prod-8554200209.html
Here is a variation on the same idea.
http://www.kilianhardware.com/radhum.html
Why not just put a shallow cake pan on top of the radiator?
The main problem with these things is that they simply cannot evaporate fast enough to humidify effectively in most cases.
Think about how this works: You can only evaporate the effective surface area of the water. A dry room with a 9"x9" pond in it will not become a non-dry room unless something is forcing the evaporation.
Humidifiers function in a few ways, but fundamentally what they do is force evaporation of water. Some actually boil off small amounts of water, which is sort of what you are trying to do with your radiator (note that these humidifier actually emit steam). Since you are not actually boiling the water in these pans it won't be as effective.
To speed up evaporation you need either heat, surface area, or an increase in the volume of air passed over the water. Since you aren't going to get all that much heat from a radiator you either need to have lots of surface area or something blowing air over your pans.
I'd bit the bullet and buy an actual humidifier. Or put a kiddie pool full of warm water in your living room.
I thought radiator heat was actually supposed to be much less drying than forced-air heat. I guess it could still be somewhat drying, though.
I have the same issue with the same type of heat. I literally have to keep 2 of my 7 windows open at all times, just to keep the heat at a "reasonable" 80 degrees!
One cheap solution is to fill a small stainless steel pot or pan with cold water and place on top of the radiator. Believe me, it will evaporate quickly enough and solve the problem--without having to spend money on a costly humidifier.
Good luck :) Stay moist!
Jenny, hot water is less drying, but steam, especially when set too high, drys things out - so does forced air of course, even more so. Also to keep in mind, as the air temperature rises the air can take more humidity and the moister the air is, the warmer it feels (in theory at least).
If anybody buys those over the radiator devices, I'd love to hear how they work. Growing up we had pans inside the radiator covers for this; they would dry up pretty quick.