There had been no water leaking from the humidifier for several weeks, so my willingness to keep it on, and for longer, had lengthened, albeit slowly, for some time.
On Thursday I was running late for work (as usual). The heater was off because I had set it to 60. I have it set up to go up to 7 just as I am about to get back from work, but I knew I needed get Mother's medication and go to the bank. Usually I would have turned off the humidifier, but things had been going so well that I thought that I should just keep it on this time. I would be home at an early hour, even with my errands, and I didn't have anything to do that evening, so if the shit hit the fan, so to speak, I could clean it up. So, for the first time since discovering the humidifier leaks, I left it on while I was away for an extended length of time.
Well, fuck, guess what happened when I got back home? Water -- not everywhere, and I don't think it was leaking for a long time, but there was enough water for it to puddle on the other side of the heater room and into Mother's office.
I am embittered and at a loss as to why and how it happened. The only thing I actively avoided was setting the humidistat up to a level higher than "normal humidity." That's what caused the leak when I first starting looking at the problem -- well, that's what I thought, because it was set at "normal humidity" when I left for work Thursday. Moreover, my thermostat was set at 70, and if I recall correctly, I noticed the temperature was at 62 when I got home and saw the leak, so reaching the set temp doesn't appear to be the issue, either.
Now I am casting about figuring out what the goddamn problem is. This may be a desperation heave, but now I have two theories, both of which may be intertwined. I noticed that the humidistat was at 30%. The humidifier might leak when it reaches a certain level of humidity. Also, Thursday was the first day of a massive warm-up. That raised the level of humidity inside the house to a level that, when combined with the operation of the humidifier, spat out water that may not have evaporated into the central HVAC, thereby starting the leak. Or maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.
Here's the other postulation: The outtake tube either leaks or is not stuck to the, uh, hole properly. You see, when this problem first happened and I was kind of freaking out, I actually called the utility for some help. They said that it would take upwards of a week for someone to come out, so I didn't schedule an appointment. But the guy was helpful with free advice: Maybe the tube is backed up with calcium deposits, and I need to pour CLR or something down it. Well, that's what I did either New Year's Day or Wednesday. It didn't seem to make a big difference, since the CLR just went down the tube. In fact, I may have made it worse since the humidifier began to leak like a motherfucker a day or two after I supposedly cleaned it.
When it was leaking, I finally did something I could have done a lot sooner: Open up the damn thing while it was operating and just tear apart the whole thing. So I turned on the heater and humidifier and pulled out the intake and outtake tubes. I poured the intake tube, with its trickle of water, directly into the outtake (thereby skipping the water filter panel middleman), and it wasn't leaking. (No CLR leaked while I was pouring it down the tube, either.) So I reattached everything while it was churning out water, only making sure the outtake tube was firmly attached to the, uh, hole at the bottom of the filter panel. And, although I only was looking at it for a minute before I decided to turn off the humidifier (aside: every time I have tried to type the word "humidifier," I have typed it in wrong ... usually I have skipped over the last "i"), the water that Plinkoed its way through the filter went down the tube without it seeping out of or weeping through the outtake tube. So maybe I just need to either adjust the tube at that opening or make sure it's securely in. Or maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.
All I know is that I am scared as hell of turning on the damn humidifier again. I just don't feel like telling my fucking parents about this. Just act as if everything's alright, and once they're home and if it acts up again, I'll go, "What the fuck happened?!" But My Fucking Father will just blame me for not doing something, again. Goddamn, they're going to be home soon. ...
On Thursday I was running late for work (as usual). The heater was off because I had set it to 60. I have it set up to go up to 7 just as I am about to get back from work, but I knew I needed get Mother's medication and go to the bank. Usually I would have turned off the humidifier, but things had been going so well that I thought that I should just keep it on this time. I would be home at an early hour, even with my errands, and I didn't have anything to do that evening, so if the shit hit the fan, so to speak, I could clean it up. So, for the first time since discovering the humidifier leaks, I left it on while I was away for an extended length of time.
Well, fuck, guess what happened when I got back home? Water -- not everywhere, and I don't think it was leaking for a long time, but there was enough water for it to puddle on the other side of the heater room and into Mother's office.
I am embittered and at a loss as to why and how it happened. The only thing I actively avoided was setting the humidistat up to a level higher than "normal humidity." That's what caused the leak when I first starting looking at the problem -- well, that's what I thought, because it was set at "normal humidity" when I left for work Thursday. Moreover, my thermostat was set at 70, and if I recall correctly, I noticed the temperature was at 62 when I got home and saw the leak, so reaching the set temp doesn't appear to be the issue, either.
Now I am casting about figuring out what the goddamn problem is. This may be a desperation heave, but now I have two theories, both of which may be intertwined. I noticed that the humidistat was at 30%. The humidifier might leak when it reaches a certain level of humidity. Also, Thursday was the first day of a massive warm-up. That raised the level of humidity inside the house to a level that, when combined with the operation of the humidifier, spat out water that may not have evaporated into the central HVAC, thereby starting the leak. Or maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.
Here's the other postulation: The outtake tube either leaks or is not stuck to the, uh, hole properly. You see, when this problem first happened and I was kind of freaking out, I actually called the utility for some help. They said that it would take upwards of a week for someone to come out, so I didn't schedule an appointment. But the guy was helpful with free advice: Maybe the tube is backed up with calcium deposits, and I need to pour CLR or something down it. Well, that's what I did either New Year's Day or Wednesday. It didn't seem to make a big difference, since the CLR just went down the tube. In fact, I may have made it worse since the humidifier began to leak like a motherfucker a day or two after I supposedly cleaned it.
When it was leaking, I finally did something I could have done a lot sooner: Open up the damn thing while it was operating and just tear apart the whole thing. So I turned on the heater and humidifier and pulled out the intake and outtake tubes. I poured the intake tube, with its trickle of water, directly into the outtake (thereby skipping the water filter panel middleman), and it wasn't leaking. (No CLR leaked while I was pouring it down the tube, either.) So I reattached everything while it was churning out water, only making sure the outtake tube was firmly attached to the, uh, hole at the bottom of the filter panel. And, although I only was looking at it for a minute before I decided to turn off the humidifier (aside: every time I have tried to type the word "humidifier," I have typed it in wrong ... usually I have skipped over the last "i"), the water that Plinkoed its way through the filter went down the tube without it seeping out of or weeping through the outtake tube. So maybe I just need to either adjust the tube at that opening or make sure it's securely in. Or maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.
All I know is that I am scared as hell of turning on the damn humidifier again. I just don't feel like telling my fucking parents about this. Just act as if everything's alright, and once they're home and if it acts up again, I'll go, "What the fuck happened?!" But My Fucking Father will just blame me for not doing something, again. Goddamn, they're going to be home soon. ...
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