WATER TREATMENT


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How water treatment for humidifiers saves you money down the line


Humidifiers of all technologies – steam, evaporative or spray – can all benefit from water treatment according to managing director of Humidity Solutions John Barker


A


pproximately 60% of the UK is classified as having hard or very hard water, particularly in the South and East of England, which


calls for closely monitored maintenance regimes for humidifiers. By adding water treatment to your system, the


resulting consistency of low mineral content water post reverse osmosis facilitates a less frequent maintenance cycle and often comes with the benefit of improved control tolerances and reduced energy consumption. ¡ Improved control tolerance, as drain cycles designed to reduce mineral build up, can be turned off. This, combined with a trickle feed on the cold- water inlet, ensures that the water doesn’t go off the boil and keeps a consistent output of steam. Turning off the drain cycles is especially important when close control is required. ¡ By being able to turn off the drain cycle, in the case of steam humidifiers, not only eliminates hot water going to drain but saves the water as well as the energy required to heat it. ¡ Reduced frequency of maintenance, as in the case of cold-water humidifiers, is a result of the purified water supplied by the water treatment package. This will prevent mineral build up on the surface of evaporative humidifiers which extends the life of the matrix. Another benefit of water treatment is that the nozzles for adiabatic spray humidifiers will not block, resulting in enhanced product longevity and reduced labour and maintenance intervals. In the last 15 years the price of reverse osmosis


membranes has reduced considerably. Once a prohibitively expensive consumable that


required water softeners to protect the valuable membranes, we now often no longer require the piles of 25kg bags of salt which needed to be lifted


Above: John Barker, managing director of Humidity Solutions


into the softener brine tank to keep it going. Smaller membranes nowadays used for most humidifier applications can cope well with mains water and are inexpensive to exchange, which saves time and money compared to the labour- intensive, expensive, frequent demands of the softener. To further improve a system, carbon filters, either as alternative or add-on, help remove chlorine which eats away at the membranes affecting their durability.


For critical sites such as clean rooms combining


water treatments should be considered. The mix of RO, carbon filtration and softened water supply ensures that pure water is delivered to the humidifier and offers best practice to ensure a maximum lifespan. Dedicated, appropriately sized reverse osmosis


plants, one often dedicated to each humidifier, present a convenient solution that requires minimal pipework for installation and provides an excellent ROI as well as improved system performance.


‘In the last 15 years the price of reverse osmosis membranes has reduced considerably.


Once a prohibitively expensive consumable that required water softeners to protect the valuable membranes, we now often no longer require the piles of 25kg bags of salt which needed to be lifted into the softener brine tank to keep it going.’


22 August 2025 DOWNLOAD THE HVR APP NOW


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