It should be turned off and cleaned for the summer. Cleaning the humidifier is often forgotten in most homes. Humidifier maintenance improves efficiency. A clean humidifier doesn’t have crust on all the parts after sitting unused all summer. Water left in it will reduce the efficiency of the air conditioner.
Here are some tips to keep the humidifier happy and the fall startup a breeze.
First turn off the humidistat. With the weather getting warmer and muggier, the last thing you need is to add humidity to the house.
Turn off the water feed valve on drum style humidifiers and remove the water from the pan. You should not have to turn off the water on flow through humidifiers because the solenoid valve that controls the water uses positive shutoffs. If the shutoff valve sticks or leaks, now is a good time to replace it with a better valve that will be easier to operate twice a year. If your valve leaks and you cannot change it this spring it can be capped with a quarter-inch compression cap.
When rationalizing why you do not have time to change it this spring remember:
If you can’t find the time to do it right, when will you find the time to do it over?
If your humidifier has an air damper between it and the furnace plenum, (it could be a little tin handle) shut it off for the summer.
Remove the media from inside the humidifier and when possible drop the water pan off the bottom also. If the media pad (filter) is hard and crusty, remove it from the drum and purchase the new pad this spring so your unit is ready to go next fall. Clean the drum frame in the water pan (if you were able to remove it) with humidifier delimer or vinegar. Store the drum and pad outside the humidifier for the summer.
If anything was leaking, broken or too crusty to clean, now might be a good time to get replacements. That way when September rolls around you will have the humidifier up and running in no time.
A clean humidifier is a happy humidifier and a happy humidifier provides lots of moisture all the dry winter. Humidifier maintenance is easy enough but forgotten. Prepare your humidifier each year.