Both our GC and cabinet maker advised us to purchase a humidifier because in the adjacent room to the kitchen we installed a new Blaze King Princess wood insert that we'll use to heat our home. They were concerned that the wood insert would dry the air too much and possibly cause damange to the hard maple cabinets. Has anyone else been advised of this? If so, what type of humidifier do you have and where is it located? How often do you use the humidifier? Do you have any helpful tips on maintaining the correct amount of humidity in your house?

Here is a picture taken during the middle of remodeling that shows the close proximity of the fireplace to the kitchen. Any help or advice you could give me concerning this matter would be greatly appreciated!

we ran a humidifier in the LR - which ran next to the kitchen. we ran it 24/7 when the heat was on. (in Indiana)

you'll need to find some stats on them and what size to get etc for what size of rooms you have tho.

I'm sure they are a lot different now than they were 30 yrs ago.

We have a whole house humidifier.
I know nothing about it. This is my DHs area and
it is built in with our furnace. It is called a GeneralAire.

Perhaps you could also post this question in the wood
workers section/carpentry. I wonder if they would know
more specifics about the maple being damaged.

boxerpups: I posted the same question on the Fireplace Forum and received no responses there. It's not important the brand of our insert, only that it can throw a lot of heat. I'll look for the forum you suggested. Hopefully I'll receive more responses from others with a fireplace in or near their kitchen. - I'll have to reserach the GeneralAire to see how easily it can be installed with an existing furnace.

how about posting the question on the heating/air cond forum? I do think people building now have them included with their htg stuff - same with the air cleaners.

I did see a small unit on qvc last week. I was thinking maybe i should get one for my new place since it'll have heat. we don't use it much out here tho - just at night off/on for a few months. but our humidity level is very low most of the time anyway (AZ). so me and my stuff are probably dry and brittle by now - lol!
I will be more concerned about it in my new place i'm sure. I think mostly at night when sleeping with the heat on is when I'd use it.

think I'll email a few friends out here and see if they use one.

They are installing the unit on Monday and it is called the Honeywell True Steam. It seems to be the latest and greatest technology. We heat our home with a gas fired furnace and it will be installed on that and will use the existing ducts to distribute humidity.

Don't know if that will help you!

threebees - thanks for the name brand. I'll check into it.

desersteph - please let me know if you find out any interesting information after e-mailing your friends. I hope the people in charge of GW don't become irritated if I post the same message on a 4th forum,

I recall seeing something called an April aire humidifier than can be added to existing HVAC system. HTH

boxerpups & rhome410 - after rereading my post I saw that boxerpups, not rhome410, was the one that suggested posting in woodworking. sorry about the mix-up

desertsteph - I meant to say "cool mist" and not "dry mist"; whatever made me say "dry mist"? - sounds like an oxymoron to me

homepro01 & peytonroad - I think we'll check with our HVAC guy about different options available for our furnace. I wasn't looking to spend another $300, but that will be a small price to pay to preserve the new cabinets we installed.