small and unobtrusive humidifier for the office

[beautifuleyes]

Please recommend a humidifier that is small and unobtrusive for the office that has at least the following 2 features: Ionic Silver Stick and demineralization cartridge? I am not interested in a model which recommends the use of distilled water as this is not practical for me during business hours. Additionally it will need to be very quietly as I sit on an open floor amongst many cubicles.

Oh, did I mention it needs to be very, very small.

Thanks,

[faithlies]

I asked the health and safety guy at work about a humidifier on my desk, he said there would be no point as the office is quite big. He said any humidity created would not be effective as it would just evaporate into the wider space of air.

For the past three days I've been using an aerosol spray of distilled water, a few blasts on my face every half hour or so.

I've been back in my lenses for two whole days now, don't know if that's why, but I've also stopped all drops except for the odd drop of saline when I feel like a lens is a bit sticky (once/twice a day).

Maybe that would be worth a try? And a lot cheaper too!

[beautifuleyes]

Thanks.

I will give that a try.

[dianat]

I would argue that a bit of humidity is still worth your while. It's just a guess, but it certainly doesn't hurt. Keep it close.

[shells]

I agree with Diana. I have a large humidifier in my cubicle and it has a humidity gauge on it. Although with it running on high all day, the humidity in my space never increases (as faithlies pointed out), I do think that just having the steam blow near my face probably helps me a bit. I imagine if you had a desk top one that blew the moist air towards your face, that would help as well.

I wonder if the health and safety guy is discouraging the use of a humidifier because they do not want people using humidifiers. I think they are afraid of them causing mold or other problems like that. They asked me about mine in a recent safety inspection and mentioned that for now it is OK, but eventually that rule might change. I told them that I will stop using it when they start to keep the building at a comfortable 30-50% humidity vs. the normal 15% it is now. Like I enjoy having to clean that thing and lug a huge jug of water over to my desk every day!

[faithlies]

Health and safety guy was straight up with me about it, I work for the council so if he thought I would benefit from it, they would have to provide it.

He did have two of the three flourescent tubes removed from the light above my desk immediately after coming to see me -- two maintenance men arrived within five minutes and took them out.

H&S guy said they were far too bright which would not be helping the problem.

As I said, I've been using a water mist spray with distilled water this week, I spray it on my face every half hour or so. I'm on my third day back in lenses

I honestly don't think the humidifier would work in my case in a large office (I did think so but thought it worth mentioning to H&S guy) and he confirmed that.

My boss told me he would pay for one if H&S thought it would help, so I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree on this one folks!

[NYer]

My own opinion is a mixture of the above. I, frankly, have found no benefit to my eyes by keeping a humidifier on in my apartment (and my apartment is small and it's a humidifier rated for a bigger space than my whole apartment). But that said, if you are someone who does benefit from a humidifier, then your H&S guy is wrong. The point he makes is based on the fact that the humidifier is rated for a space that is much smaller than the space your putting it in. Therefore, the vapor will dissipate before it has a chance to humidify the entire area. However, what you have to keep in mind is that when the vapor first exits the humidifier, it's quite concentrated (you can SEE it). So if you have it right in front of you, you are indeed going to have the benefits of getting the vapor in your face. The overall humidity level of your room won't change but who cares? Your goal is to get the vapor in your face - not to change the climate in this case. What you should get is a simple VAPORIZER - not a "humidifer". Go to CVS and pick up one of the Vicks models. They put out actual steam (not "cold" humidity) They're around $35. Point it at your face and do your work. And that's that.

[faithlies]

Thanks NYer.

I'm in the UK so wouldn't be able to access the shop you describe, though I'll keep my eyes open for a vaporizer.

The whole of my building has a problem with dry air, I'm told, but to be honest I'm happy with my little can of spray for now, it's only 99p (2dollars) and I reckon it will last a couple of weeks per can.

I'll stiff my boss for a £2 a month raise though

[NYer]

The one I was thinking of is this sort of model (you could see who carries it in the UK):
http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/cvs/gateway/detail?prodid=110261&previousURI=/CVSApp/cvs/gateway/search?ActiveCat=499^Query=vicks+vaporizer


But I just found this one, which looks really cool, actually:
http://www.drugstore.com/products/pr...52&catid=91814

[brd888]

Pointless

Faithlies,
I have been in a similar situation as yourself. I would move toward facing the H&S rep rather than trying to increase humidity yourself. The laws are not hard and fast but UK regulations state office humidity should be 40-70%. 30% is a minimum before health problems arise.
I guess you work in a hermetically sealed office with air con - sealed windows and double doors to the outside. Air con systems condense vapour in the air but should re-introduce it via humidifiers. Sometimes these are turned off to save money.
Asking you to work in 20s humidity is unacceptable. Working in teens humidity is outrageous. Get in touch with your H&S, facilities and Union if applicable.

As for a desk humidifier - imagine working in a freezer and having a small fan heater to warm you up.

regards
Bruce

[faithlies]

Thanks Bruce, I will ask what the humidity level is, though they have told me there is a problem in our building.

[brd888]

BTW a desk humidity meter is a good investment but avoid cheap versions. My office dropped to 20s% humidity a while back - after phoning facilities I found out a humidifier was broken. However these days it is still only 30-33%.